Tired of dance clubs that look like old spaghetti factories, left out by Muthers going 21+ or just tired of the same clubs with drunk straight guys trying to dance? There’s a new option in town that is stylish, under/over and full of fabulous gay men.
Tilt, a new nightclub at 123 Liberty Pole Way offers a relaxed and classy atmosphere with state of the art lighting and sound. Fridays are college night where entry is $3 for 21 and up and $6 for under 21 with a college ID.
Located in the same spot as some of Rochester’s most famous gay clubs including the late Rochester Marcella’s, Tilt has different clientele on different nights. While Thursdays ? featuring Delta Sonic and the Tilt-a-whirl Drag Show ? and Saturdays are primarily gay, Fridays are a more mixed crowd with DJ Mac, a second year student at RIT, and DJ Xotec a 13-year club veteran spinning primarily progressive hardcore.
Mac is completely self taught. Since his first rave at the age of 15 in Austin, Tx. he became enthralled with the music. At 16, he bought some cheap Gemini turntables from the local newspaper, but even before that had been playing around with computer- based music production.
Currently he uses a combination of vinyl, MP3s, his own tracks he produces on his computer and live effects from an Alesis AirFX processor.
He is well-known in the Rochester club scene and has opened for the Caffeine World Tour. He counts as his main influences Frankie Bones, the godfather of the rave scene, and Paul Van Dyk.
His music is a rarity in the Rochester club scene and is very progressive. One of the best surprises after a night of his spinning is found upon leaving Tilt ? your ears don’t ring. The sound mix is great with thundering bass and lots of power, but the higher frequencies that damage your hearing and leave you yelling at your friends on the drive home are conspicuously absent.
Also spinning on Friday nights, DJ Xotec spins his own unique sound, but always includes a liberal usage of the “F” word. When asked about spinning with Xotec, Mac replied: “Xotec is a great guy. He’s been spinning for 13 years, so he’s got a lot more experience ? but it’s all about making the people feel your music, to take them on a journey.”
Having opened Dec. 27 with roughly 5,000 square feet, 28,000 watts of sound and all-new equipment including state-of-the-art lighting, Tilt manager Mark Cross describes it as “a progressive place for open-minded people.” He said that “we welcome all sorts of people,” but “don’t tolerate drugs.”
One of the best things about Tilt is its decor, which Bergie Rash, a freshman, described as having a “hipster chic motif.”
The club is very modern looking, completely different from the other gay clubs in Rochester, or even the last club to occupy the location, Marcella’s. It has some very cool walls of white light and air bubles in water, lots of metal and some very cool drop lights over one of the bars.
The absolute coolest thing in the club is undeniably the plastic sofas and arm chairs behind the sound booth. They look like normal furniture until you touch them and realize the chairs are high quality, brightly colored plastic. Doubly-amazing is that they’re quite comfortable.
While Friday isn’t a big night anywhere in Rochester, Cross believes Tilt has the “Best music programming in town on Fridays.”
But what keeps senior Mark Kratz going back is that “it seems to have a little more class than the other gay clubs in the area which are getting run down.”
Also at Tilt are the monthly Pump parties. Pump is a gay party designed to bring “some energy into the Rochester gay scene” by creating a NYC style club atmosphere.
Tilt is open Thursday through Sunday at 9 p.m. and dancing is until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. No admission after 2 a.m. and the last call, as with all clubs and bars in Rochester, is 2 a.m.
Paris can be reached at tparis@campustimes.org.
