Gig Review: Flowidus with Jabz MC @ Hide Club, Christchurch – 16/11/2019

Billed as the perfect kick-ons for the Saturday of Canterbury’s Show and Race Day long weekend, hordes of white-shirted, short-skirted punters flooded into Hide Club to get frothy with popular local act Flowidus. Momentum Promotions has been on a roll lately and despite a couple of technical hiccups, this latest event was a continuation of their high quality line-ups and well-run evenings.

Kicking off with CSM B2B Hollistic, these eager young DJ’s, adorned in appropriately summery attire, got the evening started with a rapid-paced selection of jump-up and rave bangers. Working closely together, tweaking knobs and getting each other hyped, the pair appeared to trade single tracks which kept the energy high although the flow and blend was a bit choppy as a result. However, the early crowd ate up tunes like the classic Fugees Ready or Not remixed in the popular jump-up/fog-horn style.

Manik stepped up next and laid down a solid set full of excellent selections, focusing on heavy, minimal tracks with a consistent vibe. From Document One’s popular Holy Moly, with its tinkling keys and heaving bass, to Culture Shock’s Bunker (no, the vocal cue is not “take me down to the boat shed”), Manik exhibited concentration behind the decks, eventually loosening up as the set went on, interacting with the dancefloor and bouncing along with a sun-glassed hypeman who gun-fingered the appreciative crowd into a frothy lather. A couple of gain issues aside, Manik impressed and was a perfect lead into the main act.

Due to some unfortunate technical issues with the microphone, Flowidus’ appearance was delayed until nearing 1am. When Raphael Henderson, the NZ-based half of the duo, began his high-energy set with some massive stomping beats, a frantic audio engineer could be seen, torch in hand, examining the mixer and sound system rack. Despite this, both the volume and crowd energy lifted, and when Jabz MC was finally able to jump on vocals, there was another clear lift in crowd vibes. A seasoned veteran of the NZ scene, Jabz MC’s professionalism and dedication was noticeable from the outset, the perfect blend of crowd hype and lyrical flow.

As the long weekend activities began to take their toll on some overly-inebriated participants (a few of them being dragged near-comatose from the venue – ease up on the booze and party pills please kids!), Mr Henderson’s infectious energy behind the decks kept an amped-up dancefloor reaching for the sky. Track highlights included Urbandawn’s popular remix of Come Together, High Contrast’s If We Ever (I don’t think it was the Unglued Remix but could have been double-dropped with another bassline), and Flowidus’ own Gaspan which is a certified destroyer. Jabz MC stalked through the crowd, alert to the vibes and energy of the crowd, prodding for more participation when needed, but expertly knowing when to let the tunes speak for themselves. A humorous highlight near the end of Flowidus’ set: a heavily-tweaked mixer knob worked itself loose, Mr Henderson holding it aloft in surprise and delight.

I only caught the very start of the closing act, but according to one seasoned attendee, Tweed B2B Gunnie might be the most fun I’ve ever had in my life”. High words of praise indeed, and an indication of the strength of Momentum Promotions DJ roster. Get along to one of their nights for drum & bass done right.