2008 team-ups

by SCOTT C

By now, the news that Skratch Bastid has left his post at Blizzarts on Thursday nights has reached the people, as he gallivants around creation, putting all DJs to shame and drinking bars out of stock. What you don’t know is that the night is still very much alive, and that tonight, Thursday, Dec. 13, Trouble Tease proudly presents DJ Static’s Birthday Jam, complete with the best in hip hop and funk courtesy of the birthday boy and DJ Z.Monster. Five dollars gets you in, or $3 with a non-perishable food item. They’re still collecting goods for the NDG Food Depot, so grab some canned goods, pasta, rice or cookies and do your part for those who need it.

Speaking of getting what you need, take a trip to Bobards tonight for an evening with Urban Afro 5. Along with 10 musicians and Kweku from Kweku and the Movement on vocals, this will be a full night of Afrobeat, Afro-funk and Afro-soul. Doors open at 10 p.m. and admission is $5. Also tonight, you can get your tee on at Coda with the Jackal Knife T-Shirt Launch & Holiday Jam, where Goodlife, Weapons House and Ninja Tune unveil some limited-edition gear just in time for Christmas. Look for Sixtoo and Mofomatronix on the decks for good measure, and some special guests throughout the night. It all jumps off at 9 p.m. and it’s free.

Those of you who’ll be in town during the run-up to Jesus’s birthday might want to check out the Kwanzaa Dancefloor Countdown at la Sala Rossa on Dec. 23. Checking out this hot line-up could be one of the better gifts anyone could get two days before Xmas. All the way from Brazil, DJ Tahira should be a welcome change from the norm, while Wax Poetics magazine affiliate Kris Rios rinses some rare gems for the people. Local support comes from Andy Williams and DJ Kobal. Doors open at 8 p.m., with tix $5 before 10 p.m. and $10 after.

Let the New Year’s jams roll! Soulmeka and Therapy team up for a bash at Academy on Dec. 31 with proper sound, open bar from 9 p.m. to midnight and free champagne when the clock strikes 12. Tix are $15 in advance with DJs Misayo, Tazz, Uzi, Simon B., Soundshaper and B’Ugo, plus more set to step up. Peer Pressure and I Love Neon also team up at SAT just for you this year, bringing you more bang for your buck. Ottawa’s Jokers of the Scene play alongside the Peer Pressure DJs and Nu Ravers on the Block in the Peer Pressure Room, while New York’s Drop the Lime, L.A.’s Guns ’N’ Bombs and Toronto’s Crystal Castles play alongside Jordan Dare and Thomas Von Party in the Neon room. The first 100 tix are $35, with advance tickets going for $39.50, or $55 at the door. Go see Kano at Moog for the early batch, but move quick!

Seven reasons we need a countdown:
1. Ghostface Killah Big Doe Rehab (Def Jam)
2. Wu-Tang Clan “16th Chamber ODB Special” (Motown)
3. Robert Strauss Mr. Feelings (BBE)
4. Mark de Clive Lowe Freesoul Sessions EP 1 (Antipodean)
5. Busta Rhymes Dillagence (jdilla.org)
6. Too $hort “In the Trunk” (Premier Mix) (CDR)
7. John Klemmer “Free Soul” (Cadet)

BAD BOYS MOVE IN RELATIVE SILENCE...
fathead@videotron.ca