Roni Size & Dynamite MC @ The Empire, Brisbane (21/02/09)

Scaling the Empire stairs past the dull thud of the middle bar to reach the moon bar, it was interesting to compare the atmospheres. As we arrived, de la Haye hadn’t taken long to warm up and was already filling the floor in record time. When she supportedShapeshifter last year it was clear that she had a good eye for the crowd, and in turn a good ear for the music that would fit the mood of the room perfectly. Tonight’s set was very different from what I’d heard previously, but once again it fit the atmosphere perfectly.

De la Haye had the perceptive skill and sense to realise not to blast the crowd with hardcore DnB beats too early on, instead she excelled in spending her set gearing them up for what was to come. Unfortunately that set did not last as long as it should have, as de la Haye had to make way half an hour early. I always enjoy her sets so it was particularly disappointing to have it cut short, however it proved that she didn’t need the full hour and a half to get the night started as by the time D-Ron and Freddy Phumetook over the floor was full, the heat was hot and the room was ready to go.

Along with Lincoln and MC Plush, the aforementioned provided an immense warm up, to the point where some of the more uninitiated in a night dedicated to DnB looked like they might fade before Roni even showed. Luckily such blistering sets, that only had the occasional slippery moment, were so intense they had everyone upright and moving right up until the main act. Even the stalwarts of immovability at the back were nodding their heads. For everyone else, though, the air couldn’t have gotten any thicker with anticipation, and as soon as Roni Size stepped through the door – long before he had a chance to take to the turntables – a massive cheer went up and it was time for the night to hit fifth gear.

He came out with all smiles, only briefly pausing to drink the crowd in before getting down to it. He left the vocal proceedings to Reprazent cohort Dynamite MC, who had the task of whipping the crowd into a frenzy. While Roni’s focused but relaxed face could only be seen vaguely lit up by the blue glow of his Mac laptop, it was Dynamite who really defined the gig. His lyrical skills were soundly on display and rang out through moon bar to the delight of everyone in the room. There was, of course, the old Jamrock “murder” routine that’s popular with ragga MCs around the world, but it was used to good effect here, and not so much that it got tedious. Aside from that, Dynamite was on top form and always moved with the fast-paced beats that Size was doling out.

The art of good drum and bass is that even though you may be completely knackered and feel like you can’t go on, the next swell overrides your brain telling you to sit down and recuperate, and instead it forces you back out onto the floor. Indeed, as my other half said, “You go see dance when you want to pick up, you go see dnb when you want to dance.” Roni spent his two hour set working over some old favourites, some nice new tunes and some leftfield choices, such as an interesting bassy dubstep reworking of Seven Nation Army. The focus however was on the raw energy of lashing drum and bass tracks that never let up throughout the two hours.

It is easy to see why Roni is the best of the best when it comes not only to DnB in general, but more specifically his DJing, because it was extremely difficult to leave the floor even when the parched throat needed refreshment. With a new album coming, and another Reprazent release coming also, 2009 is going to quite a year for Roni Size, and if Saturday night was anything to go by it’s going to be massive.

Kid Koala @ The Step Inn, Brisbane (15/02/2009)

Upon arrival at the Stepp Inn the Terntable Jediz, were in full flow and seemed to be having fun scratch battling against each other over the top of a nice selection of hip hop greats. There were some nice turntable skills on display, if at times a little distorted due to some over-amped levels. It was DJ Sheep who must have noticed that their set was becoming a bit directionless as he took over the reigns and showed off some of his individual skills, displaying some well developed proficiency when working over two of the same record.

Soon enough the crowd were treated to some turntablism expertise with the sounds of early 90s hip hop classics providing the backing track and giving the skills on display some added clout. DJ Damage then took a turn and showed off a good eye for rhythm and style, with a nicely mashed together slice of Coldcut’s Beats & Pieces gelling with aRapture vocal.

