Hospitality is arguably the most anticipated and widely spread drum and bass nights that hits Cardiff, and it had been a whole year since the last time Hospital Record’s arsenal of dnb assassins came down and assaulted the decks of the Students Union.
Hospital were sending in home-grown hero High Contrast, as well as Danny Byrd, Netsky, Nu:Tone (along with vocalist Natalie Williams) and TC, who came in as a last minute replacement for the ill London Elektricity – and they did not disappoint.
The night started, as usual, with Cardiff’s best offering of resident DJs getting the party well and truly started – something the natives here are very capable of doing.
Roath producer and DJ Lung was the pick of the locals – he is making big impacts in both the dub and drum and bass scenes, with Kryptic Minds remixing his glorious track Afterlife and a forthcoming appearance on Hospital’s own sister label Med School, a bright future beckons for the young artist. He played out to the masses in extraordinary style, making it hard to distinguish between his own set and one of the mega DJs that followed him.
Out of the big guns, who all put in a barnstorming performance, Netsky once again stood out with a set that defined big. He played out exactly what the crowd were there for, old skool drum and bass classics mixed finely into Netsky’s own style of drum and bass, including one of my own favourite tracks ‘Black and Blue’, a remix of Miike Snow.
But it’s always a memorable night when High Contrast steps upon the decks in his home town – and he killed it once again in front of his Cardiff faithful, and once again the crowd were non-stop skanking throughout his whole hour. His classic ‘If We Ever’ is still as big as it was when it came out, and gets everyone (including myself) going nuts as soon as it drops. Talking of going nuts – anyone in attendance would probably have seen and may remember someone who was dressed as a rabbit for the whole seven hours - he was a mate of mine and told me he lost four kilograms! Keep posted for his new fitness DVD, 'The White Rabbit's Weight Loss Habit, out soon...
TC put in a good hours shift, which was very impressive for a last minute call up – although London Elektricity’s disappearance did leave a sour taste in some fans mouth, it was cancelled out by the sweet performances of TC and of course, Nu:tone and Danny Byrd. Vocalist Natalie Williams provided a fantastic sound, which is something that Cardiff doesn’t get to experience often – nice vocals and singing rather than hard-spitting MCs that we get so often.
One of the other, more remarkable things Hospital pulled off was having room two, the Dubstep den, as strong as it was. In a night focused on 170bpm craziness, there was not a weak DJ on show across the corridor from the Great Hall, with Koan Sound playing some rare funky dub tracks as well as their usual dirty business.
Hospital Records have practically perfected their drum and bass nights, and the only bad things to say are about the Students Union itself. Although a great venue, with a decent sound system that has seen many a good rave; the bouncers and bar can dampen a good night out. The security in particular seem incompetent and confused at times, throwing ravers out for seemingly no reason what so ever. And anywhere that charges £3.50 students for a bottle of fosters shouldn’t be able to look at themselves in the mirror!
But after a thrilling night out, all we can do in Cardiff is wait for the hospital team to roll round again!
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
The night started, as usual, with Cardiff’s best offering of resident DJs getting the party well and truly started – something the natives here are very capable of doing.
