It seems like 2008 is finally getting its legs musically—it’s
about time. After the slow period surrounding the holidays, it’s nice
to see a return to the usual state of too much to do.
Friday, March 21, marks the return of L.A.’s Marques Wyatt.
Considering how often much of the Om roster comes through town, it’s
surprising that Wyatt hasn’t been to Seattle since 2005. It marks the
latest in a string of house heavyweights forcing the Uniting Souls
followers to brave See Sound Lounge’s gelled and perfumed masses.
Wyatt’s worth the hassle. An institution of West Coast house,
Wyatt’s been behind the decks for two decades, providing a dose of
spirituality within his sets, reminding his listeners that along with
catalyzing a workout for the body, house can be a cleanser for the
soul.
It’ll be a completely different brand of house taking over
Lo_Fi Saturday, March 22. Chicago’s DJ Slugo is one of the
elders of ghetto house, the faster, raunchier, jackier cousin to the
deep, soulful material Marques Wyatt plays. In an SAT-worthy analogy,
ghetto house is to Chicago what ghettotech is to
Detroit—an ultraurban, accelerated take on existing music,
meant to draw people together on the dance floor, with plenty of
ass-shaking and pelvis-popping.
Now referred to as juke (yes, an update on the blues term), ghetto
house is getting a resurgence of outside attention due to some
high-profile remixes, stemming from a decline earlier this decade that
saw the genre recede back into Chicago’s underground. Much of the new
attention is coming from the hipster-y generation of producer/DJs, but
Slugo’s been around since the beginning, having produced the classic
“Wouldn’t You Like to Be a Hoe?” Instantly recognizable to booty
music fans with its repeated refrain of “I’m a ho, he’s a ho, she’s a
ho, we some hos, wouldn’t you like to be a ho, too?” Slugo’s appearance
provides a rare opportunity to both show off that fancy footwork and
get your grind on.
On the same night up the hill, Necodo is throwing its first
event, at Oseao. In case you’re unaware, Necodo is a local startup,
serving up electronic music downloads and audio streaming. It’s a hard
time out there for anyone trying to compete with the monolithic
Beatport, the de facto standard, but Necodo’s doing what it can
with its Seattle-based operations. For this party, Necodo’s bringing in
Spectral artist Seth Troxler, who cut his teeth on the Detroit
scene as both a promoter and DJ. With his releases on a slew of labels,
Troxler has set himself up as part of the newest wave of Detroit techno
producers, using the classic template to influence the newer minimal
iteration.
In case you’re torn between those Saturday events, there’s word
going around of an afterparty in the works, combining the talents of
both events, placing gritty house and pristine techno under the same
roof. Bring it. 
Marques Wyatt plays Fri March 21 at See Sound Lounge, 10
pm–2 am, $10 adv/$15 DOS, 21+.
DJ Slugo plays Sat March 22 at Serious Business at the Lo_Fi
Performance Gallery, 10 pm–2 am, $10, 21+.
Seth Troxler plays Sat March 22 at Oseao, 1402 E Pike St, 9
pm–2 am, $10 adv/$15 DOS, all ages.