Friday, December 23, 2005

DMZ 7th January 2006

What a start to the year. For those that didn't make it, Saturday night saw a precedent being set. The gauntlet has been thrown down. 2006 is here, and the DMZ crew are leading the way.

3rd Base in Brixton was rammed by 11'o clock in time to hear Bristol's own dubplate don Pinch rolling out the heavyweight dubstep selection we have come to expect. Random Trio's 'Gutter', Distance’s ‘Temptation’ and Pinch’s own 'Qawwali' and 'Live with it' being personal highlights. Nuff respect!

Next up, Rinse FM’s inimitable DJ Chef accompanied by DMZ’s resident MC Sgt. Pokes, whose cries of ‘Chef! Peel it!’ (once Chef had whipped the crowd into a reload craving frenzy) always makes me chuckle. Those who caught Chef at Dubloaded at The Croft in Bristol know what the man is capable of, and believe me the dance floor was heaving.

By the time the DMZ crew stepped up to the decks, 3rd Base had reached unprecedented levels of anticipation. Even the intro tune had to be rewound! A two hour onslaught of bass pressure ensued. Tonight was their night, a set to remember. Pure vibes. Mala and Loefah have such an armoury of tunes that even so far unreleased tracks such as ‘Haunted’ and ‘Changes’ can surely be considered as bonafide DMZ classics. In fact the most memorable part of the evening was Mr Blackdown calmly striding the full length of the room to pull up ‘Antiwar Dub’.

Hatcha had the impossible task of following DMZ, but with help from Crazy D on the mic, he stepped up and represented to the fullest. The original dubstep DJ.

By the time Distance’s set began, the Guinness Exports had fully kicked in and I was resigned to a wall leaning position. Memories are hazy of this point in the evening, but I can remember enjoying hearing ‘Fallen’ with the sound turned up to 11, and Pinch demanding a reload of Distance’s mix of ‘Prayer’ by Random Trio. I’m gutted to admit I didn’t last for Kode 9’s Jungle set, but my dancing had been done. What a dance it was.

2006 is here.