I had my first hint that Luvafair was something special when a few years ago, at a Sisters of Mercy show, a fellow dancing maniacally to 'Temple of Love' stepped on my toes and screamed at me, "This is just like Luvafair! You're too young to know what that is!"

I had my first hint that Luvafair was something special when a few years ago, at a Sisters of Mercy show, a fellow dancing maniacally to 'Temple of Love' stepped on my toes and screamed at me, "This is just like Luvafair! You're too young to know what that is!"

But I had a chance to find out. On May 28, Celebrities hosted a reunion Luvafair club night complete with original DJs Cevin Key and Stephen R. Gilmore. Luvafair was a Vancouver club in the 80s and early 90s where anyone interested in underground new wave, punk, postpunk and industrial would head down to hear. Cevin Key is now known for a multitude of projects, including his work in Skinny Puppy, The Tear Garden, and Download (among others). Steven R. Gilmore has gone on to do artwork for a number of bands, and is considered important in defining the visual aesthetic of Skinny Puppy.

I walked in early to find Key already on the decks spinning "Being Boiled", a classic early Human League track. The 80s underground hits kept coming with tracks by Fad Gadget, Visage, Orchestral Manouevers in the Dark, English Beat, D.O.A., and Roxy Music. More mainstream hits like Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love' and New Order's 'Blue Monday' not surprisingly packed the dance floor, but it was The Normal's Warm Leatherette that first got the dance floor moving while models from Flaming Angels showed off the store's latest designs on a side stage. Key spun an amazing and wide-reaching set that lasted for several hours; music started moving into more mundane territory with standard 80s hits as the night went on and Key stopped DJing in order to sign merchandise. The major downside to the night was an okay but not spectacular turnout, no doubt due to the steep $25 cover charge and competition from the New York Dolls, who were playing in town the same night – making for a little too much retro post-punk goodness for Vancouver to handle in just one night.

The setlist:

1 Messages OMD

2 voice of buddah /Being Bolied human league

3 For Germans IIV

4 Rickys hand/Rickys Hand dub Fad Gadget

5 Burning Car John Foxx

6 warm leatherette the normal

7 far too frail skinny puppy

8 public image public image

9 forest cure

10 transmission joy division

11 quiet life japan

12 same old scene roxy music

13 fade to grey visage

14 film 2 grauzone

15 empire state human human league

16 dOA disco sucks

17 twist and crawl english beat

18 Frustration 4B2

19 turning Japanese Vapors

20 we are glass gary numan

21 dreaming of me depeche mode

22 knowhere GIRL B-movie

23 everythings gone green new order

24 state of shock PT 2 silicon teens

25 electricity OMD

26. Breaking glass bowie

27. Shack up certain ratio

28 fascist groove thang heaven 17

29. Secret life Material

30. Dream baby dream suicide

31 tainted love soft cell

32 Is Vic There Dept s

33. Blue Monday New Order

34. Jezebel Spirit david Byrne/ ENO

35. Lucinda certain ratio