Here come the Dubsteppers

A treat to finally catch some genuine dubstep in New York last night. The long, scantily-clad queue outside Crash Mansion, venue for Dub War's lastest outing featuring Youngsta and Hatcha (among homegrown others), turned out - much to my party's relief - to be for some mainstrem megaclub taking place in the same building, so we were in and bouncing up and down within minutes. The sound system was a bit underwhelming, but a good-natured atmosphere went a long way towards making up for the technical shortcoming. Hatcha in particular was a treat to watch, bopping and twitching and tweaking behind the decks with a deadpan expression that occasionallly, very occasionally, twisted into a smile. And we had a good laugh at the random and extensive onstage entourage. Some game was afoot that involved DJs rewinding or changing places whenever someone held up a bit of paper with the number 5 printed on it, which was funny for a while though it seriously interrupted the flow. But hey, at least these guys aren't precious. And when it was allowed to roll, the music was excellent. I've been writing about this stuff at much greater length for a piece you'll see in a different forum next month, so I'll refrain from further comment for now, except to recommend your attendance at any and all future visits by any or all of this crew.