Listening to a recent live mix up of DJ SS and Twisted Individual earlier in the day, I was anticipating some heavy, heavy drum and bass. So packed up on energy drinks I buzzed on over to Tantra, to get my fix of big bad bass.

It was surprisingly empty upon entry, especially considering there were four internationals billed for the night. UK garage stalwarts Storm and Lombardo were manning the decks during the open to midnight slot tonight and a handful of people on the dance floor were grooving to a style of music that seemed inappropriately soft, considering the punch that SS and Twisted were renowned for. But is it possible for garage to be hard? Storm and Lombardo were throwing in bits and pieces of house, booty and breaks for variety, and while it was solid set, it didn’t seem to impress anyone around.

The floor began to pack up though as local boy Ritual took to the decks with antic by his side, showing that it was drum and bass’ night. Ritual tempered the mood by playing some heavier tracks and went as far as playing three different mixes of Roni Size’s ‘Snapshot’. The local MCs began to file up to the booth for a vocal bash, but I had to take a brief seat at this stage because I was blinded by the misdirected strobe above the DJ booth.

I was back on the floor at the introduction of SS and his opener ‘Space hopper’ which got me into bounce mode. An automatic impression on the crowd, I think most were pleased to finally get to see the men they paid to see. SS played a host of tracks like ‘Champion sound’ and ‘Capoera’, blending jazzier dubs with other mighty anthems. He even dropped Shy FX’s ‘Shake Your Body’ and everyone lapped it up -even though I don’t think most people would like to admit it. He even threw in a bit of house for a minute there. I couldn’t tell if he was grooving, nodding his approval or both but it was top notch and he seemed to enjoy it.

Going back to back, Twisted Individual appeared without his trademark gimp mask giving the crowd some very dark and spacey tracks. This man was not soft, throwing in the likes of ‘Planet Dust’ and other dance floor mutilators. Bass must be one of Twisted’s best friends but unfortunately treble wasn’t, and as SS and Twisted turned up the volume on their sonic assault, a number of eardrums were being pierced by the high and distorted treble. Conflict, with who I assumed were venue management, and the DJs arose over the volume and slowly also partly due to their 2am start punters began to leave.

The MCs struggled to rhyme as the boys began to drop some of their more experimental dubs with displaced beats. It was interesting to note the reaction of SS to some of the local MCs who seemed unimpressive and even bad. I think the only individual that has made an impact recently is MC Science who has managed to throw in some audible rhymes and remain tasteful enough to let the music take precedence over the emceeing.

The volume situation reached it climax when the management pulled the plug on the night just after 3am, an hour before SS and Twisted were scheduled to finish. There were disappointed punters all around.

It seemed that the little things got in the way of a great night tonight. But if SS and Twisted Individual would be so nice as to grace our city once more, I would definitely catch them again.