by RAF KATIGBAK

Fuck it. I don't care if I am jumping the gun and an epic snowfall suddenly launches us into a post-apocalyptic ice age where we are forced into the "underground city" and eventually evolve huge eyes, and our only form of entertainment is a brutal bloodsport in which former retail managers from the Eaton Centre (the EC Crew) and Place Ville-Marie (PVMs) joust each other to the death in souped-up shopping carts as spectators chant "Shop till you drop! Shop till you drop!" - spring is here!

And with the seasonal change comes more reason to party. Of course, this Sunday, March 27, is the major Bal en Blanc party over at the Palais des Congrès. Circuit-party fans will no doubt come in droves to hear Tiesto, Deep Dish and Peter Rauhofer, while yours truly is most excited about the hard and pumping electro-tech of Italy's Benny Benassi. Don't forget the official recovery party Off White at Stereo with DJs David Morales, Serge Duchesne and DJ Bruno Brown that should last until Tuesday morning. (The idea of having subsequent after-after-after parties throughout the week, named after different gradients of white, was scrapped upon the realization that Khaki Thursday sounded too much like a scat fetish party.)

Speaking of fetishes, admitted techno fetishist and electro producer Anthony Rother has postponed his show Art Is Technology from this Saturday to June 10. (Apparently, the rumour that his cancellation was due to the shock of realizing that his girlfriend of three years was not actually a 27-year-old new media artist from Düsseldorf but rather a pocket calculator is not true). Disappointed electro-tech fans can seek solace in Sunday night's Neon party at the SAT, which has announced that after the cancellation of Headman (boo!), they have added shit-hot producer Mylo (of "Drop the Pressure" fame - yay!) to the already stellar lineup. So if you're counting, that means it's Mylo, Tiefschwarz and Sean Kosa.

For an intimate experience this Saturday, March 26,the monthly Beta-Lab session is being held once again at Café Esperanza. Collaborative experimentation is the name of the game, so drop by and see what naw, Cyan, Scant Intone, Various, Anton and others are up to. It's free!

Finally, video-game music has come a long way from when I used to tape Commodore 64 music to play on my brother's Walkman (Turbo Outrun still rules). Case in point: Amon Tobin's latest effort is the amazing and darkly moody soundtrack for the stealth game Splinter Cell, which he's launching at Theatre Corona this Friday and Saturday with a special 5.1 Surround Sound set! As of writing, there are still tix available for the Friday show. In case you're not lucky enough to snag one, Disko Akimbo is giving away a copy of the CD soundtrack to the first three people who e-mail the answer to this skill-testing question: Which military thriller writer has attached his stamp of approval on the Splinter Cell game? Easy peasy, hit me up.

SHOP TILL YOU DROP! SHOP TILL YOU DROP! Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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