Monday Is The New Monday
Motor City Wine
1949 Michigan Ave.
Dec. 9, 2024
It’s hard to catch a vibe on a Monday night in Detroit.
We’re not quite yet a seven-night-a-week sort of town where the lights stay on and there’s music to be found everywhere.
But leave it to the weather-cracking 50 degrees in December in Detroit to make it feel like spring has sprung. Certainly felt that way at Motor City Wine on Monday.
The wine bar with a patio on Michigan Avenue was playing host to “Monday Is The New Monday.” The DJ residency has locked it down for eight years at Motor City Wine. And it’s completely free.
And maybe it’s the fact that it’s been around that long that I take it for granted. Because damn it is a special, beautiful way to launch into the week with great music from master selectors on the turntables.
“Monday Is The New Monday” is made up of five rotating resident DJs – Tammy Lakkis, Charles Trees, Ryan Spencer, Kenjiro and Shigeto. On Monday, the special guest was DJ Skeez.
And while I love them all for different reasons – the calm and coolness of Lakkis, the focus of Trees – I’ve got to signal out Shigeto here for his approach to full body DJing.
Shigeto cut his teeth in Ann Arbor on the drums and with a jazz background, part of the early cast of characters who helped carve out a name for the Ghostly International label out of the same town. He’s always brought jazz alongside his bag of electronic music. He’s gone on to become a critical piece of the musical infrastructure of Detroit since then, releasing his first new record in years, “Cherry Blossom Baby,” which brings a who’s who of Detroit musicians to the session with wonderful results.
And when he DJs, it’s a show, too. Truly throwing himself into the art form of spinning vinyl, his energy is infectious. The electro-techno records he was dropping filled the room and had the dance floor jumping, people excitedly peering over the DJ booth to dap him up and yell with joy when a track really hit. Tracks from the 1989 German compilation “Technopolis” hit particularly hard.
The room was perfectly lit. The patio jumping because hell, it felt like spring in December. The smell of Filipino food filling the room courtesy of Kusina’s pop-up at Motor City Wine. Shigeto completely captivating the room with his love for his craft and records to match the mood.
It’s a small moment but a powerful one. A reminder that even on a sleepy night in Detroit, there’s music in the air.
And a damn good reason to be at Motor City Wine on Mondays.
This review was published in partnership with WDET.
