Uni-versal Linkz presents: Jungle Warfare @ The Cube (12/03/09)…
DJ’s:
Pendulum
Chase & Status
Devastate UK
Network
Seige
MC’s:
Kano (special guest, ‘Against All Odds’ live P.A)
Jakes
Rage
Harry Shotta
Bensta
Skandal
Double-J
Being at The Cube, this was a strictly student event, and with a very commercial line-up, I knew that this wasn’t going to be one for the real drum & bass heads.
On entry, I was greeted with Network playing a very jump-up based selection. With Bensta and Skandal showing their lyrical talent to a relatively small amount of early-bird ravers, the 1000+ capacity venue was beginning to fill. With faultless mixing and a good selection Network had the numbers joining the dance floor, as ‘Best Breakthrough MC’ award nominee Bensta hyped them up ready for the headlining DJ’s.
The crowd was already bubbling, before UNCZ member ‘Harry Shotta’ introduced DJ Devistate. With an hour of jump-up, Devastate took the student crowd underground with a rolling, bass heavy selection. ‘Best Breakthrough MC’ award winner Harry Shottah kept the vibes coming, showcasing his amazing verbal talent. Towards the end of the set, Bensta jumped on the mic to join him and the two of them built an exciting vibe.
By the time Saul from Chase & Status stepped up to the decks, the dance floor was filled with anticipating student ravers. The vocal lines from their very own anthemic first tune ‘Is It Really Worth It’ were repeated by every one of the 900 strong crowd.
All of the usual Chase & Status anthems from their album ‘More Than A lot’ were heard throughout the set, and although there were a few technical difficulties, the disappointingly predictable set still managed to create a vibe that had the barrier around the front of the stage in danger of collapsing. While six bouncers held it up, special guest ‘Kano’ entered centre stage, as more fans rushed to the front.
After performing his classic grime anthem ‘P’s & Q’s’ before his live P.A. of his collaboration with Chase & Status ‘Against All Odds’, he left MC Rage to host the rest of the Chase & Status set. As 1am came upon us, it was time for Chase & Status’ last track, and without a doubt the highlight of the night.
As Rage introduced the last one, the memorable guitar riff of ‘Pieces’ dropped, and the whole crowd sang Plan B’s lyrics as loud as they possibly could, before the bassline dropped and the whole crowd began to mosh out.
As Pendulum’s ‘El Hornet’ played the last set, Bristolian MC ‘Jakes’ kept the crowd on their feet. With an interesting DJ/MC contrast, the classics that ‘El Hornet’ was dropping kept the real drum & bass heads skankin, while the Pendulum anthems kept the students involved. As the night came to an end at 2am, everyone was left chanting “One More!”.
As I walked out of the venue shortly after, the crowd hadn’t gone far, and there was a post-football-match atmosphere with hundreds of students… being students.
Although this was a very good night featuring some of the biggest names in drum and bass, my early presumptions were correct. It was really one for the students and not the real dedicated drum & bass heads.
Tune of the night: Chase & Status feat. Plan B – Pieces (Taken from the album ‘More Than A Lot’ out now on Ram Records).
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