'Yeah I'll review that monstrous dubstep night in Elephant', he said, stupidly. One look at the line-up of Digital Mystikz, Loefah, Plastician, Stamina, Shy FX, Hatcha, Pinch, Distance, Silkie & Quest and Mala, oh and Remarc, and Sukh Knight — you get my point — any fool would have done the same. So roll on Saturday night and the confused social Catherine wheel that is the Elephant & Castle one-way system. People are spun out of Elephant tube on a bass-hungry ring-road orbit, and the evening begins with a barrage of phone calls from lost friends, caught in this south-of the river samsaric metaphor. 'Oh it's on THAT side'.
The Coronet is an undersung venue — it's incredible. Managing to combine the big-screen arena-like room one with the sonic cavern-cum-pressure-chamber that is room two, and pile two more rooms on top of those, it gives you both the spectacle and space of a major hall and the chthonic grit that dubstep runs on. On the upper floors, you feel as though you scarcely need to move at all – the vibrations from the colossal sound system through the floor seem likely to gradually shuffle you around the building themselves. More people might have noticed this if they had stood still for long enough. As it is though, nearly everyone is going absolutely mental.
I question my own intelligence at offering to review a gig with this many artists performing. What am I thinking? I apologise now for the artists I didn't get to see. I was accompanied by gesticulating geek-chic vegan braps-captain Ben and voodoo warrior-queen club-colossus Tyler — friends I hoped would help me cover more ground. As it was they hugged the main room stage in an extended seven-hour skank and were no help at all. So I'll do what I can.
Propelled into room one on a wave of rogue bass frequencies from the outstanding Mungo's HiFi System in room two, we catch live dub-ska band Gentlemen's Dub Club. They're starting the night on a bright note, stirring up an ecstatic frenzy with brass, bass, a stupendous drum sound, and a lot of leaping about. From there on it's sleazy, grimy dubstep all night, with DJ after DJ performing outstanding sets as the main room floor fills and fills with euphoric dubsteppers grinning, skanking and losing it almost entirely. Loefah came on early in the night and set the bar high for acts that followed, and none failed to deliver. If I was going to single-out high points, they included Mala's Anti-War Dub, Plastician, Joker and without a doubt, Remarc. Even though it was all dub, none of the crowd seemed to flag at any point. If this launch party is any measure of the coming Outlook Festival 2009 – I'd get your tickets now.
Outlook Festival 2009 is in Zadar, Croatia this summer.
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