by Sterling McGarvey

It must have been nice to be in San Francisco on Valentine's Day weekend 2004. OM Records has taken the liberty of condensing a killer night of house from their OM residency into a double disc set. A tag team set from Mark Farina and Derrick Carter is always a wonderful thing to catch, as many Atlantans already know from the duo's 2001 visit. So, does Live at OM capture the Carter/Farina connection? Yes. But does it offer any surprises? Not really.

Disc 1: Mark Farina

Farina's mix sounds consistent with his current sound: upfront, underground tracks with tinges of electro-flavor and the occasional peculiar track a la Chicken Lips. Standout tracks include Jordan Fields and Roy Davis Jr.'s "The Sessions (Move Ya Body remix)," JT Donaldson's jazzy/swingy "Vanguard Nights," the übercatchy "Love Shit," and Lavish Habit's "Dance Wit You." One can easily imagine Farina's head of curly hair bobbing up and down behind the decks as he cuts the levels and cues up his next track.

Disc 2: Derrick Carter

From the minute Derrick Carter's disc kicks in with Freaks' "Telefunky," the mix lets you know what you're in for: every single bit of Carter's eccentric, quirky, and funky track selection. Whereas Farina's mix goes for keeping it largely upfront and underground, Carter throws in classics such as Somore's "I Refuse" and DJ Sneak's remix of Triple X - "Feel the Same." On the weirdness scale, it's all standard Carter fare, and genuinely reflects what a live set by him sounds like these days.

Ultimately, it's a consistently good double disc set. It's not the same as nailing a good classic set off the internet, but it's an extremely accurate representation of what a live set by either Mark Farina or Derrick Carter sounds like these days (outside of white labels and CD-Rs, of course). If there's any major drawback, it's that the entire effort isn't surprising or mind-blowing. There's almost a sense that they don't want to rip it up too much during their sets. It doesn't particularly deviate in any way than what one would expect. For better or for worse, it's what the listener would expect out of it.

Live at Om
by Derrick Carter & Mark Farina
Disc 1:

1. No Farting in the Ice Fort [Jason Hodges Remix] - Jacob London
2. Vanguard Nights - JT Donaldson
3. Session [DJ Freestyle's Move Ya Body Remix] - Roy Davis, Jr.
4. Speechless
5. Conflict - Cajmere
6. School of Acid - Chris Carrier
7. Old School Jam - Jonny Rock
8. Chicago Methods
9. F*cK Hodges [Don't No Nothin JH Mix B]
10. Do What You Know [Original Mix]
11. Love Shit - Martin Venetjoki
12. Ribambel
13. Tie Me Up [Chicken Lips Trax Dub Pt. 2]
14. Dance Wit U
15. Revolution
16. Waxed
17. Rock da Houz
18. Thinking About You - Marcus Ecby
19. Alcohol [Deez Re-Edit] - Scott Pace

1. Telefunky [B.H.Q. Low Maintenance Re-Version]
2. When I Close My Eyes [Silver Haze Remix]
3. Just One Look [Jacob London Remix]
4. Ribambel [Bionic Bump Band 'Zoot Toot Remix']
5. Freaky Mike [DJ All'star & John Disco Remix] - Pedro Goya
6. I Refuse - Somore
7. Through Changes - Cricco Castelli
8. Indo Silver Club, Pt. 1 - Daft Punk
9. Feel the Same [Sneak's Dub] - Triple X
10. Hot Soup - Inland Knights
11. Disco Mania - Stacy Kidd
12. Let Love Enter - Stacy Kidd
13. Popcorn - Jetseb
14. Simon Says Bounce - Kings of Tomorrow
15. '80's Throwback [90's Comeback]
16. Computer Madness [D'julez Remix] - Steve Poindexter
17. Classic Vibe - Backroom Productions
18. Way of Life [Sneak Dub]
19. Breathe Don't Stop [Blakkat's Blakacid Vox] - Jungle Brothers
20. House of Mouths [D's Piece of the Pie Remix] - Mike Dixon
21. Fantasize [D's Re-Edit] - Rob Mello