Sauna by Gus Presents
Posted 6-Feb-2012 to ReviewsRating: 3.5 out of 5 bottles of water!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 water bottles
by David Shearer Pedersen
On Saturday night, the new Gus Presents event “Sauna” debuted at Public Works. I had never been able to check out the space, so I was eager to try out a new location.
I arrived on the earlier side – around 10:45 – so I could be sure to soak up as much of DJ Russ Rich’s set as possible. Russ has a wonderful energy about him as a DJ, which translates perfectly in to high-energy, incredibly fun sets that even the most shy dancers would have a hard time standing still during. He fluctuated between huge pop hits and lesser known remixes, providing a great musical balance and catering to the entire crowd. When he threw on “Big in Japan”, the crowd erupted in to a vocal howl that marked one of the best moments of the night. DJ Lee Decker took the reigns in the later hours, maintaining the high musical bar that Russ had set.
Despite the music being completely on par with my high expectations for both Russ and Lee, the Public Works venue proved to be difficult for me. The room feels like a middle-school gymnasium, allowing for inconsistent acoustics and not a huge amount of a dance floor space. However, since this event was on the smaller side attendance-wise, it worked in Sauna’s favor to have a smaller dance floor as it never felt totally empty.
The go-go boys – porn stars Damien Stone and Spencer Reed – were a nice touch, dancing on boxes adjacent to the stage and giving the audience a pretty spectacular muscle show. They also seemed happy to be there (is there anything worse than a go-go boy who just looks bored?) which helped bring the energy level of the event up another couple notches.
I wish Sauna hadn’t directly conflicted with Bearracuda, which was being held only a few blocks away. I know a lot of people were having a hard time choosing between the events, but, as far as gay events go, there never is an ideal time to throw any party – there will always be conflicts. For a first-time event, I think it was a smart decision to hold it in a smaller space, but I hope the venue will change for the next date. Besides the space, all of the elements were there – fantastic DJs, smoking hot go-go boys, and a beautiful crowd of muscle boys and daddies. I’m hoping this will grow in to one of those “must” events that it deserves to be
Tags: Lee Decker, Russ Rich, Sauna