Danny Howells & James Curd at Bump n Funk vs Drop @ The Empire (07/11/08)
Four hours of Danny Howells, two of James Curd, a dose of Sy-Fi and a whole lot of missed sleep. Was this Friday night going to be worth it? Chances are the answer was yes – Howells does, by all accounts, have the odd habit of keeping those dancing shoes shuffling away. Rumour has it the other two culprits do as well. Then again, if it turns out things aren’t quite so rosy they are playing at Empire, and mischief is never far around the corner for those looking for it.
A big/bigger ticket booking is James Curd of Greenskeepers fame, heir apparent of Chi-Town boogie and all that is good in house music. The problem is that everything he’s playing isn’t quite singing his praises. ‘Body Language’, that god awful remix of ‘American Boy’? Power to a man who is happy to play for the masses, but when playing mere hours before another international so vehemently opposed to that very idea it’s an approach somewhat out of place – even if there’s a full dancefloor. Simply put, there are plenty of other places to go in Brisbane with plenty of other DJs who likely cost a great deal less where the exact same music can be heard played with the exact same skill. On the other hand, Sy-Fi – the man soon to depart our shores – delivered what the very name of the evening promotes, a good dose of bump and funk. His music provided a sort of equaliser between the rowdiness of Curd’s set and what is doubtless to come with Danny Howells. The packed dancefloor makes it clear; Sy-Fi will be missed by more than a few.
So far on his visits to Brisbane he’s had a massive gig at an unlikely venue, and another potentially massive one hi-jacked by Radio One DJ and all round super-twat Fergie. Yes, it’s Danny Howells, and there may as well be pools of drool seeping into the floor boards tonight, with many waiting in anticipation of the Moonbar getting a complete rinse out. Howells is not a DJ prone to playing anything remotely obvious, he revels in taking the potential energy of more obscure tracks and turns them into a narrative all his own. It’s safe to say he takes his sweet time pushing that narrative anywhere substantial. He favours stripped back house music, but the deft skill with which he works it is absolutely engrossing. Besides, with four hours to play with who doesn’t muck about a little? The ever present (scarily male dominated!) crowd seemed to agree.
