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So I guess its a good time to have a bit of a retrospective look at all the gigs that went down in August. Beginning the month was Air2, a cool little party for a great cause down at the Lava Lounge. The line up was 100% local and featured a mixture of drum n bass and house with a splash of trance thrown in for good measure. They raised a bit of cash for the CBCs case against Transit NZ regarding the Motorway extension.

Following this was Kemistry and Storm, they absolutely rocked a packed ex-Metro on Thursday the 6th. This was Wellington's first Jungle international for the year. Put on by Discotek with a little help from Wellys Jungle Massive they pulled off a great party and proved that Wellington is still keen to be treated to a good drum n bass rinse out. A live appearance by 50hz and deck support from Sean and Ruffstep rounded out a wicked evening.

The following Thursday Stacey Pullen made a long awaited return to Wellington. I cruised along with nothing but good memories of his appearance at the Gate 3 in 1996, I was not to be disappointed. Hands down the party of the month, Stacey played 4 hours of the most sublime and soulful techno I have ever heard. Top notch selections, mad crazy mixing skills and an up for it crowd all contributed to the amazing vibe. Support was provided by S-ence regulars Cyrus, Cuff, and Coda.

A couple of nights later Mark Farina played the Atrium out the back of the Judder Bar. I never made it to this but from what I heard as far as house goes it dont get much better. Mark played an epic 6 hour set and kept it tight, seamless and funky all the way through. Props to Discotek for another great party.

Back on the local side of things u-Entity present Formations on the 22nd, a cool evening of breaks and beats down at the Lava Lounge. Billed as a night of head to head mixing, I saw very little 4 deck action. However things were kept rolling by Grasshopper, Sean, Ruffstep, Conspiracy and Pots from Auckland. A live appearance by Overwash vs Megalon provided a welcome distraction from the drum n bass pressure.

The 29th of August was a particularly busy evening about town. With 2 parties on and both showing great potential. I managed to make it to both. Firstly I checked out the Underground Sound of Sweden, referred to by many as the titty rave because of the excellent flyers and posters. I found it a little disappointing, the Swedes played for a good 4 hours and mixed up tech house and some very stomping techno. They had great skills but I found the music to be a little uninspiring so I hit it up to the James Cabaret where Basstech were having a party called Freefall. Got there just as Salmonella Dub were starting up, as usual they proved why they are regarded as one of the best bands in the country. Providing the perfect soundtrack for my irie state they played a mixture of some newer material and some old classics. Stayed and checked out the Nomad as well. He was also good but kinda lacked a little something. I think its just because hes still playing much of the music from his CD and could defiantly do with some fresher material. However some great MC ing courtesy of Paora from Police Lucifer livened things up.