I love Higher State of Consciousness. I love it because its so danceable. I love it because its so acid. I love it because its so freaking obnoxious. But most of all I love it because I loved it so much when I was a young little raver.



Mention Higher State of Consciousness and I envision myself wearing knee high socks, toting my pink lunchbox everywhere, hair in pigtails. I remember partying it up at the Lux, being totally ignorant about who was behind the decks, wearing candy jewelry. I recall tiny backpacks for girls and boys, shuttle buses from Joyce station, and massives costing only $15. Simply put, Higher State of Consciousness equates to way too much fun in my lexicon and I wanted to stumble down memory lane.



Mind you, it wasnt like Josh Wink was just going to play different remixes of the same track over and over again. But that thought didnt occur to me til I handed my ID to the bouncer. And when it came to me, it hit me with a cathartic punch. I hadnt a clue to what the night would be like as I had never heard Josh Wink spin before (which is kind of funny since I had always called him my favourite dj). Seeing as Im fairly particular with music, by the time I entered The Lotus I had surrendered myself to the fact that my chances of being disappointed were pretty good and the only memories Id be reliving were of the cynical older raver period.



So, when he started off with some bouncy house I had to laugh: my beloved dj plays music I dont like. What irony! And as if to seal my fate, projected beside him was a list of tracks (presumably the ones he would be playing) with descriptions. Most songs were described using some of my most detested adjectives (sexy, funky, crowd pleasing, booty-shakin).



But then I had another catharsis (this one being as positive as the earlier one negative) and I decided to persevere and enjoy myself. Id dance and have a good time in homage to my early partying years and to make up for the time he came in 1996 (I couldn't go because I didnt have fake ID). So, I got up and earnestly started shaking my booty to his booty-shakin music. I shook and shook until there was no need to shake anymore because within thirty minutes that cheese melted away into some awesome tech-house.



For the most part, the night was pure tech-house. Hence, I have no reason to complain and so I wont: the music was rad, I got to pogo and dance just like I had hoped to, and the crowd was great. However, I wouldnt consider Josh Wink a fave anymore. His mixing isnt anything out of this world and his selection was a bit off. It seemed like he was picking the music on a whim and without any regard for creating a structured set so, ultimately, the set was way uncohesive. He would constantly bring the party to a climax and then suddenly drop the level with some mellow track. Im not denying that this technique works, however, it just wasnt working for Josh Wink that night.



Yet it seemed that the crowd couldnt have cared less about the details Im nitpicking about. The dj booth was surrounded by admirers who wouldnt stop ogling his handiwork and the club resonated continuously with cheers from every corner. The dancefloor was full of people going off so hard that I was shocked that the ceiling wasnt dripping with condensation.



However, the dancefloor didnt stay full the whole night through. As is usually the case with weeknight parties, few stayed until the end. And if youre one of those who escaped early let me just tell you that you missed Higher State of Consciousness. And Ill also tell you that it is still as danceable, acid, and obnoxious as ever. And it was great. And I still love it.



What I love even more, though, is the fact that I had such a good time that I couldnt be bothered to dwell on stale memories. And neither could Josh Wink. Instead of saturating us with anthems from the heyday, he proved to us that hes not on tour as a has been but as a cutting-edge dj that has been around. Loved it.