- Breakbeat madness descended onto Cubik @ Nation for a night of broken beats and guitar riffs.
This was my first time ever partying in D.C. so I came with an open mind and unbiased attitude. The venue itself is quality with ongoing balconies and views from above. The patio outside wasn't open for summer tourist business quite yet but there weren't enough people in attendance to warrant it.
Rennie Pilgrem got things breaking around midnight with some nu-skool flavors. Easing through the wax, skool of thought's mix of beastie boys fight for your right stepped up the punk rock level. He did a nice job of laying down some fresh beats and getting the crowd ready for Freeland. I missed some tunes here and there as I was in and out of VIP, which is amazingly quiet for being in a small room right behind the booth.
Freeland came on to a cheering crowd and started the show with some dark rolling breaks blessed with Aesop Rock on the top. Josh Wink freakin' gave way to some of his more traditional cuts like "rise above" by the man himself, wink and middleton. Infusion's "girls can be cruel" came blasting through minutes later as well.
Inevitably, "smells like freeland" rained down on the crowd. He did a much better job this time around transitioning to the original at the breakdown and then back into his remix.
We want your soul finally dropped towards the end as he had been teasing the crowd with the accapella throughout his set.
Finally, his last track did it for me with some evil 9 meets LFO type distorted electro feel. I hope this track is on his forthcoming FabricLive CD.
All in all, Freeland couldnt avoid assembling a quality set of rock and roll breaks. Although he played a few too many tracks from his essential mix from last may. He did come with some wicked jaw droppers here and there. I was hoping for more of an upfront and innovative mix instead of simply hearing the same tunes that he has been playing for months. Or am I just too picky....?