Entertainment, Music, We Love Music

We Love Music: The Magician @ U Street Music Hall, 1/19/11


courtesy of The Magician.

On Wednesday night Belgian DJ, Stephen Fasano a/k/a The Magician made a southern swing on his “Magical Winter Tour in America” to spin at U Street Music Hall. What could have been a sleepy, mid-week party on a freezing cold night was instead the hottest place in town as body temperatures warmed the packed dance-floor and Fasano’s DJ sorcery gave the audience a preview of the aural tricks he has in store for the world now that he has gone solo.

Leading up to this show, Stephen Fasano was being billed as “(formerly of Aeroplane)”; I suppose in an attempt to draw in fans of Fasano’s former project. Fasano left the group and his DJ partner of seven years late last year to pursue his solo work. While Aeroplane continues under the command of his former partner, Vito DeLuca, I felt that billing Fasano in this way was also sort of hand-cuffing him to his former group. Perhaps to distance himself from Aeroplane after his departure, Fasano has crafted a musical persona for himself called The Magician. It is an identity born out of the Belgian’s rich sense of humor; complete with a costume, a gimmick, and custom dance mixes that proved to be truly magical. I think everyone in attendance at Wednesday night’s set at U-Hall would agree that Fasano can drop the “(formerly of Aeroplane)” from his marketing scheme. The Magician is a new, unique presence on the international DJ scene that will soon be a big draw in his own right.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, We Love Music

The Magician Shares His Secrets


courtesy of Stephen Fasano.

Last year, Stephen Fasano shocked the world of electronic music with the announcement that he was leaving his Belgian DJ duo Aeroplane to start a solo project. This was particularly surprising because Aeroplane had just completed a successful U.S. tour in support of their latest album “We Can’t Fly”. One of the stops on Aeroplane’s 2010 tour was to serve as the opening night performance at DC’s new underground dance mecca, U Street Music Hall. Now ten months after U Street Music Hall opened and six months after leaving Aeroplane, Stephen Fasano is returning to the club to introduce his solo music persona, The Magician! Stephen took some time to answer some of my questions about his career, his decision to leave Aeroplane, and his taste in music.

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Entertainment, Music, Night Life

New Venue: U Street Music Hall

photo by Sam Vasfi.

Two of the hardest working DJs in DC, Will Eastman and Jesse Tittsworth, are about to drop a bomb on U Street in the form of their new 300-capacity nightclub, U Street Music Hall. Destined to become one of DC’s best dance destinations, U Street Music Hall is located at 1115 U Street NW in the very cool, basement space vacated by Cue Bar.

Eastman and Tittsworth have taken over the space and cleared everything out to make room for a massive, 60-foot long, wooden dance floor (built over cork for extra bounce and comfort), a gigantic DJ booth that is “larger than some venues in DC”, and a 40,000 Watt sound-system that is designed to “physically compel you to dance”.
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