This past Saturday in San Francisco brought forth a short but sweet night of infectious House music. I’m not even six months in to my new life here in the Bay Area yet I’ve had the pleasure of seeing so much live music and visiting many new venues. Saturday night brought me two firsts: my first trip to Monarch and my first time seeing rising star Tom Flynn. I first wrote about British House producer Tom Flynn just a couple weeks ago in anticipation of his U.S. tour. and it was fun to see what he brought behind the decks. Long a favorite of clubbers around the world in London, Ibiza, Berlin and more, he’s been giving the U.S. a proper taste of his signature sexy House sound. Raised on soul, funk, disco and lost days in dusty record shops, Tom Flynn was endeared to a House music journey from a young age.
In my quest to visit as many different clubs and concert venues in San Francisco as possible, I finally descended down the steps to Monarch’s basement for the first time on Saturday night. I can certainly see the appeal of Monarch – it’s dark, intimate, and has a booming sound system – but I can also see why some people choose to go elsewhere (not to mention there’s a more commercial-feeling bar/club upstairs). By no means was Monarch packed, which I’m always a fan of, but there was a good crowd of House junkies boppin’ around. If memory serves me correctly I wasn’t able to put my finger on any of the tracks Tom Flynn was spinning but that’s okay with me in my never-ending quest for new music discovery. BPMs on the lower end of the House spectrum combined with fat bass lines and four-on-the-floor beats dictated a funky Nu-Disco feel rather than catchy vocal hooks or hands-in-the-air EDM drops. The overall flow of the set certainly worked and it was great seeing Tom Flynn dancing behind the decks and smiling/giving hugs when glow stick-decorated drunk girls found their way into the booth. My only critique on the night is Tom’s DJing overall. It’s clear he is a producer first, still building up his DJ skills. My friends and I agreed the music could have picked up a little bit – both in speed and intensity – and hearing a couple trainwrecks leaves me excited to see how Flynn’s DJ skills will have progressed the next time I catch him live.
Tom Flynn continues his tour tomorrow night in Los Angeles before heading to Denver, Boston, NYC, and Chicago. If you’re in the mood for something different, funky, and fun make sure you grab some tickets and head out to catch him in the mix! Whether or not you go to see him or you’ve seen him on this tour, check out the latest mix for DJ Mag HERE.