- It's no secret that New York's club scene is in a state of flux. Nightlife has noticeably shifted away from Manhattan across the bridges to Brooklyn, and although it may seem like this transition happened eons ago, it didn't. In the not-so distant past, there was a time when the "Williamsburg club district" didn't exist. You couldn't just wander into a spot on Wythe Ave and hear top-shelf techno or house on any given weekend. Not so long ago, nightlife in NYC depended on smaller events and their faithful followings.
Discovery is one of those events—a disco-tinged "little party that could" started by a group of friends about five years ago. Since its inception, Discovery has amassed a reputable list of headliners, including DJ Harvey, Move D and Scott Grooves. But now they've decided to call it quits with their monthly party. For their fifth and final anniversary, Discovery brought in Michael Serafini of Chicago's Gramaphone records and Jason Kendig of San Francisco's Honey Soundsystem.
I arrived at Glasslands, a soon-to-close hipster haunt on the Williamsburg waterfront, around the time when Serafini started DJing. He wasted no time, airing peak-time wax like "Amsterdamn 808" by Beesmunt Soundsystem and "Edit Came" by Deas. It felt like the weekend was officially here. After a couple of hours, Kendig stepped up and matched Serafini's energy before moving into more classic techno and disco records. The late-night crowd howled at selections like Dancer's "Boom Boom," a Trax record from 1987, and a smile crept onto my face when I noticed Luomo's "Tessio" fading in, an '00s classic that I can never get enough off. Kendig's comfort moving through so many eras of music made for a great set that held the attention of the crowd until past 4 AM. On my way out, I heard one of Discovery's residents bring in the Paradise Garage classic "Over And Over" by Sylvester. The song, filled with nostalgia, was a fitting way to put to bed a great night and long-standing event series.