Hundreds packed into relatively new and quite lovely venue August Hall (formerly Ruby Skye) on Friday, October 19 for DJs Black Madonna, Honey Dijon, and David Harness. The Black Madonna, a Chicago party stalwart who plays classic house and disco grooves as if they were deep techno (pyrotechnic on the fader, all about the driving beat) sparked the place rave-y after hometown opener David Harness fired up some soul. She’s also a tireless advocate for inclusion as the prime principle of dance music ethics, bless her flying Twitter fingers, so the atmosphere was more than vibing.
Closing it all out was the awesome Honey Dijon, one of the few huge touring DJs with actual roots in the frenetic ’90s big room house she pumps into crazed dancers’ veins. She was a regular at the End Up with David Harness back in the Fag Fridays days, and it’s been so lovely to see her get the recognition she deserves while staying outspoken about black, trans, and womens’ rights. Oh yeah, and the crowd that night was cute, too. Photographer David Schnur caught the excitement. — Marke B.
