by RAF KATIGBAK

After all was said and done, my Nuit Blanche weekend experience was, for the most part, a nuit bland. It all started with a call early Friday evening from a friend I was supposed to meet at the Matthew Herbert concert. "I'm leaving," she said, exasperated. "It's already over." Luckily my ignorance of the early start time (listed as approximately 8:30 p.m.) wasn't such a huge mistake, as her report detailed a rather uninspiring performance from the Brit. Strike one. Oh, well - at least a DJ set by Herbert and Ricardo Villalobos would cheer me up on Saturday, right? Well, sort of. Villalobos, one of my personal favourites, wasn't able to make it down. Strike two. Fortunately, Perlon label co-founder and DJ extraordinaire Sammy Dee was in New York and able to fill the bill, so things were looking up. Unfortunately, even with the eclectic, old-school flavours of Herbert's set and Sammy Dee's bumping tech-house, the Darling Foundry's horrific acoustics sucked all the definition from the music, leaving it a big, booming mess. Strike three, I'm out.

You can't really fault the organizers for the problems, though. Indeed, they all admirably lent a hand when the bar and coat check were severely understaffed. Let's just hope the sound situation improves this Saturday when Underground Legacy hosts House Factory with Angel Moraes, B'Ugo, Serge Duchesne, Derick H and Michael Desjardins. Should be a doozie!

Even though the rather underwhelming circumstances of last weekend kept me from having a dome-blowing weekend, I still appreciated the fact that this city is culturally open enough to have a Nuit Blanche. That's why my mind boggles when I hear about things like the Roadsworth trial. For those of you not familiar with Roadsworth, take a quick walk around the Plateau/Mile End area and keep your eyes down. At some point, you're bound to find some work by the stencil artist - a road division turned into a zipper, some screws at the corner of a crosswalk, an owl perched on a parking space indicator. Roadsworth's work is fresh, playful and fun. Of course, he now faces 53 counts of mischief, insane fines and possible banishment. So show some support on Friday, March 4, at the Defense d'Afficher party at the Main Hall, an evening of live painting, music and video celebrating urban street art, with acts like Ark of Infinity and Donkey Heart, and live painting by Gene Starship and dstrbo of the HVW8 crew. Cover is $5 and all the proceeds go to the Old Brewery Mission.

It's hard to believe it's been three straight years of IDJ parties. Certainly, 36 monthly parties in a row is something to celebrate. That's why the IDJ crew is bringing down U.K. heavyweight Klute, with special guests C64 and Wizard from T.O., this Saturday, March 5. Part of the Metalheadz and Certificate 18 crew back in the day, Klute will no doubt bring the signature deep basslines he's become known for. Check www.indajungle.com for more info!

She loved us but she's chosen darkness... Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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