Club Reviews: Chibuku Shake Shake Birthday

Last Updated 07.04.08

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Chibuku Shake Shake Birthday
	Date: Saturday 15th March 2008 Address: Nation, Wolstenholme Square, Off Slater Street, Liverpool, L1 4BX Occurrence: Monthly Hours: 10pm - 6am Ticket Price: TBC Genre: House Dress Code: None Capacity: TBC
Annexe: Erol Alkan, Annie Mac, Plump Djs, The Beatmonkeys Main Room - Mix Hell: Derrick May, Francois K, Underground Resistance Live, UR presents Interstellar Fugitives with Mad Mike, DJ Skurge, Ray7, Arlantis & Franki Fuktz, Dom Chung Courtyard: Roots Manuva & DJ MK, Andy C (2hrs set), Mampi Swift, Questlove (The Roots), Peanut Butter Wolf & James Pants (Stones Throw), Benga, Aki (Womb, Tokyo), No Fakin

Happy Birthday Chibuku, said Richard McGinnis, as he spoiled the eight year old rotten; showered in the finest gifts dance music could bring, we all enjoyed a fuckin party. The biggest names, Legends, and trend setters alike were all on show this night, on show for us, on show in respect to what has become a pinnacle in UK dance music and clubbing; Chibuku shake shake. Every year the crazy kids of Liverpool and beyond pilgrimage their way over to Walstenhome Sq, to celebrate it up good and proper. Each year laying out the finest spread in dance music Chibuku’s birthday is better by far than any birthday party you’ll ever attend, ever. Last year we had Digitalism, Mark Ronson, Pendulum, and DJ Yoda, the year before Gilles Peterson, Mr Scruff, 2 many Djs… Who’s gonna be next year? God and Jesus Live, with Allah on Breaks, its just gonna get better and better? What indoor venue brings you the likes of Derrick May & Francois K, and Underground resistance, legends in their own right, the Detroit creators of all this madness, in the same building as Benga, a new bread maverick bring the grinding sounds of dubstep to our virgin ears. Roots Manuva, started on stage early on in the night, but finished early too, maybe technical difficulties, or maybe the party heads just wanted something harder better faster and stronger? Even the electro was taking a passenger seat tonight lurking in the dark depths of the Annexe, the smaller of Nation’s rooms, the likes of Erol Alkan, Annie Mac, and the Plump Djs, held it out with their tight intimate audience. A great room to be in, with some fiercly funky French flavours flying around; the likes of Justice and the “Ed Bangers” crew seam to be making their mark on many a DJ. The main room had the fastest pace with D&B, and Dubstep, all the way from Japan Dj Aki was rendering his Hard 'n' Cyber style to us, no prisoners taken, the beats blared out with bouncing bass lines of hardcore grime. DJ Aki an ambassador of the D&B genre in the east whose style is much different to our native counterparts; Mampi Swift gave us minimal yet meaty rhythms, a man whose style I love to hear. Andy C kept it real as always, supposedly named the prince of D&B, he kept the beats the right side of commercial, skimming the edges with his Daft Punk remixes, and feel good fun. In the same room came Benga, widely regarded as on of the founding forefathers of the scene known as dubset. Post jungle they call it, my old ears seemed to resent it, yet something happened that led me to embrace this somewhat serene yet effervescent montage of sound. Was it the ever present warbling bass, the sporadic unbound beats, or the soft mushiness of my mind that night? But pleasure was definitely noted. The Courtyard was the stage for techno, Detroit techno, Underground Resistance, “Mad” Mike Banks, Derrick May, and French New Yorker Francois K, eagerly flicked their switches, twisted their knobs, and look like they were well into it. Underground resistance kept a mellow flow of 128bpm, teaching us that techno is a wide genre, encompassing a range of scenes, styles, and sounds. Each DJ seemed to lead their set so comfortably into the next, a mutual intelligibility between all was felt; Derrick May and Francois K performed together on opposite ends of a stage each equipped with an array of technology, this feeling of solidarity and communication was clear. An example of techno roots, what the word techno used to mean. We were experiencing a sophisticated and intelligent techno. As always the birthday party was a late on so come 6am I was taking my goody bag home, to rest my ears and the next day to ponder my experiences.
Venue: 7 Music: 9 Crowd: 9 Sound System: 9 Total: 34 / 40 Rating: Gold Award
Review written by: David Al Hilali	dhilali@uk-cl.co.uk

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