Let’s Play House series opens; Switched, Retroactiv spin on

Check out these two ongoing dance music nights — Muzique Boutique’s Switched at Gelo Ultra Lounge and Retroactiv at the Melody Inn — as well as a brand new series hosted by Let’s Play House Recordings at Talbott Street Nightclub.

Let’s Play House Recording Sessions featuring DJ Dan
Talbott Street Nightclub, 2145 N. Talbott St.
Thursday, March 6, 9 p.m., $10, 21+

Indianapolis is a good city for electronic music. This town has nearly 100 performing DJs, some of whom are internationally known producers; quality events, where headliners from all over the world come to shake dance floors; and some of the best venues you can find in the Midwest. Despite all this, many complain that EDM (electronic dance music) isn’t what it used to be here in Indy.

Local producer and Let’s Play House Recordings owner StarSteady is one local doing his part to strengthen EDM locally. He’ll introduce his new series, the Let’s Play House Recordings Sessions, at Talbott Street Nightclub this Thursday.

The kickoff event features DJ Dan, who has been in the EDM scene almost since it began. He started spinning in the early ’90s San Francisco rave scene and became a local favorite. Since then, he’s become one of today’s most sought-after producers in the U.S. and was voted the No. 5 DJ in the world in DJ Magazine’s 2006 poll.

Opening for DJ Dan are StarSteady, Matt Porter and Talbott resident DJ Deanne.

—Jack Shepler

Switched featuring Chuck Love, with John Larner, Brandon Kaye, Stewbot
Gelo Ultra Lounge, 5252 E. 82nd St.
Friday, March 7, 9 p.m., free, 21+

Minnesota’s Chuck Love, aka Charlie Anderson, meets all the requirements for a good DJ (attention to detail, awareness of pacing, smart track selection) and more. While spinning his deep house grooves, including self-produced tracks, Chuck picks up live instruments and throws them into the mix; he’s been known to play trumpet, bass guitar, flute, guitar, keyboards and hookaphone (a keyboard with a hookah nose attached), as well as add his own vocals.

Love’s 2006 three-disc DJ mix Summer Sessions (OM Records) features his own productions as well as tracks by the legendary Frankie Knuckles, Colette (a DJ with a beautiful voice who played a recent Switched event) and Chicago luminary Bryan Jones.

Chuck will bring his musical toolbox to the Gelo Ultra Lounge for the latest instalment of Muzique Boutique’s Switched. The night will feature Chuck Love’s multifaceted performance as well as local DJ Brandon Kaye (aka Chocolate the Freaky Afronaut), and Boutique residents John Larner and Stewbot. Musique Boutique will also debut their very own go-go girls, and there’s no cover.

—Jack Shepler

Retroactiv: Bauhaus Go Away White CD Release Party
The Melody Inn, 3826 N. Illinois St.
Sunday, March 9, 8 p.m., free, 21+
Myspace.com/retroactivlovesthe80s

’80s night! A staple of many a bar and club, but none have quite the character and flair of the ’80s nights that have emerged from the gothic-industrial music scene for the last decade. For the goth kids, the whole point seems to be to put on a prom that doesn’t suck for all the kids for whom prom was pretty much the epitome of suck.

The current event of choice, Retroactiv, hosted by local veteran Nightmare and newcomer Daydream, is held the second Sunday of every month at the Melody Inn. They’ve been around since November, garnering steadily larger crowds all the time, with no sign of slowing down.

The music mix is about as unusual as you can imagine. From 8-9 p.m., they go with obscure lesser-known stuff — “all killer, no filler, the dance music to get us going,” as Daydream puts it. Most months follow a theme of one sort or another; this Sunday it’s a celebration of Bauhaus, the ’80s goth legends who will be releasing their first album in two decades this month.

Nightmare credits the longevity and popularity of ’80s nights to more than just nostalgia.

“I see two types of people at these shows,” Nightmare says. “People who are my age, who remember the 1980s and are trying to relive their youth, but also these 21-year-olds that have just discovered the music and still love it as much as we do. That shows me this isn’t just a nostalgia trip; it’s music that has stood the test of time. It was brilliant then and it’s still brilliant today, and it needs a place to be heard, and that’s where this night comes in.”