Random Concept @Air Review+Photo

My my, wot a good looking lot... Friday night saw the last of many memorable raving trips to Birmingham in my excessively long student career. Friction was celebrating the release of his Valve mix CD The Next Level with a 2 hour set - trust, it was next level.

Stepped thru around midnight to the sounds of Zinc in the main room warming tings up nicely. Meanwhile Artificial Intelligence was holding the rollers down in the Liquid V room. Bryan Gee and GQ followed after Zinc with a typically dub-rammed set, getting the Brum crew rowdy with some seriously fresher pressure.

And then there was that boy Friction... f*** me! I think it was probably the best set Ive witnessed in a fair while, blazing double drops from the very first minute of the 2 hour set. With SP:MC holding down the mic as tight and proper as ever (let it be an example to us all), Friction proceeded to rinse so many big tunes that Brum will be hurting for weeks. Everything I could wanna hear - from bare Ram classics to Shy FX's huuuge Soundboy tunes (Feelings/On The Run), to fresh Pendulum/Zinc dubz - got dropped to an appreciative Air crew. And as if that weren't enough, Eksman, then Skibadee, passed thru to go b2b with SP... absolute dancefloor murder! My 3 favourite MC's and my favourite DJ - it doesn't get any betta. Particular highlights included the now infamous X Ray/In The Grind mix and the Duppy Man/Signal double drop. Siiiiick!!

Dillinja had the unenviable task of following Friction, playing a suitably filthy set crammed full of new valve dubz. I must say I actually enjoyed Dillinja more than usual, perhaps because the Valve sound is seems more rolling (and less extreme!) than it has been recently. Or perhaps it was just because I was absolutely mauled. Either way it was heavy stuff, with Krust's closing set matching the heaviness with plenty of dirty Full Cycle freshness of his own... much to Bensun's delight.
All in all a top drawer night at one of the country's finest DnB venues. Quality way to end a long road. Final fling. Flung. Bun. Dun.

Much love to the crew who reached (repping in the photo) - Sam, Bensun (destroyed the 2 year rave hiatus rudeboy), Nipper and, of course, Hustla... and the absent raver Schlewis for MTVing us past £17 entry. Touch. Cheers my boys and girl, London and Glasto mash ups await...