Showing up early enough to catch the first act, because I'm like that.
Two mc's and one dj hyping it up early and getting a small but dedicated crowd grooving on the dancefloor, Dazed + Flawlezz were mighty impressive. Ok, in all honesty, I wasn't hardcore enough and only managed to catch the last few tunes. But still, they were nice, dubby, bass heavy hip hop tunes that sounded neat and original.
Budspells. I didn't know much about them. Based in Bondi, lead man maybe used to be in my old favs Wicked Beat Sound System. Anyway, again, mighty impressive business going down early in the Forum tonight. Drum'n bass and hip hop with a touch of some bigbeat thing going on there. I couldn't stop myself from moving even if I tried.
Note I said "moving", because "dancing" would be too generous a term for what I get up to.
Greg Packer. Ok, so he's had big tunes released world wide and he's a bit of a superstar dj now. But totally not fair that he just puts on a record and the dancefloor doubles in size. Where was the love when the last two acts were on? I mean, it's no bad thing, Greg Packer did a wicked job. Having never caught him before, I was afraid it was gonna be a bit mellow, laid back. But that always was foolish thinking. You can take the drum'n bass out of hardcore, but you can't ever really take the hardcore out of drum'n bass. Smashing set.
Thief'n Raskool or whatever they're called. Turntables and sampler. Kinda neat. I could dig it. But then if I was in charge, they would have been the first act. Neat and cheeky tune selection, like something I'd expect from a Ninja Tunes Solid Steel radio show. Hip hop stylee. But are the organisers trying to slow things down or bring the mood down or what?
James De La Cruz. I don't know what the story is. Is he still part of the Avalanches or what? Well, anyway, I guess if you missed out on being disappointed by turntable antics at the DJ Shadow gig, you can get disappointed by turntable antics here. There were flashes of brilliance, but it wasn't what some people had hyped it up to be. An awesome bit for me was like a simple house beat and a dull pure-tone bass being scratched up like crazy early in the set. Anyway, I thought this was a drum'n bass gig. Budspells deserved this time slot.
Shapeshifter. Ah, Shapeshifter. Just saying that brings a smile back on my face. That's why I had to say it twice. Once again, mind blowing, awesome, world class, lovely... I could go on and on. Two man on technologies, a bass guitar, saxophone, vocals, drum kit... hope I haven't left anything out. Lovely, musical, yet still heavy and rocking drum'n bass business. Mr. P-Digss up front looking like a tough mother fucker but filling the room with love non stop. Smooth and heavy drum'n bass stylee. mmm-mmm. Loved it when they played two or three of other people's tunes, representing their influences and inspiration. Is there a single bad word I can say about their set? Well, I think I may have had a better time seeing them at the Basement year and a half ago. Or is it over two years now? But really, that probably says more about the awesomeness of that last show than any failings in this one. Lovely, lovely, world class, under appriecated, catch them before they blow up big and sell out massive venues in an hour like they really deserve.
Felt like I haven't danced like this in ages.
The next day, my legs felt like they haven't ached like this in ages. But of course, I'd do it all again in a flash. Boh!