SHOW REVIEW: Blueprint @ Jimmy Valentine’s

I have been to almost all of the Blueprint parties, and there’s a simple reason for that: techno and tech house spun by excellent local DJs. This roving party has been to Jimmy Valentine’s, Eighteenth Street Lounge, and occasionally in sweaty basements further downtown. The sweaty basement was especially memorable because the lineup was perfect and because the fire alarm went off halfway through the show. The fresh air was much appreciated, annoying as the interruption was.

On Friday, Jandro and Doktor D welcomed a new DJ behind their decks: Steve Kirn. Well, not new — Steve’s BaltoTroit series is a reliable purveyor of fine Baltimore and Detroit techno. More on those parties later.

The night opened with Jandro’s deliciously smooth-rolling beats. This meant that I needed to be on the dance floor from the very beginning; a good start to the night. Next came the good Doktor’s harder set and then Steve Kirn with a surprise back to back sharing of the decks with Itzjack. Doktor D took over again to close the night out.

I split my time between sharing the dance floor with friends and another great feature of Jimmy Valentine’s: the conversations on the back stairs. Smoking is not required, just walk up as high as you can and start talking to whoever is there. Jimmy’s has a solid underground following, so the smokers on the back stairs come from all walks of life and perspectives. For me, that makes a party more interesting. It was great to catch up with the DJs and meet new people at the same time.

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Doktor D and Jandro[/caption]

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Itzjack and Steve Kirn[/caption]

The party was supposed to end at 2am-ish or thereabouts, but of course it ran a little long. I left smiling, pleasantly tired, and looking forward to more.