I thought I'd share my experience from this show:
LTJ Bukem, Blame, Method 1 / Chaos
Monday, October 11, 1999
Justice League, San Francisco
This was the best 20 bucks I've spent in a while. Method 1 and Chaos
kicked off the party with a smooth d'n'b set.
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you actually missed the opening DJ, Gabe Real, who played an excellent set for his friends. :) Kaos and Method One are two of a handful of US 'atmospheric' drum'n'bass dj's (including myself & dj sea from SF, casper from chicago, cable from buffalo) who are also producing their own tracks. a few have already been signed to Tayla's Nexus imprint, forthcoming on a compilation next year.
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Many of the tracks played
were some of my favs from the Progression Session CD series. Blame
(Progression Sessions vol.2) followed up with a wicked set, with MC Conrad
providing vocal meanderings in the background.
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blame definitely stole the show (and purposefully so, good looking are pushing him til the cows come home to promote the upcoming 720 compilation) with one of the most intense, electronic yet soulful (without being cheesy, save the occasional Amen mashup) d'n'b sets i've heard in ages. he played tracks that literally *exploded* on the dancefloor, stuff he made in 4 hours to use as DJ tools (such as one in particular that sampled dialogue and a dark string motif from The Phantom Menace) that will never see the light of day.
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Also, I don't know if it was typical of a
crowd/gathering at the Justice League, but the crowd was great. They
really got into the Blame set and were generally supportive of all the
artists that performed that night.
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not quite typical of the JL, but definitely typical of a Progression Session in SF. Bukem has been huge here for years, and the addition of a powerful and active local scene has just gone to make the crowds more enthusiastic.
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One negative: I was eager to buy some Good Looking t-shirts or compact
discs, but none were for sale. Someone was pawning stuff with "Drumz" on
it, but I had no idea what that was.
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me either. i spoke to (the now-legendary GLR businessman) Tony Fordham as to why there wasn't a merch stall on this tour (or any tour they've done of the states), as they'd make a load of cash, but didn't get a real reply. i did emphasize the possibilities for this city, and you may see stuff for sale at, say, amoeba, in the near future.
most definitely an excellent night, extremely worthy of your attention....
mikebee