- It is often said that the only thing comparable to having your favourite producer cancel a gig is arriving home from work to find your wife sleeping with your doctor (wearing your favourite dressing gown no less) who in fact just popped round to inform you that you have inoperable testicular cancer.
From multiple past experiences I can indeed confirm this comparison. Manically depressed by the fact that Luciano had come down with the flu I struggled to pick up the pieces of my shattered dreams and head out for the night.. However, broken hearted I manage to enter Space Lab Yellow after a short walk through the loud offensive gaijin town better known as Roppongi.
Before Steve Bug could attempt to rescue me from my pit of despair, the support DJs AKR and John Connell were presented with their chance. Despite having the right tools, with tracks such as the Wighomy Brother's interpretation of Slam's 'This World', the duo seemed to fail to put any semblance of a coherent set together. The building groove all too often shot down by sketchy beat matching with the crowd left wondering numerous times where the sound of galloping horses was originating from. Also perhaps the common curse of many a versus set, a chronic mismatch of sounds, played a contributing part in the set never really meeting its full potential. The end result being increasingly frequent journeys to the well stocked bar by the club's inhabitants. Both DJs however seemed to be truly enjoying themselves which did help to occasionally create a connection with the dancefloor fiends.
"...the dancefloor was pulsating and writhing for the entire six hours. Shrill cheers and raised hands constantly announced the crowd's appreciation of a valiant effort at entertaining a few hundred people for
approximately a quarter of a day."
With the horses led back into the stable it was time for Mr. Bug to take control and steer the party back on track. Steve put on a six hour strip tease, slowly removing articles of clothing only to ultimately reveal a grossly deformed hermaphrodite with two moldy peaches thrust into a rather large beige brassiere. Six hours of building momentum that would rapidly fade every time the set threatened to reach some sort of culmination. An entire set with no apparent desirable destination. Rays of shining light came in the form of John Tejada- Paranoia and an unfortunate encore of Slam- This World (Wighnomy Brother's remix). However, the music never quite satisfied my tastes. A taste that can be best understood by picturing an Apple iPod wrapped in a week old steak, delightfully minimal yet jaw jarringly tough.
Of course, a weekend of sleep deprivation has no doubt led me to be overly critical of Steve's efforts on the night. To his credit the dancefloor was pulsating and writhing for the entire six hours. Shrill cheers and raised hands constantly announced the crowd's appreciation of a valiant effort at entertaining a few hundred people for
approximately a quarter of a day. A few hundred people that in true Tokyo fashion never once took their eyes off the DJ booth. An admiration that was evidently appreciated by a DJ who wore a smile for the full extent of the night. The highlight of this marathon performance was strangely the surprisingly down beat encore. A
fantastic way to help the remaining die hards wind down before a no doubt lengthy train ride home.
Special thanks to Yuko Ichikawa @ Spacelab Yellow and Josh Child.