I had only heard positive things about WAYLA Bar and Lounge, an intimate bar and lounge in Leslieville. As a person who lives in the downtown core, I was apprehensive about crossing the mighty Yonge Street for Saturday night shenanigans, but I had to check out this space for myself. Boy was it was worth it.
I arrived at 9:30 to a light flashing different colours to the sounds being played by Toronto DJ, Hey! DW for the first installment of the new monthly DEBAUCHERY. Walking in WAYLA I was struck by how small, long and welcoming the space was, you can see the back patio from the entrance. The smaller space has a big room, all-over sound. Hey! DW had been giving the crowd a selection of house hits but the dance floor did not see the first dancers busting their dance moves until David Morales Reconstruction of Daft Punk’s Get Lucky could be heard coming through the speakers.
The dance crowd had been steadily growing larger as Deko-Zewas setting up to hit the decks after his interview with Miss Raquel. He continued building upon the exploratory energy Hey! DW had created. Twenty minutes into Deko-Ze’s set the energy in the room electrified as attendance grew to capacity with the arrival of fans from RuPaul’s Drag Race: Battle of the Seasons at The Danforth Music Hall. Now the party had started.
There is something magical about seeing a Deko-Ze set outside the Comfort Zone. The night is still young, your legs are not jelly from dancing all night, and you are not on your third or fourth wind at 7:30 a.m. Both locations bring the same thing, the beat pumping through you body as you dance the night away. The ambiance within WAYLA was electrifying. The mostly older crowd was showing off their moves on the dance floor. From the subtle head bob of dancers in front of the DJ booth, to the full body movements of the more enthused, everyone was feeling the groove. The bartenders were even taking part while mixing cocktails.
Deko-Ze relied on his expertise to take us on a house journey playing tracks I have not heard in ages. There are three songs in the world that no matter if it is the original or a remix, I will always dance my heart out, and one such song is I Want to Dance with Somebody by the late Whitney Houston. I was too humbled to ask Deko-Ze what remix was playing, just know that I left it all out on the dance floor. Most notable song I have not heard in a while was My Digital Enemy – Wrong.
The night started to wind down but there was the last resurgence on the dance floor. You can still see the large impact Michael Jackson has in music. The intro to Gotta Be Starting Something started playing over the speakers. Those in attendance must have been saving the best moves for last as some of the craziest dance moves I have witnessed in a long time were on display. I am all for expressing oneself through movement and boy, did everyone deliver. Fancy footwork, mesmerizing arm movements and what I like to call the classic “circle-your-shoulders-opposite-to-the-movement-of-your-hips-with-a-serious-look-on-your-face” dance move was happening across the floor.
I can’t wait to the next DEBAUCHERY to happen at WAYLA in February. For now keep tabs on both Hey! DW and Deko-Ze’s social media for future appearances in Toronto.
Adele is the owner of Tranceported. She manages and maintains the social media and the photo and video teams, and has been shooting our event photos since 2011. She has been a fan of Trance music since the mid-90s and started this website (formerly called EDM TOR) in 2012.
