Mar. 02, 2005 - Issue #489: Fool For Love

BPM

Brimful of Sasha

To be honest, it took me a few days to recover from last Thursday’s Sasha gig at the Standard; I was so bagged, in fact, that I didn’t even make it out for Junior Brown’s birthday party at Halo last Saturday, which was a real shame since I’m completely in love with the new look of the room. And Junior finally got a haircut. Swank all the way, ladies.

Back to the Sasha. I didn’t get to the Standard until past midnight, well after Steve Porter had whipped the packed house into a frenzy, but Alexander Coe was clearly the real show. Unleashing a relentless assault of rhythm, Sasha spent over two hours splicing together tracks with his laptop and futuristic custom mixer. It was well after two when I decided to leave, the strains of Jacques Lu Cont’s brilliant remix of the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” echoing to a conclusion—a track so good, I had to play it on my radio show that Saturday.

Sadly, the Sasha show took a toll on another gig that deserved a better fate. Despite a modest turnout at the Victory Lounge that same Thursday night, Matthew Dear made the kids rock nonetheless with a live performance of his groovy minimal techno. While it’s great that a superstar like Sasha can roll into town and get people excited, it’s disappointing to see a worthwhile show getting the shaft.

Hopefully, Jake Fairley will see a booted-up crowd when he plays at the Victory tonight (Thursday) as part of Nik 7’s NRMLS WLCM weekly. Fairley’s stuff, recently captured on his most-awesome full-length Touch Not the Cat (available on Paperbag Records, home to Stars, Plastikman and Controller.Controller), is packed with devastating basslines, punching drums and glam-rock swagger. Tickets are available at the door.

You could start your night off over at the Back Room Vodka Bar, where the SubSound crew is throwing the pre-party for their DJ Craze party, which is dropping on Friday at the Starlite Room. Focus is a decent night, embracing all facets of broken beat, and this week features U.K. junglist Perfect Combination, a member of the legendary True Playaz and Moving Shadows units. Admission is free with your Craze ticket.

But the headz will be saving their energy for Friday night’s shaker at the Starlite, which will be a showcase for Miami’s Craze, one of the greatest deck innovators on the face of the earth. That isn’t empty hyperbole: Craze conquered the DMC World championships three years in a row, took down all comers in the International Turntablist Federation world finals, as well as the Zulu Nation and East Coast Rap Sheet battles.

Craze will be joined by Philadelphia MC Sharpness—who runs with MC Armanni in the group Mentally Sharp—Mumps, DJ Weaz-L and the Sub Sound crew. Tickets are available at Foosh and Underground WEM. And don’t front: this is open to anyone who digs the underground sound of hip hop or jungle.

Now that the waves of Sasha have subsided and I’ve caught up on my sleep, there’s news that Connected is pushing into spring in a huge way. First comes word that the voice of BBC Radio One’s Essential Selection, Pete Tong, is finally dropping into Edmonton on March 20 at Escape. And then, like an uppercut, comes the second bulletin—Felix Da Housecat is back on April 7 at the Standard. Meanwhile, Sasha’s longtime sparring partner John Digweed is hitting Calgary’s Outlaws nightclub on March 20 as well. And let’s not forget about the next Key to Ibiza party at Rum Jungle on March 17, this time with Lisa Lashes. Wham bam, kids.

And yeah, those RND guys are back with another costume party, also on March 17, this time at Halo. It’s called Techno Five-O, features Tryptomene, Neal K and yours truly, and we expect everyone to come dressed for the beach. On St. Patrick’s Day, no less. It might take more than a few days to recover this time. V

Listen to BPM with David Stone every Saturday at 6pm on CJSR-FM 88.5.

New comments for this entry have been turned off and any existing ones are hidden. We apologize for any inconvenience.