Last Saturday, was D-Ranged 4th Sticky Icky anniversary, celebrating their year of great music in the D. They have been setting up various events in the Detroit area and since we haven’t been to any of their Sticky Icky events, we thought we’d check this one out.
If you haven’t been to The Works in Detroit yet, here’s what it looked like. You have three rooms which D-Ranged has set up to have a diverse set of music. The front room was filled with techno and house till about 3 A.M.. The main room had more of a trap feel to it. It was dark with the Dj slightly elevated, with a large screen behind him for video effects in the background. It was also packed with people, dancing, and sweating so much that there was only a limited amount of air that the fans were able to bring in. But, no one noticed or cared because they were so tuned into what they were listing to. You’d think it would be less packed in the patio area right? Wrong. The patio was being inhabited by drum n bass lovers. Taking up as much room as needed to enjoy the music. Needless to say, D-Ranged really stepped it up and brought out a variety of talent and fans.
The winner of the rooms has to be the front room with Dj LingK kicking off the night with some full bass and Dennis Cox taking the room from some sexy techno to some even sexier tech-house sounds. Leading the way to the two best sets of the night, Steven Sacks and J. Clark the Groovemaster. If you've read some of our Ann Arbor reviews, you would have seen J. Clark's name in numerous events. It seems like everyone wants a piece of him and for good reason. He loves the music and it shows. His set at The Works would have to be the best set I've seen from him, which is saying a lot. He kept the energy flowing and continuously spinned some contagious beats.
Steven Sacks, took over the night in one of the most diverse sets I’ve heard in a long time. As well as handling an interesting situation while playing. Steven started off the night with some house and just a dash of disco. Slowly going into more rhythmic drums, some piano chords here, a soulful guitar solo there, and as he was going into another dance provoking transitions, he was handed a purse while he was Djing. Maybe she was confused by what his shirt said.
Now, I’m no Dj, yet I find this gesture extremely insulting. I instantly thought my eyes were lying when I watched this person hand Steven Sacks her purse, as if he was there at her beck and call. If you have done this before or thought about doing this during someone’s set, please escort yourself out of the dance floor and give yourself a timeout. I don’t know how other Djs would have reacted, but he handled it like a pro. He was so focused on his music, her absurdness didn't make him miss a beat. He continued to integrate some sexy samba, a lot of Latin flavor, and even some sultry saxophone into his set. Over all, his set was not only well performed, but took you on musical journey which was greatly appreciated.
Final thoughts:
D-Ranged put on a diverse show with some talented artist that was enjoyable by a variety of music goers. Can’t wait to see what else they have lined up next.
