Recap: Hercules And Love Affair at Memorial Union Terrace (and Great Dane)
Jessica Horn
Andy Butler of Hercules And Love Affair.
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While it may be true that DJ and producer Andy Butler charges the neo-disco core of Brooklyn’s Hercules And Love Affair, he receives plenty of help from the quivering vocals of Antony Hegarty, Nomi Ruiz, and Kim Ann Foxman. When the folks at the UW booking committee scheduled a solo DJ set from Butler, it unfortunately billed the show as “Hercules And Love Affair DJ Set” instead of “DJ Andy Butler from Hercules And Love Affair.” So Decider wasn't shocked when five minutes into Butler’s set at the Memorial Union Terrace last night, confused audience members tapped us on the shoulder and asked, “Um, when does the band start?”
Despite certain audience members’ displeasure with the lack of an actual band, the red-haired Butler—who cut his teeth DJing in various leather bars across Denver—wasted no time spinning the audience into a frenzy of amateur dancing with a set of obscure disco, new-wave, and house tracks, while sporadically jamming in tunes from HALA’s self-titled 2008 album. It wasn’t until the Hegarty-fueled “Blind” that the clouds blackened and began closing in, sprinkling on a lanky man break-dancing awkwardly by himself to the left of the gazebo. A few minutes later, a full downpour started, and the show was officially rained out. Luckily, on our way out, we caught wind of an underage kid flipping off the stage and whining about how the show was being moved to “the fucking Great Dane, goddamn it.”
Butler did finish up at Great Dane with the help of local DJs Nick Nice (who opened with an impressive set) and Mike Carlson (who provided equipment, and whipped through an equally compelling set). While the crowd jerked about blissfully to Butler’s selections, it was oblivious to the fact that there was a pseudo-celebrity at the turntables. Butler barely addressed the audience, nor did he bring records to sell. So while it’s great he came to town in his sleeveless Bad Brains T-shirt and gave Madison a two-hour DJ set with a built-in listening party for a year-old album, some fans were left asking, “Is that it?”
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