{image1} Hi Hat's Service Industry Night on Tuesdays with DJ Anacron (Anacron Allen) is a bumpin' affair. The weekly S.I.N. is packed with club types from both sides of the bar getting in a week's worth of getting down to the sounds of Anacron.
Anacron, who lives in Chicago, spins an eclectic mix that layers hip-hop, '80s pop and most everything else into a rapid but fluid set that has the crowd workin' it under huge projections of classic break-dancing videos.
He started DJing during high school when he and his friend MURS (Living Legends, Def Jux) would ditch school and practice on MURS' "horrendous turntable setup."
Today, Anacron teaches break-dancing at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music and owns Breaker-Breaker 279, a dance company that contracts dancers for music videos and concert tours. He and MURS released an album together called "Netherworlds," and he's recorded a number of solo projects that range from hip-hop and down-tempo to jazz.
Anacron met Milwaukee's Old Man Malcolm while opening up for Malcolm's band Citizen King, and they started collaborating on a group/project called Cornrowz. They performed at The Social, which led to solo DJ gigs for Anacron and fond memories for those who attended them.
These gigs and his Chicago performances led to conversations with the owners of the Hi Hat and eventually the Tuesday S.I.N. night. His DJ style has also come a long way since his early days at MURS' house when he remembers, "It used to take me almost an entire song just to match the beats."
At the Garage, Anacron rarely lets the tunes play for more than two or three minutes and the music ranges from the underground hip-hop he started out playing to "almost everything that's popular in a club setting." From old school, to house and disco, to the '80s pop that Anacron favors, the music -- like good break-dancing -- is rapid and energetic but fluid at the same time.
Anacron's many different interests play a part in his DJing.
"I think I listen to a song in a lot of different ways," he says. "As a composer, I'll listen to a song and say 'ooh nice chord change,' as a lyricist I'll say, 'that's an interesting way to approach this topic.'"
And every record that hits the decks must pass the test. "When I buy records, I take them home and listen to them immediately," he says. "The ones that have me dancing in front of the mirror are getting played the next time I DJ, for sure."
The crowd at the Garage responds to the mix of styles with enthusiasm, rushing to the dance floor when a favorite song goes on and usually staying there for a while.
S.I.N. is a popular night, and despite the recent addition of a $5 cover charge the Garage is still packed. Even during a recent snowstorm things were hot inside as servers, bartenders and 9-to-5ers alike moved to the groove.
The dancers are good but the overall vibe is relaxed. "I like party music," Anacron says. And the new rap hits he plays come across as party jams and not the menacing fight music that Water Street club owners seem to think it is.
S.I.N. at the Garage pulls a diverse and fashionable crowd from service industry types -- who any other night can be seen staffing Milwaukee's other fine establishments -- to young professionals who respect each other and respect the DJ.
"People think a club DJ is the same thing as a radio DJ," says Anacron. "People get real offended when I say 'no requests.'" The difference, he says, is that "a (club) DJ is hired for what he plays, not what you want him to play."
Judging by the size and enthusiasm of the Tuesday night crowds, everyone seems pretty happy with the way Anacron does his thing.
