I pride myself on being a drum n bass punter.  I’m not a ‘head’; I don’t know many of the producers, and even fewer of the tracks that I hear when I go to a gig.  For me, that’s part of the attraction – attending a DnB event is like discovering a whole new world of beats and sounds, all without the hype and expectation that more often than not seem to overshadow many club nights, regardless of the music policy.

So it was with some hesitation that I took the massive praise Shapeshifter have been receiving of late on board.  ‘The next big thing’ is not a title I would wish to be weighing heavy above my own head.  However, it seems the boys from NZ are well on their way.  Releasing their full length album ‘Riddim Wise’ earlier this year to huge critical acclaim (with inclusion in the inthemix.04 mag top albums list), making the move to Melbourne, playing the Terminal 9 tour and securing charismatic vocalist P-Diggs to the line-up, not to mention smashing up dancefloors wherever they go has put them in good stead to blow up not only in this country, but abroad as well.

As seems to be the case with most of my nights out recently, I turned up late and already on my way to making a fool of myself (keep in mind as you read on that I was not initially asked to write this review, I’m filling in after the organised reviewer had to leave due to food poisoning - apologies for any missing or completely inaccurate details!)  It was close to 1am, Shuey was finishing up his set and as per usual, had the dancefloor jumping already.  Being my first visit to The Basement, I was immediately impressed.  As I stood behind the dancefloor I could see the entire stage from my raised viewpoint, and although the night was visibly sold out, there was still room to move and importantly, have a dance near the bar.

Shuey finished up proceedings and crew went to work setting up the stage for Shapeshifter’s arrival.  Already this was starting to feel more like a live gig than your average DJ line-up.  As the headliners burst onto stage, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sound.  Not ear-piercingly loud, but full and warm.  It was all consuming bass that seemed to fixate everyone on the five people before them.  It wasn’t long though before Shapeshifter had the crowd bouncing all over the place.  Fairly minimal, but intelligent lighting from on stage was all that allowed negotiation of the tightly packed dancefloor. 

If there was to be a complaint of the night, it was that everyone wanted to be upfront.  There was a mild crush to get as close to the stage as possible and see these musicians in action.  For that is what Shapeshifter are.  Musicians, and a talented bunch at that.  Live drums, guitar, keyboards, saxophone and vocals continued to build tracks that were barely believable as coming from the instruments on stage.  And that was because they weren’t… at least not entirely.  After speaking to people after the show, “how the #&@% did they get those sounds from keyboards???” it was explained to me that there was a sixth member hiding in the shadows.  Tiki Taane from Salmonella Dub was using a mixing desk like another instrument, madly evolving the sounds being produced on stage into something so massive that it was shaking the ground outside.

The addition of P-Diggs to their live show seems to have been an excellent move.  His intimidating size, tattoos and hair give way to soulful vocals that compliment the rest of their music without trying to drown it out.  As a figurehead, he also fits the bill well.  He even dances away happily on stage whilst he’s not singing – as do the rest of the band.  Each of the members of Shapeshifter seem to really love what they’re doing, and this passion translates through their music and onto the dancefloor.  The crowd loved every minute and screamed them not only back for an encore, but begged for more as they left after a very sweaty set, just short of two hours.

Stepping up to the plate, Eli answered the question of “how do you follow up a ball-tearingly massive Shapeshifter set?”.  Whilst a large portion of the crowd left as soon as Shapeshifter’s drumsticks had hit the ground, it merely freed up the dancefloor for some serious rug-cutting action.  A quick look around the room saw smiling faces and hands in the air for what was one of the finest drum and bass DJ sets I have seen all year. 

Regardless of the many internationals that have graced our golden shores of late, we need to look no further for the future of DnB talent than our own backyard.  Eli tore the B52 sound system installed by the Break and Enter boys, completely apart.  Cheering and shouting for the complete duration of his set made it also one of the most appreciative crowds I have seen in some time.  Once again, Moving Through Air showed what faith in great music can produce – a deserved third birthday bash!