Boogie knights

Balis (far left), Cho (center), and the gang

Photo: Chris Gwyn

The DJ booth has long been the command center of any self-respecting dance emporium, as anyone who’s recently raised their hands in the air—and waved them like they just didn’t care—can attest. But in days of yore (i.e., until the late ’80s), the stage played a complementary role in filling NYC’s dance floors. Clubbers of a certain age may remember Sylvester at the Saint asking the crowd if they wanted to funk with him, or minimalist sister act ESG throwing down at the final night of Paradise Garage, or New York Doll David Johansen road testing his Buster Poindexter shtick at the World.

Old-timers, meet Escort.

The group, formed in 2005 by Dan Balis, Eugene Cho and Darius Maghen, is bringing back live dance, but not by perfecting a performance-based version of some newfangled sound like dubstep or minimal techno. Instead, the band delves into dance music’s history, and has taken on disco—actual disco, not some ironic hipster version—as its calling card. Escort is pure, real-deal glitterball magic.

“We never really set out to make something that sounded old,” explains Balis, Escort’s guitarist, and one of the band’s 14 members. “We just listen to the records we listen to and are influenced by that music, and ultimately that informs what we do. And we largely listen to disco.” Cho, the band’s keyboardist, looks at it from a purely practical viewpoint. “It comes from our deejaying background. At the kind of gigs that we had, the music we played that made people dance more than any other kind was disco.”

Fans dance at Escort’s live shows as well, generating a refreshing change from the typical “Look, there’s a band—let’s stop dancing and stare at them” reaction that live acts often elicit in nightclubs. “We just played a couple of gigs last weekend, and everyone was pogoing!” Cho says with a hint of wonder in his voice. “And those were at Princeton and Haverford, which are probably not disco hotbeds.”

This city, however, is one of the genre’s epicenters. “New York, with the Garage and the Loft and everything, has such a disco legacy,” Balis says. “We particularly love the music that came out on [NYC] labels like West End and Prelude, and all those pseudo bands that were actually studio creations of Rinder & Lewis [the production team behind El Coco, Saint Tropez and many others]. And anything connected to August Darnell, of course!”

Revelers at last year’s Warm Up series were treated to a bit of August Darnell–style razzle-dazzle when Escort took the stage. Two smoking-hot vocalists, horns, strings and a chugging, Latin-percussion–enhanced rhythm section all made for an extravaganza to rival anything from disco’s heyday. And Escort isn’t the only band to make the connection between live performance and dancing: Acts ranging from the funk-fueled Pimps of Joytime and Louie Vega’s Latin-jazz ensemble Elements of Life to the electro-obsessed Juan MacLean and Mark Verbos’s one-man acid-house experience have all made forays onto the dance floor in the past few years.

Still, Escort’s chosen genre leaves an opening for those who might accuse it of being a mere novelty act. “It’s true that when most people think disco, they’ll think of John Travolta or Disco Stu,” Cho says. “But we just love the music. There’s so much production and musicianship in it.”

Darshan Jesrani, a longtime friend and supporter who’s a member of the acclaimed nu-disco production team Metro Area, agrees. “I really think there is potential for them to get a really big audience,” he says. “And I certainly don’t think of them as being retro at all. I mean, I like this music right now—and I think a lot of other people do too. To me, they’re just a party band, you know? People love to see a bunch of musicians onstage, and people love to dance, so who wouldn’t love it?”

To celebrate its new single, “All Through the Night,” Escort plays Studio B Jun 22.

Also in this issue:

• Ticket masters: Trying to score seats to a sold-out show? Savvy concertgoers reveal eight proven strategies to get you in.
• Win our concert tickets: Want to see some of the hottest acts of the summer? One great photo is all you need.
  • Contest 1: the Police (Meet our winner.)
  • Contest 2: Lily Allen (Meet our winner.)
  • Contest 3: Rock the Bells (Meet our winner.)
  • Contest 4: Live Earth (Meet our winner.)
• Attack of the McVenue: This summer, you’ll find seven fresh clubs, many with connections to big corporations. Does this signal a golden age or Golden Arches for live music?
• Live from New York: The stage, the bathroom and everything in between: Our music staff grades seven of the summer’s newest spots for live music.
• Are new clubs a good thing?: We want to know how you feel.
• Boogie knights: Escort ditches the DJ, bringing back live disco (that’s a good thing, we promise).
• Download-worthy discs: These albums are dropping like it's hot—because it is!
• Summer concerts: June: Your comprehensive calendar to this month's music in New York
• Summer concerts: July: Your comprehensive calendar to this month's music in New York
• Summer concerts: August: Your comprehensive calendar to this month's music in New York
• Summer performers on YouTube: You've heard the songs, but how do these artists stack up live? We give you a taste of their performance mettle.
• Take it outside: Download a block-rocking map of this summer’s outdoor concert venues