by RAF KATIGBAK

With all the events going down this Dollard des Ormeaux weekend, you'd think that DDO was the patron saint of shakin' yer booty or somethin'. Tonight, May 15, drop by Amnesia (1421 Bishop) for a night of free and banging techno. A.W.O.L. is an event celebrating the launch of several singles from the new local tech-oriented label Adverse Recordings. On hand at the wheels o' steel will be DJs Preach, Sarcastic and Mark Belson.

Friday night, BBCM kicks off their Hot & Dry weekend bash with a special set by local spinster Mat Ste-Marie at Unity II. The party continues at Metropolis on May 17 as Ministry of Sound resident DJ Paulette will rock a certainly hot but not-so-dry crowd with her twisted tribal-house stylings. Also on the bill will be locals Stephan Grondin and the Stereomovers.

For an intimate affair, this Friday, May 16, the Lost Tribe of Monkeys present Stepin 3:36, a loft party at 1000 St-Dominique where Lexis and Dr. Love will be re-united to bring you nine hours of deep, funky, soulful house, U.K. garage and 2-step from 11 p.m. on.

Saturday, May 17, over at the always-slamming Chemistry nights at Blizzarts, residents Bliss and DJ Mini will be joined by guest DJ Amyl Nitrate, who'll be dropping an early set of synth pop and new wave.

Of course, Jordan Dare will be absent from Chemistry on Saturday since he'll be way too busy rocking the crowd with partners in crime the Kosa Brothers. Their twisted electro-rap trio Evening Live will be premiering their live act at the latest Neon/Elektra party at Usine C. Parisian duo Black Strobe will also be appearing for the first time in North America that night, so come on out! (Make sure to get there early and catch the immersive Black_Box multimedia performance.)

On the drum & bass tip, the IDJ crew once again represent the Montreal massive with another In Da Jungle event this Saturday. Special guests will include DJ Kinetic, DJ Rocwyldah, MC Stryka and Sleek. A tenner at the door, call 401-6774 for deets. On the rave tip, Utopia 4 will feature Johan Gielen from Belgium, Yahel from Israel, Electronica Gonzalez from Mexico as well as a slew of local talent. Dial 997-4203 for info.

With too much talent to mention, Swirl 2003 looks like one of the biggest one-night gatherings of local artists in a long time. A veritable mini-festival, with sounds ranging from the hip hop of DJ Shortcut to the electrotek of Philgood to the minimal tek of Pheek to the funky breaks of DJ Czech, Swirl's got a little somethin' for everyone. At the Pepsi Forum, $50 at the door.

Not one to be outdone, Aria is getting a triple-threat weekend together featuring guests DJs Sven Väth, Deep Dish and Misstress Barbara on Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively. Whoa!

After rocking the dancefloor at the Sounds From the Underground party, Wikkid Recordings artist Pivot returns with more deft beats and sweet melodies next Wednesday, May 21, at Saphir's Flexout night. Represent!

It's a madhouse! A madhouse! Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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