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 Thursday proved a rather interesting night with lots of different scenes and sounds to experience (and no doubt pass judgement on). the Life Festival on Thursday was worth a look after getting over initial miss givings. tried to get into the Town Hall to see the whole hip hop thing in full action but the cue to get inside was not going anywhere and the experience of cuing was not exactly a pleasant (surrounded by over testosteroned boys clutching their tinny as they tried to push their way to the front). after safely surrounding myself within the comfort of my peer group, i managed to catch Gamut and Police Lucifer. Gamut have a nice take on groovy rock n roll without being blatantly so, whilst Police Lucifer on stage have about as much energy as the Beastie Boys - which is saying a lot for anyone who experienced them the last time they came through town. anyway, on from there to the Roots Foundation over at the Boatshed. that venue is the bomb. it's set in one of Welli's best spaces with the Waterfront on one side and the Civic Square on the other (although the sooner they tear up all the surrounding asphalt the better in my opinion). the balcony made the wicked chill out space. unfortunately what came out of the speakers did not quite wiggle my buttons in quite the way that i had hoped. Lemon laid down some beautiful reggae tunes which obviously had the crowd eating out of his hands. unfortunately i was waiting for something a bit more punchier sounding (having been brought up on techno and various other bastardizations of the dance music format) . the technical difficulties the gig continued to have through the evening didn't help matters, preventing a real groove being locked on to. Mu came on and i was hoping for a strong mix of abstract beats and jungle, given that most of the breakbeat heard in this town is on a more ravier trip. unfortunately this was not one of his standout sets and it left me craving for something different. i was impressed with the music 50hz was playing, obviously providing some strong drum n bass coming from these shores. unfortunately for someone brought up listening to turntables, when i listen to someones set, i'm comparing the performance to someone on SL1200's and not samplers and keyboards. i was speaking to Alan about this and you really have to be able to change the direction of your sound and respond to the audience if you want to provide an enhaced live experience. with d&b in its present stage i think for the time being the SL1200 is going to remain the most memorable format for the time being. K-Tel on next and like Mu provided a set that was not among his finest (and i've heard a few), although the latter part saw it tighten up a lot and again begin to work the crowd. unfortunately by that stage of the evening i was quite happy to bail despite being keen to see Nomad play (will check out this Thurday). alright night, but the Roots Foundations didn't rank among the two i hold most dearest when i left with one wigged out smile on my face. peace out Psecret |