The Scenario - Lift-off

The Scenario launch party was a success. No I'm not writing a blog entry selling the hatonrack realm as a jelly-bean land where only magic and good things happen. Let's face it, just look at MC Eno - it's been almost seven years and 206collab still can't get rid of the bastard.

But the launch of the Scenario funk and hip hop party on Friday 3rd July was a success.

We were disorganised, it's true. Flip+Skip spent the hours preceding the doors-open time f#cking around trying to get some downloaded VJ program - for which he made me stay up late two nights during the preceeding week to download and convert video clips - to work. In the end he couldn't. Time well spent - heavens forbid I spent that time on extra online promo and getting my DJ set together.

We spent time setting up the extra turntables, sound-checking 1NF0, foolin around and when 9pm ticked over and we weren't really ready and didn't have anyone at the door. Nick Knowledge floated over there and said he'd do a bit of time, but he had trouble getting the first people through the door without any idea what to charge them or any change to give them...

Anyway, we cranked the Scenario soundsystem on, Dave Silva and myself started representing and the vibe inside started building a bit after 9. People came in the door to our collective relief.

I set up the old school boombox I bought from Pidgeon Ground records the night before out the front, cranking out a mix of J-Rocc, Dooley-O, DJ Eveready, Boogie Down (Candy's Apartment circa-2004/2005) and Breakestra mixes. Jacob Giles helped me stick some posters up around the front of the building and we got Vern and his boys out on the street handing out discount passes and trying to push people towards the door. Pity it was cold as Alaska out there - the street teams'll have more success in the warmer months, especially when we get some pretty girls on the case (no offence Vern...).

Anyway, this was the first show I put on with dance crews and f#ck I'm glad we decided to take the plunge into this different format of event. Dilated Nu blew the house down. They were so dope - bigups to Trina from D2MG and Jaye from Dancekool for putting them forward! Dilated Nu did two sets through the night, we figured by their second set we had to get more people watching from up on the furniture and the specatators at the front to crouch down on the ground. Such good performers and so dynamic - looking forward to having Nao and the boys up to The Scenario again.

All-girl latin/hip hop crew LHIPS also shook the crowd with their routine, and were the perfect complement to Dilated Nu. There were so many people hanging off the stage and on couches and tables that I actually couldn't see the performance, but I gather specators loved the combination of dance (especially performed by a bunch of hot women) and the skill displayed. Video of that coming soon as well.

We put 1NF0 (with none other than the Platnum on DJ duties) on at around 11:30, and of course you know they killed the stage. Crowd loved the set, which included a special funk medley thrown together by Jacob and Nick (the latter having just returned from porning himself around Bali for a couple of weeks). The vibe heated up at the end with Flip+Skip on _Bad Luck_, a hard and fast Jacob Giles production based on the Rocky soundtrack - really nice. Listen to it on our media player.

Naiki took over the sound system from Dave Silva and myself at 1am and conducted the dancefloor for the next couple of hours in the style old-timers like myself - who've been watching the dude mix for years and years - know we can rely on him to do. So diverse and such regular and perfect mixes with dope scratching on a club rig not at all set up for a hip hop/scratch DJ. I had a few requests through the night and he never failed to meet them. Only slight problem was I could never really provide enough information...

JP: "Yo Naiki, spin an instrumental for some MCs to get down on".

DJ N:"No problem, what instrumental? I have thousands".

JP: "Aaaaaaaahhhh, I'm drunk..."

DJ Naiki is uncut dope, can't wait to have him up at The Scenario again.

Anyway, I got cut off from buying shots at the bar after I'd run up an amount on my already-discounted bar tab that I have to censor lest my parents read this blog. We tumbled outta the joint some time between 3 and 4am - it gets hazy - and a bunch of cats came back to the Camperdown penthouse that's lucky enough to house a Platnum and a bunch of other legends like 'otto, Leilei and Hayes. We kicked on til the breaka'.

I woke up on a bench outside my place hyperthermically cold at some hour when birds should be chirping. I didn't hear them though. Not this time. Stumbled in, did a check of who was passed out around the ground floor (hope you made it home alright Vern homie!), then made my way upstairs to sleep under the shower for a while then crawl into bed. Found the door money after a few hours of frantic searching and some phone calls the next day, so all was good.

Top night - will have all sorts of media up online soon linked into every social networking space frequented by humans and internet cave trolls. Can't wait to do it again on 7th August - the dance crews, music and MCs will rock your night.