It was Sheep however who really led the Jediz through the night, aware that he had to keep the crowd engaged and pumped for Kid Koala. This worked for the most part, and playing old favourites such as Insane in the Membrane did do their job of getting the few people who inhabited the floor moving. As the back catalogue of hip hop classics ended, it was the turn of the back catalogue of reggae greats to keep the floor moving.

It was clear that Sheep had gauged the mood of the room pretty well; after his first attempt at crowd participation failed he simply stopped the track and tried again, and they were getting the hang of repeatedly shouting ‘Ho!” by the time the Jediz had to pack up and make way for the Canadian Godfather of Turntablism, but it was clear that although the growing crowd were conveying a sense of restraint, they were willing to have fun.

There couldn’t have been, then, a better time for Kid Koala (AKA Eric San) to come on. I’ve never seen a Kid Koala set lacking in energy and sheer enjoyment, and tonight was no different. No matter what mood the crowd is in or what kind of form a Kid Koala set takes, there is always fun at its foundation. One particular reason why I enjoy a DJ of San’s calibre is the fact that he can do with records what others can only dream about doing on their Mac with the latest music software.

The sad thing is that such DJs are fast becoming a rare breed as many would rather choose to bring their entire music collection in one handy to pack CD wallet and spend their six hour set loading, mixing, and even scratching using the touch of a few buttons. As the man himself said, “I like playing good old fashioned records on good old fashioned record players,” which is just one of the reasons why Kid Koala is special.

He started off the set strongly with some Slew Test blistering greatness from Your Mom’s Favourite DJ which had the room on its feet early. But sadly this didn’t last. San, therefore, was clearly going to have his work cut out for him if he didn’t want those feet to stop.

It is always interesting to watch a DJ reading the audience and reacting in turn to them. Often times the case is, in Brisbane, that DJs have to work for their adulation. San, however, saw this more as an opportunity than a discouraging challenge. Crying out, “clap your hands” to the crowd as the sample relayed the same sentiment repeatedly was not enough for Kid Koala. He is only satisfied that you’re having fun when he’s in the crowd actually reminding people how to. Another rare quality in a DJ.

A fault more of the crowd then, that when the impeccable Skany Panky was brought out it was a little too early. This funky ska jazz gem is possibly the most fun on Kid’s third release and so was somewhat lost on a Brisbane crowd that needed to be reminded how to clap their hands. Kid obviously saw this simply as part of the opportunity rather than a reason to dilute his set, and in so doing didn’t let the crowd dampen the enthusiasm of the improvised scratching he laid over the track.

This strategy soon hit paydirt and it took the form of the soon-to-be-trademarked Turntable Thumb Wrestling Battle…with Foley! Using a very nice little pocket sampler and two willing participants, Kid Koala refereed a thumb war acted out on one of the turntables whilst adding his own schlock sound effects using the nifty portable gadget. It was a fair fight and only a needle came away with minor battle scars.

After the crowd’s cheers declared the winner it was straight back into the beats. The tactic had clearly paid off as the crowd found new energy and San certainly squeezed as much of it out of them as he could. The rest of the set was a beautifully constructed shambles of big beats all mixed up with jazzy tunes.

Throwing in a nicely hectic Roboshuffle was a particularly enjoyable touch as it was the first Kid Koala track I was introduced to back in the good old days of John Peel. The track also showed off San’s technical brilliance also. He had already shown, from his skill in mixing between two Moon River records, the liquidity with which the fader can seamlessly move between the two. But with chopping between the two Roboshuffle samples with a speed and unmatched technical proficiency such as his, San showed that he can maintain this fluidity in his scratching whilst jacking up the speed six times faster than other DJs dream about.

The night ended with a wonderful concotion consisting of that old crowd pleaser Drunk Trumpet, a choice example of how awesome Daedalus is, and the wonderful marriage between Jessica Rabbit and Amon Tobin’s Natureland. This encore perfectly summed up San’s many different styles and influences, but more importantly, it displayed his mastery over all of them.

He left the stage looking enlivened and contented; the challenge had been well met and the opportunity well and truly taken. Not a bad way to spend your last night in Oz.