Freestylers, Kid Kenobi, MC Shureshock AND THE REST!

Saturday 9 June 2007 saw about 800 eager punters descend on the Civic in Christchurch for a multi-zone night of breaks, drum'n'bass, hip-hop, house, electronica - and the list went on!
Organised by Rustic Entertainment (www.rustic.co.nz), the headline acts were The Freestylers (UK) but the highlight of my night was definitely Kid Kenobi and MC Shureshock. Thumping breaks, tightly meshed together and fronted by the born performer MC Shureshock came close to wearing the crowd out even before the UK Freestylers duo took to the stage.
Because it was a night of high energy. Not the unst-unst-unst 'NRG' of hard house flavour, but the fizzing anticipatory energy for these highly professional acts. Warmed up by DJs General Lee and then Robbie Glass, the slowly building crowd took off from 150-ish to peak volume 750-800 when FunknSloCuts (of Minuit fame) and his intrepid sidekick the Kurnel MC took to the stage. Cold Christchurch night outside, scorching with on-stage talent inside. With seamless ease, Kid Kenobi transitioned the control of the decks from FunknSloCuts and the night exploded. High points were Shureshock's covers of 'Bring the Noise' (an old Public Enemy & Anthrax collaboration) and a rolling cover of 'Future Love'.

Sticky Fingaz (BOH!) returned from Wellington to host a 10-minute tribute/intro to the Freestylers and then Aston and Matt provided two individual sets of international standard. Personally, I kinda thought that they drove the speakers a bit hard, with a bit of clipping coming through on a number of tracks. Still, they entertained, and they entertained well.
Urban Notion were tasked with mopping up the pieces for those that could handle the long haul, and in the deep dark depths of the morning they threw down the goods. MC GT, Switch, Gamble and Rufio are all quality performers and rewarded those with longevity and staying power with another typically classy set.

Earlier on in the night I managed to escape the mayhem of the Main Zone and sneak into the MixTape Sessions room next door where I caught Dr Hitchcock of RDU (www.rdu.org.nz) fame spinning tunes to those not too interested in the chaos of the big room. Nice to see there are quite a few people keen on catching a bit of alternative electronica on a Saturday night... The Doctor is off to Melbourne soon, and Christchurch is going to be a slightly poorer place as a result...

Cheap as Chips

Sunday March saw the 2007 edition of RDU's Cheap as Chips party extraordinaire, held at the University of Canterbury's Oval.
Oakley Grenell and the Departure Lounge opened the day's festivities, with their laid back styles, but winners of the day were definitely the headline acts of Kora, Fat Freddys Drop and local heroes, Shapeshifter.
Hosts RDU scattered a few of their DJs between the live acts - the eclectic, occasionally concerning but very entertaining Dr Hitchcock, Messenjah's dubstyles and local drum and bass dj/producers/promoters Urban Notion; but Dollar Mix show host Sticky Fingaz and breakfast hostess Kate Gorgeous played Master and Mistress of Ceremonies throughout the day.
Last year about 12,000 people turned up - not sure how many made it this time, but it was a HUGE day this time round. I was there with a camera - check out some of my photographs on www.myspace.com/chrismckeen.