PlayDUBWUBWUB

Sometimes blogs have to take priority over essays due two weeks ago.

And sometimes blogs are even longer than the essays they’re taking priority over.

Jesus Christ, what a weekend. Where to start? I’m thinking at the beginning.

Saturday was one of the most chilled days in history, not getting out of bed until 9pm was just what I needed. NICE.

When 9pm did roll around I thought it best to leg it to the nearest train station- the home city was callin’ me.

The train took the piss as per usual, but it was all worth it in the end. SubDub is well known as being one of, if not the best nights out in the North West, with bass that keeps your ears ringing for months. And as much as I wanted to go and experience all that again, the PlayDub line up just kept reeling me back in. I mean come on people- I challenge you to look at this list and not wanna be there right now.

Channel One Sound System, Mary Anne Hobbs, Noisia, Foreign Beggars, N-Type, and Remarc. As well as an opening set by Barry West, and appearances by MC Dubkutta.

As soon as we walked in the sub just flowed up through my feet and shot straight out of my fingertips. Spine tingling stuff.

Barry fucking West I want a stern word with you. Barry, Barry, Barry, Barry, Barry. It’s all well and good doing a decent set to get the night going, but did you really have to fuck up the levels for everybody else?! You are a mess man, were you not aware the legendary Channel One were following you?! Get your fucking head sorted. But other than that, well played.

Channel One Sound System were pretty sick. Throwing out the classic reggae-dub that they’re known and loved for, with a pretty decent MC too- his husky Rasta voice clearly hammered by years of ganja smoking and rum drinking. If the levels had been good it would have been a perfect set, with Jah T ruling the turntable (as expected, of course). Rest in peace the legend that was Mikey Dread, who I would have LOVED to have seen there this weekend, it would have topped everything off, but some things are out of ya control aren’t they.

Illness is out of your control too- or at least it is in Mary Anne Hobbs’s case. She didn’t turn up cos she didn’t feel well- probably the shits or something. My disappointment though was short lived after I saw who was replacing her. Stenchman. Fucking yes mate.

This is almost becoming a step by step guide isn’t it. Sorry.

Foreign fucking Beggars man, what the fuck. DJ Nonames bounced onto stage as the previous set wound down to almost a halt, he stood behind the turntable for a few moments… and then an immense 30 second scratch marked the beginning of one of the greatest hip hop performances that Liverpool has ever seen. OV and Metropolis hurled themselves onto stage and straight into a hyped up version of Evil Dr Hip Hop, as if it wasn’t hyped enough already. If you’ve ever seen a hyped crowd in a small venue before you’ll know what I mean- it went off. Some quality accapellas from Metropolis flowed perfectly into slo-speed, to which people were sparking up pipes and bongs right in the middle of the crowd- respect to you all.

One thing is for sure, they know how to work a crowd. Consistent banter with the Nation club kept everyone going throughout the entire set. Some crazy mash ups of heavy HEAVY shit from the 80’s with modern day hip hop, and sampled tracks from the 90’s with penetrating freestyles that left everyone reeling on their feet. Did he really just cram all of those rhymes into such a short time?

Now for those of you who’ve heard Contact… all of you? Good…. You will know that the drop at the end is almost as mind blowing as a 12 gauge to the temple. So as that intro started to build up you can imagine the atmosphere. Strobe lighting every other bar on a huge crowd of wired-to-the-eyeballs students, beer in one hand and the other raised high above the head, sub vibrating through the soles of the skate shoes and hi-tops, all the way up the skinny jeans and shredded cargo pants into the heart and souls of every single youth in the club, which by this point was shaking almost to the floor. The drop came, the place erupted, and that’s all I’m going to say on the matter- I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.

Beggars held the stage into Noisia’s set and continued to hype the crowd, generally killing every track that was laid down and enjoying themselves while they did it. Quality samples of Tempa T’s Next Hype and Pendulum’s Masochist were amongst some of the bangers played before the night was out, the last little bit of energy being drawn out of everyone as the bar closed and numbers slowly dwindled lower and lower. Those who were heading to their afterparties dispersed onto the early morning snow on the streets of Merseyside. Jesus Christ it was like a snowstorm, I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

Seeing how much everyone enjoyed themselves made me feel even more proud to be a scouser. The local students took us in to their flat and we got high for a few hours before trekking back to Chester, where I got even higher.

This is beginning to trail off into boring drivel now- it’s one in the morning and if I’m honest I can’t really be bothered writing much more. But I’ll leave you with a couple of points, my first is this request for foreign beggars- can I have my fucking coat back please boys? And the second, is this quote from Jah T.

“De sub bass isn’t for ‘earin wit’ ya ears man, it for feelin’ wit’ ya ‘art. It for ya body to enjoy while ya ears 'ear de riddim”.

Top photograph was taken by Aile Moretti. Thank you for the ticket, by the way!

I’ve never regretted not having my camera so much.

Brilliant weekend, thanks to everyone who was involved.

PEACE X