The Juice Box

Rating: 5 out of 5 bottles of water!

Rating: 5.0 out of 5 bottles of water!

by Phillip Mezzatesta

DJ/Producer Paul Goodyear introduced me to this event back in 2007. I enjoyed myself so much after the first visit, when I fell in love with the Bay Area, I have returned every year since from down under in Melbourne, Australia. This is the most authentic DISCO event you are ever going to attend.

This year, just before the party date, the event had to be relocated to City Nights (the old Dreamland space), due to construction delays on the Trocadero. I’ll admit, this was a blessing in disguise: the location, venue layout and acoustics are far superior at City Nights. I love and prefer this space and hope that future RTP events are staged here. I’m not alone in my opinion either.

The RTP party crowd welcome friends and strangers; so finding a friend and feeling at home isn’t a problem. I refer to it as the ‘Noah’s Arch’ of disco; you find at least one of every kind of freak here. Some come in pairs, others are unique and stand out in the crowd. Another first timer described it as a scene from Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City”. Local diva’s Deana Dawn and Diva D made their stellar entrance as Divine reincarnated. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence paid homage with us in the upper cloisters while the flaggers illuminated the stage – adding color and movement that legendary Sylvester would have loved. Ensuring the event lived up to it’s legacy, the iconic Trocadero mirror ball cluster and arc lights were relocated to the City Nights space, all helping to make us all feel right at home. Black and white sketches of Bay Area disco artists decorated the walls, creating a nostalgic review of the legends of the past.

DJ extraordinaire Jerry Bonham had the helm and took us on a 10 hour DISCO journey. Jerry always hit the right notes and we were off, starting the party with Sylvester’s “New Beginnings.” “Fancy Dancers” made their way to the dance floor for the “San Francisco Hustle” and over the next couple of hours the main arena filled up to the sounds of Loverde, Paul Parker, The Two Tons and many other classics. The sound was warm and clean – thanks to Randy Schiller. Nothing was lost in translation on the floor, elevating Jerry’s audio wizardry to the next level. As the tempo increased, so did the numbers on the floor. This party revisits the same disco era each year and it could easily be misconstrued that the music is simply the some old music as before,  however our Maestro outdid himself. Most of the tracks played had not been aired at previous events. Jerry’s clever programming including; “Walk Right Now” into “Step by Step”; “Here Comes The Rain” into “Stormy Weather” backed up by “Date With The Rain” are just a couple of examples (do yourself a favor – grab yourself a copy of the sound track to experience the full magic.) Sylvester fans were not disappointed either, with a dozen tracks fed through the speaker cones. The mixing was flawless – not one moment off pitch!

Overall this year’s event was the best this reviewer has seen. The energy and feeling the RTP crew capture and recreate is unlike any other event around. It’s a time warp that is worth traveling thousands of miles to experience. I highly suggest you bookmark a note in your calendar and make that ‘once in a lifetime’ trip to San Francisco for the 2012 edition of RTP. The party ticket is a small price to pay for the amazing experience. Get there early, bring your friends, start at the beginning – pace yourselves and stay for the last dance. It’s a journey and an experience you won’t forget and will talk about for the rest of your life. Who knows? – you might even love it so much you’ll move heaven and earth to come back for more.

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Tags: Remember the Party