Giant Domination, Duo Sensation

A chilly 35 degrees could not keep Los Angeles house heads and club hoppers away from Giant's ‘007’ anniversary at Hollywood’s Vanguard on Saturday, and thirty minutes waiting in the frozen guestlist line was well worth it, even for the scantily clad. Mark Tabberner opened the main room, followed by a captivating live performance from Glycerin to a nearly packed dance floor at 11pm. KCRW’s Jason Bentley filled the air with his signature eclectic sound until Kaskade took to the decks to pump the partiers full of high energy beats and dirty breakdowns.

Both the 1-Up VIP lounge and the Spotlight lounge were bumping with a fresh mix of local talent, including John Day of Architects of Sound and Justin Gourley and John Do of Basic. However, the dynamite duo that really set the mood for the evening was Glycerin, with their entrancing opening track, ‘Why (Do You Stay?),’ and sensational grasp of the entire room from start to finish.

Glycerin is on the cutting edge of electronic dance music production with a live set that offers enhanced connection to the audience. Leading lady Anna Song adds, We are contributing to the music scene by showing that a live act can mix in very well within the traditional DJ club culture.  In the end, it's about a connection with the crowd, the music, each other.  It raises the expectations that people have about EDM, that it can come in different forms but yet still convey the same energy and enthusiasm.

Anna Song and Rich M work creatively off of one another to produce their mesmerizing tracks, an intensely personal artistic influence they feel creates a dynamic advantage over solo producers and DJs. Anna notes that we both influence each other.  Rich primarily starts the tracks, laying down the initial beat…at which point I come in and start vocalizing with the track… It's a very organic process, one that makes us both very involved in the musical process.  Their performance Saturday night also proved that incorporating elements from different genres keeps the music pushing forward.

The Glycerin duo also observed that most partiers come for the club experience, but stay for the music. This is a fact that Giant has not overlooked in its past seven years. The eclectic mix of glam rockers, trend setters and diehard dancers that celebrated together until 4 a.m. is a sign of things to come for the formidable club competitor. The big name/ local talent combo is working quite gracefully for Giant by serving a taste of all things big and small under one massive roof.

This Saturday kicks off a new year for Giant with another exciting world renowned duo, Gabriel and Dresden. With Giant nights in Orange County, San Diego and Los Angeles, Thursday through Saturday, 2007 will prove to be a year of Southern California domination for this club promoter.

For Glycerin news and dates, check out www.glycerinmusic.com or visit them at www.myspace.com/glycerintheband.

review by Erika Leigh