What Will She Do for Love?
Rise
306 Stuart Street
Boston, MA

Last night I went to Rise for the first time. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. In my mind I never would have pictured the large plastic flowers, flowing curtains and hardwood floor of the first level. The décor may have been interesting if you were high, tripping or even drunk. I was none of the three (never had my drug phase and Rise, being an after-hours club, is totally dry!), Incense pumped through the vents, black lights illuminated plastic lizards stuck to the ceiling, and large green pillar lights covered in small LCD screen displaying a rotating Rise logo, yet ultimately the lounge level was boring.

The downstairs of the club is stuck somewhere between a high school stoners bedroom and a disco for club kids of the mid to late nineties. None of the post 2000 sophistication that one would expect for a pricey, one-of-a-kind (in Boston), members only club exists at Rise. I expected the club to look more like the sleek styling of Jury’s rather than somewhere Parker Posey would frequent in Party Girl. Simply put, with yearly membership ranging from 50-750 dollars and cover in excess of $20, the club needs to update itself and come into the new millennium.

The reason for our trip to Rise was to see Colette spin upstairs. One of House of OM’s bigger stars, Colette and her best friend DJ Heather spun a powerhouse set that more than made up for Rise’s lack of sophistication and décor. And to be fair, the upstairs of the club is far better in general. A large disco ball shoots beams of light over the crowd and bounces them off a wall of warped mirrors. Dancing here was fun, and we barely noticed the time pass by. Colette didn’t come on until almost 4 am, but when it did it was greated with excitement.

Colette mixes live vocals with extremely danceable beats, creating the ideal type of house music the Pure failed to produce. If her set last night is any indication of her new dual cd with DJ Heather, than I will be extremely happy when I rush out in the rain today and buy it! (Newbury Comics has it for $10.88 and disc one is on iTunes).

Bottom line: If you get the chance, and you know you like the DJ, head over to Rise and head straight to the 2nd level and dance. Make sure you have had enough to drink before you go though!