Every once in a while, we get a DJ that will smack us across the face and figuratively proclaim “PAY ATTENTION TO ME.” We had this experience this last weekend at Fox Hollow with the amazing Lenzman. When the folks at the Purrin Lion said for us to not miss this show, we trusted their judgment, and headed off to see him play. We’d heard of him, but couldn’t put a finger on his sound. However, we were more than familiar with his current label, Metalheadz. Heck, half of our vinyl collection is composed of their records. He’s been around for a long time, with almost a decade of releases and remixes under his belt on various labels. During this time, he’s put out over 2 dozen singles and over a dozen remix records, plus one feature album.
We rolled in at early 11-something to find a packed porch and fairly packed floor. Hippo and Estefex were finishing up a tag team set that set the tone nicely for what was to come. People had come out of the woodwork for this show, folks we probably haven’t seen outside of the internetblogosphere in about 8 years or so.
Fox Hollow is a cool little venue tucked away off of the Washington strip with diverse nights that cycle in a variety of genres. They have fairly fast and friendly bartenders, clean restrooms, and an uncharacteristically unsticky floor. It’s been a while since we’d been; the last time was for Tony Hatchett and Jesse Saunders a year before.
Now that I’ve rattled over my love for the venue, it’s time to show some love for the man of the hour; Lenzman. His sound is that smooth liquid funk that coos to your body with more melody and harmony than typical drum and bass. His personality drips into his music and while in the crowd, he seems like he would be the coolest guy in the room both on and off stage. He is unlike other contemporary Drum n Bass DJs, aside from Marcus Intalex. He is the polar opposite of Dieselboy’s thematic dramatics, which we also love, but this was the soulful DnB experience we’d been missing.
When Lenzman went on, people filed back inside, grabbed a drink, and stayed on the floor the entire night. Sure, people would run outside for a smoke break, but most of the time, everyone was on the floor, not on the sofas that lined the dancefloor, nor clamoring to get on stage. People were on their feet the entire time singing, cheering, and dancing like no one was watching. This was such a refreshing change in atmosphere next to practically every other show we’ve been to lately.
Normally, even in the best show, we get a little tired by 2am, and usually force ourselves to hold out until the end to assure we don’t miss anything. This time, despite dancing and running around videoing and snapping pictures, we essentially had to be thrown out with the rest of the eager crowd. It simply didn’t feel like 2 am. We were herded onto the porch for an interview, along with the last of the hold outs of reluctant tipsy smokers calling cabs/Ubers on the front porch, and protesting.
Although he was gracious enough to grant us an interview (stay tuned, it’s coming!), our story ends here. Be sure to check out more upcoming quality Frenzi shows and the amazing Lenzman’s Soundcloud page!
Journalist/blogger since 2009 and music lover since 1980. Bex now travels the world and writes and takes photos of dance events, creates art in various media, sings quietly to her cat in the shower, and occasionally builds something that tends to involve a blowtorch. She can usually be seen hiding behind some sort of camera rig.
