New Year, This Weekend
by Renaissance
January 1, 2025 awkwardly found itself on a Wednesday. The middle of the decade starting with the middle of the weekend ushered people to figure out their weekend plans almost immediately after New Year’s Eve celebrations. I feel very lucky to have found myself on the soft edge of the LA queer DJ scene, which makes it quite easy to ask my friends where they are performing and go to support them. This led me to the Fresh Meat Party hosted by Princess of Wasia (Ian) and D-Jane (Jane) at The Stowaway Bar in Downtown Los Angeles, California.
I am partial to underground bars that you have to descend stairs to access; it feels like you’re entering a new world, shedding the skin of the outside world and immersing yourself in an underground social sphere that only exists in this specific space and time. The Stowaway was dark and warmly lit, with ample seating mostly in the form of booths along the wall and various corner doorless open rooms. One back room behind the stairs, with its own bar and bathrooms, housed the Fresh Meat Party.
The Rio Room, while borrowing its name from the famous Brazilian city, has a mixed nautical-industrial-concrete jungle-disco decor and aesthetic. The primary light source came from the various fuchsia strip lights– a staple in almost any club setting, due to their price accessibility and efficiency in creating a “club” environment. There was a disco ball in the back corner, signaling the makeshift green room, instead of over the dance floor, which would have added some dynamic motion besides the people in the room. The most compelling piece of decor in the space was the cunty decommissioned giant vintage ship wheel attached to a concrete half wall beside the bar. Throughout the night, people would try to incorporate this campy set piece into their dancing, from spinning it to hint they liked the set, to pretending it was a gambling wheel, to miming being tied to the stokes and imagining a knife toss performance. The people yearn for something fun on the dance floor, especially to match the yummy and playful cocktail glasses that accompanied the abundant amount of ice in the glasses.
The party started at 10pm but in classic Renaissance style, my partner and I were late and didn’t arrive until 10:40 pm. I happily embraced my friends, shared holiday sentiments, and was introduced to a new friend for the weekend. The Rio Room was quite small and it didn’t take a lot of people to feel like you were in a crowd. The audience never broke over 20 people (possibly never hit 15) but with the music and an enthused patron chanting “FUCK IT UP” when the set got real good, the spirits were high all night. We barely caught the tail end of DJs Special’s and LA Woah’s set when we arrived but I knew the energy was right the moment I entered the room. They provided a wonderful start to the night and definitely set the bar for the energy the room needed to maintain.
After Special and LA Woah, Mattheuology hit the decks with a unique sound and energy to hit the new year on the right foot. Fast paced Brazilian hip hop tracks to get the party jumping throughout his 30 minute set. It didn’t matter that I didn’t understand the lyrics booming through the speakers. The classic Latin rhythms mixed with Matteuplogy’s personality brought the set and the dance floor to life. I later found out that this was Mattheuology’s first time DJ’ing to a public audience and was impressed with his confidence and song selection for such a fresh performer. I look forward to seeing what future mixes he will bring.
Next on the deck were DJs Sarita Linda and ¡OSO!. I must be honest, I stepped outside to join my friends for a smoke and then I sat and chatted because after an hour and a half of high intensity dancing that is what I needed to do to last the whole night.
Los Angeles privilege is being able to step out at 1am and experience almost no cold even in early January. Thank you Mediterranean climates. Sarita Linda and ¡OSO! provided a wonderful and upbeat backdrop to the resting and the chatting and I hope to have the privilege of hearing more of. Particularly ¡OSO! who got me back on the dance floor for the last half of his set of pop and latin beats.
DJ Mini Bear, whose name is just as adorable as their energy, was a beast on the decks. The set definitely showed a divalicious partiality for pop girls of the 21st century, spanning from early 2000s to a great rendition of Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch” from the iconic brat album. I typically roll my eyes at hearing brat tracks just because they are so easy but Mini Bear mixed “Von Dutch” in a new and fun context. Mini Bear had a confidence that granted them the immediate trust and control over the audience by setting the dancing example. I love a watchable DJ and a DJ who can dance with the audience. I was obsessed with the whole set but the deal was sealed when they closed out their set with a remix of Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love.” A DJ after my own private Spotify streaming stats.
Thank goodness my dear friend DJ Jangali was next so I was not too sad when the deck transitioned. DJ Jangali always brings something new and fresh to the deck at every show that I’ve seen from them. Jangali’s sets will show a proclivity to stray away from pop songs or recognizable tracks but will create a new sound that will still get you excited to be on the dance floor. Since their debut at HOTPOT’s Test Kitchen Party in November, they have only grown and developed in taste and confidence in their craft.
