To all the Drum and Bass MCs out there who insist on calling for the rewind at every possible opportunity… please stop it.

The average DJ wants to take the punters on a journey, carefully selecting tracks, mixing, blending and teasing the crowd. The flow of a good set is ruined by incessant calls for rewinds. It really isn’t necessary. Granted, if the DJ drops and absolute stonker of a track, and the crowd is calling for it then, yes perhaps the rewind is justified. But not on every bloody track (once or twice per set should be the limit). And lets be frank… calling a rewind is no substitute for good lyrics.

I remember seeing Andy C up at United Dance in Stevenage back in the late 90s (before he was recognised for the true talent that I could see clearly). Along with amazing me with his technical skills as well as ear for a good tune not to mention his production abilities, I was especially pleased to see Andy turning down MC GQ’s call for a rewind with a curt shake of the head. A sharp reminder that MC’s are there to compliment the DJ and not take over.

So what’s brought this rant on all of a sudden? The Thekla was my favorite club while at uni. Dark, dingy, unpretentious with a great sound system all housed in a ship mored up in Bristol’s Floating harbor it was unique.

Two years after moving back to Bristol, I still hadn’t been back to the Thekla, put off slightly by the talk of the refurbishment changing the nature of the venue. That was until about two weeks ago when Nat and Jon came up to visit us in Bristol. Nat had managed to blag guest list tickets for Hospitality, the monthly drum and bass night.

It’s been a while since I’ve been out dancing, and I have to say I love it. The heavy basslines reverberating around the Thekla’s hull just took me. Entertained by the likes of Marcus Intalex, Blame and Fabio, it was a great night and good to see that Drum and Bass is still going strong. Quite a different crowd from back in the day with a much more student crowd (which left us feeling old) rather than the rougher rabble of the past.

While enjoying the music and several beers, I found myself composing this post in my head, something that I used to do a lot while drunk at gigs. Shame it has taken me over two weeks to actually write the thing.

To finish off, big up and nuff respec to Nat and Jon for coming up for the weekend and getting me out listening to what I love.