Caught in the Crossfire

Hammersmith Palais
10.09.06-11.09.06

The 2006 DMC World DJ Championships took place in London and once again didn’t disappoint. With 3 titles up for grabs, the competition was fierce from all across the globe and the crème de la crème brought their A games for the crowd this year.

First up was the World Supremacy crown, the battle event of the weekend. DJs each had two mini-sets to try and defeat the opponent and there were some serious fireworks in this event. The semi finals saw Japan’s DJ Coma edge out the British entrant Switch and France’s DJ Troubl’ saw off the challenge from Sweden’s DJ Ego in what was an entertaining viewing. The final itself was extremely close and it could have gone either way but when Coma dropped in some DnB and slightly better techniques, it swayed in his favour.

However, this was just the beginning for France’s entries as they powered they way through the two remaining contests. Before the Team Championship, we were treated to a bit of breaking, which saw Tenacious D take on Lil Tim in the final, which the almost constantly airborne Tim one, but huge big ups to D for the best character and unfaltering smile throughout!

The team event threw up some amazing routines and started off brilliantly with Taiwan’s Noise crew donning their 1980s power dress jackets and serious concentration. Dangerous Combination threw up some great guitar-effects with a guitar shaped turntable whilst dropping Nirvana before a masked team threw up some nice jazzy combinations.

With Canada’s Stylists bringing the raw hip hop flavour, America’s Animal Crackers throwing in some Korn and the UK’s Disablists coming so close to winning the crown, it was left to the 3 time champions C2C to once again wow the crowd and take the title for a 4th year in a row. No-one could argue with that, the best style and sound going.

Then on the Monday we had the main event – The World DJ Championship. The top DJs came up towards the end and we were treated to some real amazing styles. Sweden’s Kid Sid hit us with some huge basslines mixed up with electro and disco tracks before actually setting fire to his vinyl. Fred Funk brought some old skool steez to the plate, with his early 80s dress and awesome style and techniques, spinning around, hitting the crossfader with his nose and such.

Rafik from Germany was up next and delivered a flawless routine ending in Smells Like Teen Spirit before handing over to Japan’s Yasa. His routine was brilliant, showing great styles, even bettering Funk and really catching the imagination. He would’ve won if it hadn’t been for France’s DJ Netik throwing up some unbelievably heavy house sounds which he cut up and floored brilliantly. After his routine, he threw his arms in the air and paraded himself in front of the crowd, who seemed to think he was the winner.

And so it turned out, Netik picked up the $10,000 and golden stylus for first place, Yasa coming second and Rafik filling in the bronze positions. It was a perfect advertisement for turntablism and even those that didn’t place in the top 3 were worthy of all the applause they got. A brilliant weekend all in all.

Abjekt
[Photos by Jen Saul]

The Coronet
13.09.06

Ah how the tide has turned. After The Libertines disintegrated, Pete Doherty couldn’t blink without it making front page news, Babyshambles were the band du jour, a deal, an album and a supermodel girlfriend followed. But Carl Barat was biding his time. Fast forward a year, and of the two ex-Libertine leaders, one of them is riding the wave of success following their album Dave Sardy produced album ‘ Waterloo To Anywhere’ and is playing yet another sold out show after a hugely successful year- and the other one’s not even allowed out of The Priory after dark…

On this miserable September evening, Carl Barat and his Dirty Pretty Things are playing in support of the ‘Make Roads Safe’ campaign, after a spate of road deaths involving young people. The show tonight was partly in memory to three teenage girls, two sisters, Claire and Jennifer Stoddart, and their friend, Carla Took, who died after a crash in Suffolk on their way home from a Dirty Pretty Things show.

It’s down to the rakish Russell Brand, the swine, to introduce the fashionably tardy band, throwing a signed packet of rice (most of it ended up on Crossfire’s snapper’s top ….bad aim Mr Brand) , a plate signed by Paul Weller and half a bread roll to the unfriendly crowd. All of it is lobbed back at him, before he’s tackled by Didz Hammond as Dirty Pretty Things saunter onto the stage. Hammond is the only band member without a Libertines’ past, frontman Carl Barat and drummer Gary Powell were mainstays of the Albion’s finest, whilst guitarist Anthony Rossomondo stood in for Doherty on the Lib’s last tour, notably at Reading ’04 where the ‘will he won’t he show’ drew in the crowds on the main stage.

With their tight leather jackets, tousled hair and wild eyes, they launch into their set, with ‘You Fucking Love It‘ roared out from the crowd, and Barat’s right, they really do fucking love it. On stage the guys are frenetic, constantly spinning, the energy between them palpable as Barat twists the crowd around his little finger. ‘Dead Wood’ pushes the crowd to fever pitch, downstairs they press themselves closer to the stage, ‘The Enemy’ and the wonderful ‘Gin and Milk“, with Barat spitting out the lyrics ” No one gives a fuck for a values I would die for, not the faceless civil servants, not the rudimentary crack whore.” A highlight is an appearance from Paul Weller, which is worthy of Barat shrugging on his tight leather jacket again “I need to be wearing leather for this…” he grins.

‘Bang Bang You’re Dead’ tops the bill, with Rossomondo breathlessly eeking out the trumpet intro. In losing his partnership with Doherty, Barat seems to have streamlined his writing, the tracks on display tonight are all exciting, addictive and upbeat – they have that certain haunting charm that the Libertine’s material had, and as Barat has said in the past, the differences between the two bands are merely ” logistical, not philosophical.” Tonight’s show is pumped with adrenaline, the band are hiding high on their success and unleashed on the stage tonight the energy and passion is arresting. And despite ending with The Libertines’ ‘We Get Along’, they are a band in their own right, and whilst they’ll never shake off the Libertines ghost, they’re really coming into their own today.

Dee Massey
[Photos by Niki Kova’cs]