DUBTEMPO WITH DJ CHICUS AND SPECIAL GUEST NAPPY G WEDS., MAY ...
H DJ CHICUS AND SPECIAL GUEST NAPPY G WEDS., MAY 5
THERE WAS RENT to pay. The guy behind the deli counter stuck his greasy thumb in my sandwich. The subway stopped working. And McDonald's decided I "wasn't a right fit for their team." But nothing was going to bring me down with the sun shining like that.
With the chicas back in their mini-skirts, it's time to satisfy those seasonal hormonal cravings. DJ Chicus of Redbud Records is throwing a monthly reggae and dub jam the first Wednesday of every month at Bar 169. This month's special guest is Nappy G., a regular percussionist for the Turntables on the Hudson crew who will drop some riddims for the masses' bottoms. Feel it in dos hips shawty.
The last time I drank too much tequila at Centro-Fly was two Saturdays ago when Fatboy Slim played a set of raving ecstasy anthems for the long kiss goodnight to one of the city's better jock spots. Also gone is Arc, formerly Vinyl. The big question on everyone's mind: What the hell are we gonna do with all those Jersey and Long Island kids? The mayor's office is probably hoping they'll just stay at the Hunka Bunka in Sayreville. Fellas, I hear it's Ladies' Night. You know what that means? One-dollar Coors Light. Tell Vinny and Johnny it's gonna be girls gone wild in Sayreville this Saturday. Make sure you book your appointment at the tanning salon in advance.
While I'm baking my skin orange, I'll be listening to Blue Note Revisited, a nice compilation of remixed tracks from the label's back catalog. Blue Note has jumped into the game of giving their classic jazz tracks an electronic rub, following Verve, which already has two out. (You can just imagine the glee on producers' faces when they were tapped to raid the legendary jazz label's vaults.)
Bugz in the Attic give Gene Harris' "Los Alamitos Latinfunklovesong" a nice slice of broken beat midway through the tune to cut it into two pieces: old and new jazz. Also doing a nice chop job is DJ Cam on the already funky Donald Byrd track "The Emperor." Most times when producers try to update the jazz sound, they come off as being too nostalgic and turn the music into easy listening. (Guru's Jazzmatazz series felt outdated the minute you pushed play.) But here, Blue Note did a good job in selecting dance tunes that offer a timeless spectrum of sound. This album, for sure, will be getting heavy rotation this summer. I just hope the crowd at Bunkas will appreciate it this weekend.
Bar 169, 169 E. B'way (Essex St.), 212-473-8866, 10, free.