Ultra Vulgar Super Fiend

Words by Esteban

Photos by Homer Bell

To street walkers, it is another doorway without identity, lost to the bustle of Beverly Hills. The large oaken entrance gives no indication of what lies within. A block down, a stroll through an unwelcoming alley, and you have arrived. The Confidential Beverly Hills. To say that they try to live up to their namesake is putting it lightly.

Guided through a concrete corridor by arrows taped to the floor, we arrive at the heart of Confidential; a cavernous, white-clad room with lights, speakers, and booths in every direction. While this clandestine novelty adds to the “speakeasy” feel of the club, it also reeks of amateurism. I often got the idea that the people running the show were a bit anxious in its launch and may have jumped the gun a bit.

In a sea of cookie-cutter nightclubs, you have to respect Confidential for doing things differently. The lounge atmosphere is more prominent than its nightclub pretense. Lights and music respect the dark corners of the booths lining Confidential and its inhabitants, leaving them to their debaucherous devices.  Sound is discriminatingly divided rather than all encompassing. For patrons looking for superior sound quality, there are specific spots scattered around the venue where the sound hits better than others (the dance floor is your best bet while the corner booths are quieter). The same is true with the lighting; instead of relying on a single lighting system, colorful strobes are dispersed throughout every inch of the venue.

Once you get into the flow of things, which is much easier than you could imagine a Beverly Hills nightclub might be, all of the little imperfections (the green room is partitioned by a curtain and the patio fits about 10 people at one time) fade into the background ambiance. It will undoubtedly be interesting to see what direction CBH takes with its limitless potential. The potential to be a posh hot-spot for today’s top DJs is unquestionable, but so is the ability to exist as a chill lounge spot, ideal for late dates and questionable hook-ups.

The EC Twins performance this evening was archetypal of their sets. That’s not to say it was nothing short of jaw-dropping, breath-taking, and awe-inspiring, but that it is this high quality house music people have come to expect from the twins. The energy of their set ebbs and flows like some sort of dance music yin-yang, pumping Zen through the speakers and inducing grins upon anyone within earshot. The twins have been snowballing in dance floor popularity more in the last 365 days than ever, so if you have the opportunity to watch then before anytime soon, you would do best to take that opportunity before you are paying $60 to watch them headline the Hollywood Bowl two years from now (foreshadowing forthcoming).

Despite what your parents tell you, DJs need to possess a diverse amount of skills, many of which involve strong observational analysis. For a DJ to play a quality set at a city he/she has never been to (or in this case, a new venue), it takes keen multitasking ability. In this, the EC Twins are unparalleled. So, while house music continues to take over the globe, Marc and Alistair are making certain that they have a managerial position reserved for themselves in the new world order of dance music.

Stay tuned for a forthcoming interview with the EC Twins!