Nutshell feat. Atomic Hooligan @ Star Hotel, Newcastle (22/03/03)
Note to all you trance DJs out there. Never hang out with breaks DJs. All they wanna do is make fun of you. At least this was my experience last Saturday night. But I’ll let you know more about that later.
Back to The Star Hotel for the third time for what seems to be an increasingly popular venue for Nutshell parties. Special guest Terry Ryan of Atomic Hooligan had apparently brought some very fresh sounds with him according to those that went to the Breakscentral party @ DCM the night before. That coupled with Newcastle’s Nutshell crew, that parties like no other meant we were going to have sore heads and fond memories come Sunday morning. Supporting Atomic Hooligan were usual suspects Kato, Auxilary and Fallon, with relative newcomer Anfrenz.
From the outset of the night, I never really took in any individual tracks but felt more content to just mosey my way through the entire night and appreciate it as a whole. Warm up duties were given to Anfrenz who played a fine blend of funky beats to kick us off. His mixing was really tidy and had a small early crowd swaying nicely. May I also add this guy looks like he just started high school, either that or I’m getting long in the tooth.
Anfrenz handed the reigns over to everyone favourite trucker look-alike, Kato, for more of the same with a bit more pep. I was able to appreciate his set much more than January Nutshell in which Soul Of Man played due to at least being able to stand and hold my beer away from my chest. A little bit of room goes a long way. As do functional air conditioners, which were sorely missed at previous nights. Kato now finally seems to be getting credit for his skills by being booked at more club nights. Not a moment too soon.
And now about that previous statement about making fun of others. Never get two smart-ass breaks DJs aka Auxilary and Atomic Hooligan in the same room together after a few drinks to make fun of trance DJs. All that’s left to say about that is “Yes. Trance DJs are prettier than breaks DJs, don’t have beer bellies and they do shave at least once a week.” These boys are living proof that at least some breaks DJs are a stark contrast. It took me a few days to come back with that. Once A.H. had finished making fun of me, he decided to play some records (mighty nice of him). Anyone that can scratch like he can is free to mock me whenever they like. I have never seen anyone scratch with the precision and speed A.H. did. And this was only his intro. Dropping some of the fattest breaks heard in Newcastle in a very long time, combined with his, what seemed like effortless scratching had many standing in awe and completely forgetting to dance. Sure, we heard the music and wanted to dance, but when someone with these skills was on show, all you could do was stare with jaw dropped. His 90-minute set virtually flew by, so it was a welcome sight to see Terry stay on and scratch and drop through Auxilary’s set. I guess we were treated to a three hour set in that regard. The definitive highlight was a quick dip into some funky drum n bass with bucket loads of masterful scratching thrown in.
Newcastle’s First Lady of breaks, Fallon had the mission of closing set laid down before her. Having previously done warm up set, I now feel this new time slot was more suited to her dark stomping style. Now Fallon has a very large supporter base for someone so new to it all, but this was by no means the reason for her keeping a full dance floor right up until closing. The majority of people that were captivated by her skills seemed to be relatively new faces. So it seems she has secured even more fans. This girl is on a roll!
So with a wounded ego, I must now wrap things up by saying…
A smaller, but definitely more appreciative crowd attended what, in my opinion was the most varied Nutshell (musically speaking) with no two DJs sharing the same sound in the night and a considerable amount less “party breaks” replaced by fresh sounds from both the dark underworld and the land of funk to create one of the most enjoyable Nutshell nights I’ve been to. Even if it means being ridiculed by a couple of podgy bald guys with a 3 day growth. No really, I’m over it now. I promise.
