Event Review: Mark Knight steals Marquee deep into the tech house nightMarkknight3

Event Review: Mark Knight steals Marquee deep into the tech house night

Event Review: Mark Knight steals Marquee deep into the tech house night

It was madness at Marquee New York, Manhattan’s elite club in Chelsea. Mark Knight disciples packed like sardines into the venue, anxiously awaiting the DJ’s arrival. Attendees arrived just before 12:30 pm, and the bottom floor overflowed with fans snaking in and out of the crowded sea of tight dresses and button downs. Sleepy and Boo pressed on with a bouncy opening set while the mass waited for Mark’s 2AM arrival


Marquee is one of the few clubs in New York that openly embraces the bottle service crowd along with unconventional club music. Ever since its re-opening, Friday night has been cemented as tech or deep house nights, and the high ceilings drudge up the slight perception of being in a warehouse.

However, the slicked back hair in suits and sharp smell of perfume betray Marquee’s identity as an ultra-classy establishment. The ubiquitous soft purple glow remind patrons of the regal exclusiveness of the venue, but tonight, bottle buyers and normal folk unite on the dance floor as one, under the guidance of Mark Knight.







Mark arrives on the decks, smiling at the mass of hollering maniacs below. He wastes no time getting started with a intro into his song, “Your Love.” The infectious bass and deep low vocals hypnotize the New Yorkers as the crowd bobs, bounces, and grinds into each other.

He bounds from genre to genre, sometimes invoking a tropical feel (Ninetoes’ “Finder” w/ Ben Pearce’s “What I Might Do”) or even frenetic (Hot Since 82’s “Hot’s Groove” with Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction” vocals), and oftentimes just lets loose (Len Faki’s edit of DJ Hyperactive’s “Wide Open”).







The talent behind Mark Knight’s musicality lies in his ear for succinctly perfect vocals. Never one to rely on choruses, he instead picks and chooses carefully. He’ll slap in a Kid Cudi “Day and Night” vocal or the familiar Justin Timberlake “Suit and Tie” over tech beats, pulling at the audience’s guilty pleasures.

And when he does let it soar, it soars. Florence and the Machine’s “You’ve Got the Love” has made waves in mainstream pop, but hearing the redhead’s voice mixed live is a unforgettable experience. As the piano chords fall and the arpeggiated synths alternate in the foreground, Florence’s powerful vocals fill the club, while Mark mouths the lyrics.







Chris Malinchak’s “So Good to Me” and Knight’s “Nothing Matters” contribute to his vocal prowess. The audience seems to be mere bystanders, experiencing the DJ’s personal karaoke.

He ends the night with captivating tracks, one being Nari & Milani’s “Atom.” Closing the set at 5 AM with Prince’s “I Want to Be Your Lover” and Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” he claps to the weary glee of dozens of brave souls looking to unwind. In the end, while Knight may stray too far into the land of pop, his tinkering on tracks builds a rollercoaster of rising synths and vocals with low pumping kick drums, worth the cost of admission alone.






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