A couple of weeks ago I went to see Tritonal and Super8 & Tab. They were performing at Axis/Radius in Scottsdale on a leg of the ARC tour. “ARC”, a track they recently collaborated on, is played in every set and I was stoked to see Super8 & Tab live. I have worked with them before, and they are one of those sneaky popular groups that releases one single after another, yet never gets the attention they deserve.
I must admit I wasn’t familiar with Tritonal before I heard “ARC”. After a little bit of research, I learned they were on the DJ Mag Top 100 list, and they were from the United States. It’s rare to find a successful DJ from the US. Before their set, I interviewed the guys and they said being from the United States was the best thing for them. They’re right, too. Dance music has never been as popular than it is right now, and while it is still massive in other countries, looking at the names on the 2012 DJ Mag Top 100, you can see that EDM is starting to make a mark on the American culture.
I hadn’t been to Axis/Radius before, but I had heard it was a cool club. You wouldn’t know that reading reviews online. Reviews mention rude bouncers and expensive drinks. This place sounded like a dump online. But I went in with an open mind, and wanted to give the place a chance.
Location Location Location
Axis/Radius is located in downtown Scottsdale. It actually has a perfect location, right around the corner from The Mint and Wild Knight, another popular dance club in the Valley. (After having seen Markus Schulz at Wild Knight, I was hoping Axis/Radius was a little bit bigger.) We arrived early, as they were hosting a meet and greet before doors opened. That gave us a good chance to see the club and to walk around in case we lost each other when it got busy.
Speaking of location, parking in Old Town can be tough. But we found a spot right across the street from the club. Granted, we got there pretty early. But we didn’t have any issues with parking.
Local sensation Josh Evans kicked things off that night. He played for about an hour, and played some of the hardest stuff I have heard from him to date. We talked after his set, and he informed me he was just signed by a label… so look for some exclusive tracks from him in the coming weeks. (It’s nice being able to work with local talent like that.) After he was done, Super8 & Tab took the decks. It’s not much of a stage… just a small DJ booth. But still, I was pumped to see these guys.
There are three legs to this tour, with phase two kicking off in a few weeks. But when I was chatting with Super8 & Tab after their set, words like “crazy” and “insane” were used quite often to explain phase one.
I can’t imagine the life of a DJ. Playing one city (or country) tonight then off to the next city all the while staying in the nicest hotels and having fans scream your name night after night. I am sure it gets old, but man… I would love that kind of exposure. Tritonal even said their fans are why they do it. Fans provide thaxem the motivation to get up there and produce some of the biggest club bangers out right now. Seeing Tritonal in the DJ booth just proves their fans fuel their efforts.
By the way, Axis/Radius is an awesome club. At one point during the evening, I grabbed a waitress and asked her about the room. It is one of the oldest clubs in Scottsdale, and there are actually two clubs. One side they play hip-hop and R&B while on the other side, they play house and dance music. In between the two clubs are some VIP rooms, and some places to stand outside to smoke, or look at folks down below. Upstairs you will find some rooms offering bottle service. Speaking of bottle service, they offer free bottle service on Friday nights. The bottle is free with a mandatory $50 tip. They take care of their servers while giving club goers a chance at VIP service. Grab a few friends and have a night out… can’t beat a free bottle of booze!
Having seen a few other clubs in the area, I left the club impressed. I hope to cover a few more shows there in the coming months. Morgan Page was just there, as well as Dirty South and Benny Benassi. The room isn’t huge, but that makes for a more enjoyable and intimate experience. I really liked the room, Super8 & Tab and Tritonal were great, and I can’t wait to go back.
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