db was excellent in the main room -- breakbeat hardcore heavy on the piano anthems
otherwise, all the action was in the jungle room
kech of "stuck on earth" fame was phenomenal -- very very deep jungle voodoo vibe -- and every track he played was strong -- never heard a jungle dj of his caliber before
(i split time b/w dc and st louis in 94/96, and looking around the jungle room the other night i couldn't help but think that jungle penetrated much further in nyc than in those cities, i.e., in terms of street credibility, ethnic diversity of constituency, and djs getting the music down right -- though 94/96 years weren't good for me personally, i didn't go out much, and in many ways i missed the event of jungle at full blossom -- so i shouldn't be so quick to dismiss what may have happened in dc or st louis at the time)
camouflage was also pretty good -- ended set w/ baby d's "let me be your fantasy" -- his was more of a 91/93 set -- a bit too frenetic and abrasive in parts for my taste, but only marginally so -- he also played lots of stuff that i loved
and then dj odi -- who played the jungle room for the longest stretch and during the peak hours -- was also good -- played a lot of rebel mc ragga jungle
of course these guys are the undisputed big names in nyc jungle -- errrrr, and they were all good! -- so not a matter of discussing unknown djs
but all in all, it was kech who blew my mind/body/soul -- i spoke w/ him after his set, and if i recall correctly i think he said he plays a lot of electro stuff now -- but whatever it is that he plays now, i'm going to check him out -- i.e., i don't think it's possible for a dj to be as utterly down with it as he was the other night and then not have "the power" when playing a different dance genre
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also, i think nrg's "i need your lovin" got played about three times
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AND when i first showed up, i was really leery of the situation -- i.e., most of the people in line seemed like teenagers (and the line moved slowly, there were beefy security guards, etc)
and then once inside things slowly got better and better, almost imperceptibly, and then at about 1:00 or so i suddenly realized that i was in the midst of a really happening party -- really diverse crowd in terms of age, race, etc -- i was very pleased to be there
hopefully they'll be throwing more old skool events, b/c i think there's a real hunger for it in the public
at the same time, word on the street is that the current jungle sounds are also really good -- so maybe i'll have to hop back on the jungle train