By 1:30 the party had thinned to just my little gang of friends, the host, and the bartender on shift, but we raged on until the 2:00 closing. We enjoyed a couple of tracks by DJ Jane and my dear friend Ian. We danced, packed up, then shared sweet goodbyes and promises to see each other again in the new year.
Saturday started earlier than I wanted after only four hours of sleep. I trekked to the San Fernando Valley to go to my very first estate sale in Studio City, California. It was advertised as a multigenerational sale and that it was. Expectedly, the bulk of the items were mid-century modern. While waiting in the line, I took notice of the people standing ahead of me on the stairs and the trickling of people leaving with their finds in hand. The demographic was largely white and financially comfortable (expected if you identify as someone who could potentially score at an estate sale).
A couple left the house and hugged the security guard while exchanging pleasantries for the New Year. “How many estate sales do you go to before you become friends with the security guards?” I overheard the woman behind me comment. There were young people in the mix who definitely radiated the vibe that estate sales were a way to find something eclectic and quirky. Reminds me of the evergreen line from Mean Girls (2004), “Vintage, so adorable.” But then again, I was in the line and I did buy a lamp for $35.
The tables nearly toppled over under the weight of various china sets, tchotchkes, and items that wove the story of a long lived life. The people who lived there were immigrants from Yugoslavia and, according to the art on the walls of the basement, Orthodox Catholic. Someone worked as something in the architecture field from the branded pencils and construction site suits that were left over in one of the bedrooms. There were a few dated toys around that remained in their original boxes for storage and probably only came out when children visited. There were stacks and stacks of old VHS tapes of classic movies and a CD collection that covered a whole circle tabletop. Some of the CDs I spotted were: Nina Simone hits collection, Great American Jazz, and Best of Fred Astaire. I couldn’t help but wonder, is this type of acclimation even possible now? With the oppressively low wages and the predatory domination of streaming services, what collections will Gen Z and following generations leave behind?
“To my surviving family, I leave behind: my Peacock subscription, my Spotify premium, and my preserved images on Google Photos.” So unromantic.
The estate was followed by a three-hour brunch in KoreaTown with Sumah, Ian, Mattheu, Gabby and I and included a prologue at a coffee shop named Stagger. Sumah had recommended that we go due to the quality of the drinks but when we arrived, to their disappointment, there was a long line out the door. Long line, sock-and-ballet flat combo, and mini shoulder purses have become the standard for frequenting any “hidden gem” in LA that gets found out online. The brunch was spent across the street where we talked about HRT, a soft and supple themed DJ set which starts with “First Taste” by Fiona Apple, psychedelics and antidepressants, and then HRT again.
After a 2.5 hour nap post-brunch, it was time to doll up and go to another night at the Stowaway Bar. This time to see the iconic DJ diva of LA, Neptune Wavey. A Neptune Wavey set will always have the signature vibe of Black diva worship. A set with deep cuts that aren’t deep cuts if you truly love Black divas, which means that not knowing the lyrics or recognizing the sample is just a self callout. It is always a delight to peek into Miss Wavey’s music taste and her transitions mean that there is never a clunky moment in her presence. Neptune Wavey performed in the major room at the Stowaway Bar where I enjoyed two sugar-rimmed margaritas that kept me company while I waited for Wavey’s set.
While I waited until Wavey’s 11:40pm set, I wandered back to the Rio Room and to my delight there was an actual Disc Jockey that was sifting through their own collection of physical records and mixing the tracks live. I ping ponged in and out of the Rio Room but once I heard them play “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer, I couldn’t leave until I knew Neptune Wavey was arriving. Please can we bring back disc jockeys in 2025?! Let’s get back to the source material of the remix genre!
Between these two amazing artists that were hosted at the Stowaway, it made me sad that the bar did not have a robust partisanship to support the great event. There were rarely ever more than 10, maybe 15 people listening to either DJ. The location is near quite a few transit stops and the environment is warm, inviting, and aesthetically pleasing, and definitely encourages fun times. Between the two nights that I was out, I was surprised by how few people were out for the first weekend of the New Year. Few people on the streets and fewer people in the bar. I know there’s dry January but maybe I’m too self indulgent in thinking that doesn’t apply to the first weekend. Not when it comes so soon in the year. I commend people who stayed inside and saved money, but the call of a fun night supporting friends beckoned me out to Downtown LA. My cross to bear.
Sunday was spent inside, sleeping in, and preparing for the work week ahead. A cozy end to back-to-back socializing from the first weekend of the new year. I hope you all had a wonderful first weekend wherever you were. I look forward to what this year in this city will bring me and all the fashion fads I'll see while I’m out and about. 2025 In: taking public transit to the club. 2025 Out: getting your sense of style from Tiktokers who self identify as an office siren.