At 10pm I enter the Cooly Hotel, true international contingency tagging behind, and encounter the usual issues with entry into such premises – the French girl has no id and is wearing thongs, the Kiwi guy has no cash and left his credit card at home… none but the chopper-pilot from up the road looks as tho they belong. We head up stairs, head straight to the bar for some courage then stand back and nod head as about 40% of the 100 strong crowd go crazy, front and centre, as Ru CL finishes his set with the straight-down-the-line ‘How We Do It’. Now, ordinarily, when any MC begins his rhyme with ‘Uhhh Uhhh Yeahhhh Uhhh’ I turn off, but in this case, my first Ru CL encounter I have to say, the guy is brilliant and if you haven’t checked him out before, do so – right now.

We missed Fdel, but I take the break in sets as an opportunity to vox-pop the crowd and by all accounts we did indeed miss Fdel… quite a set, they say. I check the equipment, looking to see what the modern hip-hop act chooses to use and count 4 turntables, a laptop – yet no sign of the much-loved MPC. DJ Leroy Brown stays onstage as Kataylst comes on and takes us through a no-bones, solid hip-hop set, although it could have done without, IMHO, Missy Elliot & as much as I love them and hate to sound like a hater – the Beastie Boys. (I’d like to take this opportunity to remind the male punters that using deodorant before going to a gig, drinking & dancing, would be the polite thing to do…)

One thing was on my mind tonight – Koolism, or more to the point, Danielsan. Say what you will, I do not care; to me he is a living legend. A genius of the most extraordinary calibre and my respect for him both as a person and artist is large indeed. The best thing to come out of Canberra since porn & crackers, and like a politician throwing fists at taxi-drivers, Danielsan pulls no punches. Koolism take to the stage with no need for posturing or posing as so many hip-hop acts seem to like to do and it’s then the MPC comes out. Poking that MPC like a gigolo in a room full of high-class hoes, Danielsan shows us indeed that “it aint where you’re from – it’s where you’re at” as he and Hau roll through both older and much loved tracks combined with nu cuts from their recently released 4th album ‘New Old Ground’. Hau flows and Danielsan bumps us along with his steady-rockin’ jams and we’re blessed with a righteous display of his B-Boy skills. Shown up though, was he when a punter took to the stage and busted one hell of a big, fat move. Damn straight. Old schooler MattyB also takes to the mic, albeit momentarily and next thing a girl knows, the show’s over and everyone’s packing up and I’m falling out of the jeep and into the bushes.

All in all, I give this gig 10 great big gold stars and two very enthusiastic thumbs up. Cheers y’all!