From MIA to NYC for an OTC. A Maxgiving tale
What traveling alone to the city that never sleeps to catch your favorite DJ in action is all about
Here’s a little something I wrote Sunday on my way back home
I'm on the plane back to Miami reminiscing or rather trying to digest what Friday night was all about. Earplugs are in. It’s cycles radio 229 and me; pretty much the perfect closing to one of the best weekends ever. But I digress, back to Friday.
The sun rose and I couldn’t believe it. The day I had been waiting for was here. As soon as I opened my eyes I prayed for it not to end. The day mostly consisted of me thinking, saying and repeating, "Tonight is the night, tonight is the open to close (OTC). I'm literally going to touch the sky, please let me hit the pause button for this night not to end.”
The day went something like this:
Breakfast, think about the OTC, Central Park, pictures, beautiful weather, omg it's the afternoon already, I will be at Cielo so soon. Lunch, some more walking and enjoying the city... As the day passed by my nervousness increased. I went back to my uncle's place, which is only a ten-minute walk away from Cielo... Ok. Around 7, I was kind of losing it. 8:55pm and I was ready to go. 9 o’clock came around and my heart was beating out of my chest.
Meet-up time it was. I think I walked as fast I have walked in a very long time because the rush of adrenaline was well, rushing all through my body. I arrived at Brass Monkey, walked in the door, took a deep breath, walked a few more steps, blinked twice and yep, Max was there. ** Fan girl moment #1 of the night*** followed by countless fan girl moments. I showed him my shirt and ** fan girl moment*** (top picture <3)
Got to meet what I like to call the #CyclesSquad. Some familiar faces, some new faces and good vibes all around. Between the chatting and laughing I warned the #CyclesSquad about me screaming like a little girl, but more on this later. 10pm and off to Cielo we went. Cross the street and the doors to the sky opened up.
Inside Cielo I was and I couldn't believe it. As soon as I walked through the door I felt right at home, even though it was my first time there. Comfortable and at ease, cozy, dark and small just the way I like it. It was 10:10pm. The OTC just started and I already got the feels starting with my ears thanks to the badass sound system aka funktion1 aka sex to my ears. The groove was building, the energy was flowing and I was well, ecstatic to say the least.
Now for the parts where I screamed like a little girl, or the ones I’m going to mention anyway.
1. Get Ready- Tommy DeClerque remix. On the plane to NYC I hoped Max would play it and when he did, oh hell I was not ready for that at all. The way he read my mind, fuck!
2. Solid Stone- Evolution. Them drums, so damn infectious and the way they made me dance
3. Airtight- Tim Penner remix. I don’t know what to say, but I was overwhelmed with so much emotion. I only wished Tim could’ve seen my reaction (below find a little 30 sec video, that’s all I could record I was way too into the moment)
4. Guy J- Nirvana. More of this one below. Holy feels on this one too
More than a few times I caught Max feeling the vibe with a happy smirk on his face. Something similar happened to me, several times. I caught my reflection on the side mirror of the DJ booth. The reflection radiated happiness and so much joy, especially when he played Nirvana. The one thing I will say is this: I was in a paralyzed euphoria. The rest, I will keep to myself.
The lasting effect of the music was like an echo vibrating through the walls of my heart. I drowned in the layers of the sound. My heart was dancing, getting deeply lost in the sky. Little bits of magic filled every square inch of my body.
Damn, that room has a piece of my heart. So much love in there. Memories I will never forget. It was pretty incredible having one of those “scream like a little girl” moments and not feel like an outsider but rather understood by the people in that room. Some musical click and connections happened.
Huge thanks to Max and the Esscala team. You guys rock.
Yep, I definitely made the right decision to travel solo for the show. It made the journey that much more special.
