Tag: Better Days
No doubt this party The Land of Milk and Honey is the favourite party of a lot of our punters and who can argue with their choice given the DJ line-up and the way the party went off.
Who played the party?
Well the stars of the show were definitely Laurent Garnier and Sasha and John Digweed. Laurent played the Guvernment on 3 turntables and seriously ripped it up blowing the crowd away with an experience like no other heard before it in Toronto at that time and the Better Days crowd went off. Other guest DJ’s Jimmy Van M and Dave Cannalte from Orlando completed the out of town DJ’s.
In the warehouse, Sasha and John Digweed were set up high in a DJ Booth playing to the biggest crowd we had ever had in one room at a Better Days party with upwards of 3,000 being in the warehouse complex side of the venue packing the space from wall to wall with partygoers.
The Land of Milk and Honey was the biggest party we put on to that point and arguably the biggest and best of the lot. Despite the warehouse/Guvernment complex being jammed with more people than should have been in there due to the lax security provided on the night.
Our collaboration with Gatecrasher from the UK along with doing a simulcast with Energy 108 we put together a stunning star-studded DJ Line-Up. You could really argue it was overkill but it was a line-up of the highest quality.
Mike E-Bloc Live at ONE – Ridiculous Set
Mike E-Bloc was one of the favourite DJ’s Better Days ever brought to our parties and on this occasion without his long-time partner Danny Hybrid still delivered a mind-blowing set – listen below…
We really were spoilt for choice at ONE with a star-studded line up of DJ’s featuring the likes of Jeremy Healy, Todd Terry, the Lisa Marie Experience, Scott Bond, Luc Raymond plus a full compliment of 10 Toronto DJ’s along with MC Dr No and Ninette on percussion.
Jeremy Healy – the lost recording but what a set
Unfortunately we lost the recording of Jeremy’s killer set or it was never made but either way it remains one of the many sets that was lost on the chaotic night of ONE. His set was killer as Jeremy is a serious pro (you don’t get voted the number 1 DJ by Mixmag without being a serious operator) and he did not let the insane heat in the warehouse get to him as his set was a blinder.
Hanging out with him was a blast and we had a brilliant time as he is true gentleman and a hilarious raconteur. He hung out in Toronto with us for a few days and he was just a blast up for anything. A proper athlete and he looked after himself.
Did we record any other sets?
We only managed to get a one additional recording, but it was that of Todd Terry. Unfortunately as we had so many logistical problems on the night with different things and versions supposed to be recorded and we had a crazy night hence not everything was taped as planned. But you can listen to Todd’s set here:
It was a major coup to have secured Todd Terry to play at ONE and he did not disappoint. The Chicago Housing authority showed his class and blew the crowd away with his sublime house cuts.
Todd Terry almost missed the gig due to a work permit cock-up
Fortunately, at the 11th hour on the Friday at 4:30pm – way too close to comfort – we managed to talk Canadian immigration out of turning Todd away and allowing him to enter and perform at ONE – definitely drama we did not need but it worked out.
House Legend Graces Better Days Decks
We have had many top DJ’s play for Better Days making their Toronto debuts like Laurent Garnier, Deep Dish, Sasha, Derrick Carter, Farley and Heller etc to name a few but it was a real honour to have such house royalty play for us and Todd delivered the goods and then some.
Listen to his set here:
Considering how disorganised we were on the night – like we had never done a gig before – and since we had a no show with the camera man we are very lucky we have any video footage of the We Are Family 2023 reunion.
We have Laura T to thank for the clips below which she captured at around 5am when Ashley was laying down all the classic anthems to the assembled party goers.
Video clips from the night
Check out the highlights of Ashley’s set by clicking the play button on the 4 clips below.
What Ashley thought of the reunion
After the party Ashley, without even drawing breath as he fell in love with the sound of his own voice yet again not seeming like he was every going to shut the fuck up, went on to say, “that was hands down one of the top 3 crowds I have ever played to. Every person was beaming with positivity and just grooving out. I played the music I love and it went down like a house on fire…what a wicked atmosphere with so much love in the room and a crowd who were a treat to play music for…Gotta do another reunion – wicked vibe with so many lovely people at what turned out to be a cool venue with a killer soundsystem”.
