The Glimmers / Jordan Dare

After scrapping their anticipated North American tour last October, and in effect cancelling their appearance at Montreal’s MEG Festival, Belgian DJ duo the Glimmers finally returned to these shores to make good on their previous teaser. They were in capable hands for the Montreal stop; the I Love Neon crew, who are responsible for some of the city’s hottest parties, hosted their engagement. Resident Neon DJ Jordan Dare kicked off the evening with a 90-minute set that focused heavily on his trademark mix of industrial strength techno and electro, with a shovelful of bowel-shaking bass grinds thrown in for good measure. Though much of his set fell on non-existent ears, as many of the Thursday night partiers only began to dribble in for the headliner’s 12:30 a.m. start time. Stylistically, the Glimmers fall in line with DJs like Optimo and Blackstrobe’s Ivan Smagghe. They don’t necessarily pack their crates with the latest white labels in an effort to be the first on the block. Rather, the duo find their inspiration in the history of club-friendly music. They are just as likely to mash together unlikely genres as they are to patch together disparate years. Their last two mix albums, 2005’s DJ Kicks instalment and 2004’s Eskimo Presents, brought together slacker rock, no wave, electro clash, Baile funk, Queen and whatever else fit in the bag for neatly packaged, hip-shaking music lessons. And though their Montreal performance wasn’t as unwieldy as those recorded mixes, it still stitched together a wide array of beats without busting at the seams. The main theme this time was synthesisers. So, with all those cascading keyboards running off the vinyl, the Glimmers wove together Italo-bass openers into the euphoric rise of Geiger’s remix of Dorau/Kohncke’s 2004 classic "Durch Die Nacht.” From thereon in, the evening passed through everything from space disco to pulsating techno, leaving few stones unturned.