Denver's elite nightclub
shows what
it takes to be dubbed "the country's best club"
By Daphne Carr
While
most of the world’s pilgrims go to their sanctuary by
day, we of the night have increasingly found nirvana in former
places of worship. Dance clubs love to exploit the notions
of pagan beat worship, the DJ as God, and the hedonistic return
to our childhood places of Sunday monotony.
Denver’s The Church, recently named “Best Club”
at Club Systems’ Club World Awards in Vegas, has become
known by DJs, promoters and partiers as one of America’s
premier dance establishments. Housed in a gothic cathedral
over 100 years old, The Church radiates natural ambience and
a certain romanticism that gives an average of 1,600 clubgoers
a night a chance to indulge either their pious or extra naughty
sides. And since
the building in which The Church resides was slated to be
a parking lot when it was saved in 1994 by Denver club guru
Regas Christou, its resurrection offers Denver-ites a place
for any transformation they may need.
But while researching The Church for the January nominee issue,
this writer stumbled upon some troubling words about the club.
While the atmosphere, the staff and the DJs were magnificent,
many websites agreed, the sound and lights were “terrible.”
Too few fixtures and not enough sound in this cavernous space
made for a hollow, underwhelming impact. Frankly, I was worried.
How could one of Club Systems’ top clubs have a kitten-sized
show for their lion-like space?
Bribing Sasha
That’s what Brad Roulier of Together Productions also
wondered. A longtime rave promoter, Roulier came in to book
talent for The Church’s Thursday nights about two years
ago. But he was concerned that the booth and system didn’t
match the world-class talent – like Carl Cox and Paul
van Dyk – he was bringing in. Legend has it that one
evening he spotted a way to make his worries known, and slipped
super-DJ Sasha $100 to drop the news on Christou: You need
a new system.
All this was happening while Tim Hannum, of Houston-based
Diavolo Systems (so named because, according to Hannum, “the
devil’s in the details”), was revamping The Church’s
light show. For the venue’s high, vaulted ceilings,
Hannum opted for a multi-tiered design with a custom steel
piping system integrated into the shape of the arches and
surrounding space. The top tier was fitted with Coemar iSpot
575 moving heads; lower tiers with ProSpot 250 LX moving heads,
pre-existing Dataflash stobe lights and Antari foggers. Hannum
also switched to the Avolites Azure 2000 desk, replacing the
Hog 1000 on which The Church’s light jock Ron Tucker
had become a true artist.
To help Tucker out with the new desk, which Hannum called
“more ideal for a nightclub setting than the Hog,”
Hannum offered a complete training session on the functions
and practical uses of the Azure 2000. “I believe that
knowledge is power, and in knowing how to program sexy, theatrical
shows instead of the constant, bloated overkills that most
clubs do, a good light operator like Tucker can only become
stronger with this board.”
“It’s a very hands-on board and encourages creative
lightshows that work with the unique architecture of the building,”
he continued. “After a big build-up, a fade out on the
ceiling of The Church is amazing. People notice these simple
things.”
Hannum adds that in addition to his technical prowess, light
jock Tucker is a wiz with the rotating talent. “Ron
has to deal with the freaks, the DJs, every night. Some can’t
stand the lights; always want it dark. Others, they come in
and they don’t know what they want. Ron always gets
it right for them and keeps the club looking 100 percent.”
Also added to the mix was a custom video system made up of
three Hitachi CP-S317W video projectors pointed on special
Plexiglas screens made by the Speed of Sound, onsite sound
tech Mike McCray’s custom-fab company.
Within weeks of the light rig’s completion, work began
on the sound system. Soon, a plan was sketched for a fully
customized JBL rig, including eight JBL AM6200/64 horn
loaded mid/high packs, four JBL ASB6118 mid subs, and eight JBL
ASB6128V super subwoofers arrayed in two packs of four. The
booth was brought up to par with two Pioneer CDJ-1000 CD players
and two Technics 1200 turntables, controlled by an Allen &
Heath XONE:62 mixer and monitored through two JBL MPro 415’s.
Teens and Trash
Another fabulous feature of this main room is the bar –
a custom-built structure created with pieces of The Church’s
original pews. Perfect for high volume and totally organic
to the space, it is the paragon of good planning in a historical
building like that of The Church.
The club also holds a wine bar, sushi bar, cigar room, basement
area and an outdoor patio, each with a distinctive feel and
intended audience. Christou hopes to turn his basement area,
which now features local DJs spinning retro classics and live
bands playing “funky, jazzy dance music,” into
a Denver-style ultra lounge “not unlike Tabu,”
he said, referring to the swank MGM Grand space where he won
the Club World disco globe this past March.
A more subtle reason for winning this award was their sense
of community. Working at The Church isn’t just passing
drinks over the pew bar to Denver’s hot young things,
it’s going out after close to pick up trash in the surrounding
area or, mid-eve, testing sound levels behind the club to
make sure they meet the neighbors’ standards (and those
neighbors, after hesitancy over their local church becoming
“a bar,” are now dedicated regulars). With the
JBL system Hannum installed, the deep bass and crisp highs
stay within. The system can do little, however, about the
garbage.
The Church also has an 18+ Thursday, a logistical nightmare
Christou’s willing to have, because in his book, “if
you’re old enough to drive a tank, you’re old
enough to dance in my club.” But this young crowd is
musically educated, explained Roulier. “We can book
different types of DJs and get different crowds. A good percentage
actually come to hear the music, not just get drunk and get…”
Well, you know. And given those options, why are so many people
there for the music? “Well, Denver clubs are only open
until 2am,” said Roulier. “and when we put on
raves, they’d go until 6am. We brought in a lot of talent
to those parties and people learned to love a certain sound.
Now, they’re older and so are we. But many of them came
from those days and know what a good DJ is.”
“No Compromise”
It’s not all high-art DJ skill that Roulier books for
The Church though. For a recent “pimps and hoes”
theme night, Together Productions booked one Ron Jeremy as
host. If you see the affable Roulier around (as if he’s
ever not working), ask him to tell you a funny story about
Jeremy throwing a tantrum while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and
sweatpants. It’s these stories that keep promoting from
being all about the money.
And of course, neither is club owning. Christou is one of
Denver’s nightlife gurus. His properties include the
Funky Buddha, a martini lounge; 2am, an after-hours bar; The
Deadbeat Club, a college bar; Fat Daddy’s, a hip diner;
and the temporarily closed Vinyl, a club the size of The Church
which suffered a collapsed roof in this winter’s brutal
snowstorms. But The Church, Christou said, stands out in his
group of clubs because “there could be no compromise
to the structure of the building” and therefore its
anything but your traditional “disco lounge” full
of intrusive toys and in-your-face effects. They’re
there, of course, but The Church’s natural grandeur
and its staff’s good planning make them just another
part of what makes it the crème de la crème
of the American club scene.
The Church, 1160 Lincoln, Denver, Colorado,
www.the-church.com
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