Sasha and John Digweed tear up Philidelphia

Sasha and John Digweed tear up Philidelphia

4 April, 2008 | 12.18PM

• Section: Music News Topics: Sasha & Digweed Tour 2008
• Written by: Industry Boy

Five minutes before Sasha and John Digweed were due to come on stage at the Fillmore in Philadelphia last night Sasha was striding around backstage looking slightly nervous. “The weather is really shitty, and that might have kept some people away,” he said.

The Fillmore wasn’t busy yet admittedly, and outside it was dribbling London style.

But 10 minutes later as Sasha dropped his first track, it was a different story. Out of nowhere, the venue was rammed.

The Fillmore, formerly the TLA, is an old rock venue right in the heart of Philadelphia.

Its sloped dancefloor and giant stage makes it feel like you’re at a rock gig, sticky floors ‘n’ all.

Sasha and John aren’t the most animated of performers, but the giant LED screens surrounding them were eye candy enough.

Within 10 minutes the venue was cooking as Sasha played groovy tight progressive basslines and dark house music.

Around him, warm waves of red and blue light swirled around him, like a wizard riding in a cloud.

John Digweed took over 30 minutes later and took things up a notch with his hypnotic rhythms.

“John Digweed is the only DJ I know who can have a whole venue locked in a groove within three tracks,” a man in a sweaty tshirt told me.

He’s right, because within a few tracks (it’s difficult to tell how many because John blends them so well) the whole venue was bobbing to his music, hooked on the JD groove.

“Tonight me and John are getting it right,” Sasha told me off stage in the middle of his set. “Our sounds are beginning to work really well together.”

It has been a long time since John and Sasha have played consecutive DJ sets back to back.

But already the duo are understanding each other’s music and molding their unique sounds into one dancefloor destroying throb.

John Digweed agreed. “Musically, the transitions were perfect.

“It takes a few days to get your head around what each other is doing, but tonight we got it.”

On the dancefloor, the crowd were hot, sweaty and enthusiastic.

A bloke in the crowd screamed above the noise of the music “Heaven Scent…play Heaven Scent,” referring to Digweed’s anthem that he produced with Nick Muir under Bedrock in 1999.

“In the seven years I’ve been working for these guys, I’ve heard John play ‘Heaven Scent’ four times,” said Patrick Tetrick, Sasha and John’s tour manager.

It’s clear John won’t play it but still the man continued to shout “Heaven Scent.”

And then during the encore, the fan climbed on top of the railings and started to do an exaggerated ‘we’re not worthy’ movement, paying homage to S&D, before security moved in, looking slightly bemused.

Sasha’s nervousness then, was premature.

Biggest track of the night?

“My biggest track of the night was D’ Julz ‘Just So You Know’ on Ovum,” said John Digweed.

“It’s a record I use to transition between mid set and for when I want to kick things off.

“It’s energetic.”

The track is due out at the beginning of May.

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