MOS Club Nation 33 1/3 Stage feat DJ Krush @ The Globe, Perth (17/05/03)
When Saturday evening, May 17th rolled around, I was exhausted. Getting ready to go out was a weary experience for myself and also for my housemate, who was suffering from a “Grandmaster” sized hangover and bleating quietly about staying in for a night slumped in front of the TV. These were inauspicious beginnings for a night that turned out to involve hip-hop mastery, socialite madness and even a meeting with the great man himself, DJ Krush ...
But back to the start of the night. It was only when the starry yellow band was clamped around my wrist that I started to perk up a little and look forward to seeing a legend in action. On the way to the Globe, via Metros, we passed clumps and clusters of easily identifiable eager-beaver clubbers on their way to a big night out. It was somewhat disappointing, then, to arrive at the Globe and find the barest minimum of people – and this was 11:00! I put this down to the fact that the hip-hop massive were probably still sporting, er, massive hangovers from the previous night, so we settled in to wait and see what would happen.
By midnight, it was still a fairly poor showing, but Karisma started to take the sound up a notch, dropping such classics as LL Cool J’s I’m bad and encouraging one or two brave souls to boogie on to the dance floor. He also paid homage to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five with the classic White Lines and finally kicked this tired old reviewer into gear with the marvellous Holy Calamity by Handsome Boy Modelling School. It was here the makings of a ‘big night out’ started to germinate and the last vestiges of exhaustion were shaken away in favour of big stupid grins and wiggling asses.
By the end of Karisma’s set the room was a wee bit busier, and glowsticks were beginning to make an appearance, a sight never before seen at a hip-hop gig! Armee took the stage after a bit of to-and-froing, just as the faithful started to arrive in droves. He worked some old favourites like De La Soul into the mix, as well as giving a nod to his posse by dropping Downsyde’s El Questro, a huge favourite with the growing crowd. What followed was a smooth run to Krush time, with mellow, funky hip-hop and an occasional sniff of the Beasties for a gently grooving dance floor.
The dichotomy of the crowd was interesting and it was a welcome change from genre-specific nights out; in this pleasant atmosphere, wide-eyed, bouncy chicks danced alongside laidback hip-hop heads in perfect harmony. A few minutes before the arrival Krush, the Globe suddenly swelled to capacity and the audience was up and at ‘em on the floor. Krush appeared on the main stage, red-lit and sudden and (according to my plus one D) looking like a rock star causing a sudden shift in crowd focus and a reverent hush to settle over the venue.
It must be said that Krush really is a master of his craft. The early part of his set saw him barely look up from the decks; he is obviously practiced to the point of honed perfection and, while playing, aware of little else but the tweaking of knobs and buttons. His arrival heralded mesmerising and ethereal sounds that washed over the room, an aural adventure that obviously resonated with the crowd. As the set progressed, a darker, harder sound emerged; spooky sounds overlaying crunchy hip-hop beats and smacking, unapologetic drums caused the devoted to raise their hands in the air and keep them there.
But it was obvious that you should not expect anything from Krush. From that darker middling ground, he journeyed into demented piano and deep, racketing beats, increasing the speed ever so slightly and aiding the descent into trancier territory. The music was deeply concentrated, his style seemingly effortless and so fluid that when his set had finished, he simply melted back into the ether from which he came. The crowd were left bedazzled and blinking, with most drifting away towards Metros in a kind of blissful state.
And it was at this point we had our brush with Krush. A short while after the very funky and beat driven Wato took to the stage, our dear friend and compadre for the night Pawel appeared and demanded that we follow him NOW. Dazed and reeling, we obliged and found ourselves outside and hanging out with the man himself! I wish I could tell you that a night of wild partying ensued, or that I managed to obtain a much coveted interview, bud sadly neither of these things occurred. We had to content ourselves with trotting alongside him adoringly and attempting to converse, despite the fact he speaks very little English and extends himself only to much bemused nodding and smiling. Still, it was a worthy venture and a fitting, star-studded end to our night. I can only apologise to the last DJ Buex for missing his set, but hey – when opportunity knocks …
Anyway, big ups to Krush and Co for providing me with yet another stellar night out and a head full of musical memories!
