FCK YES!: The Bee's Knees!! Full Review

On May 11^th, 2012, DNBC held The Bee’s Knees!! at The Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, NY. There were 16 performers filling up 3 rooms of sound with both local and international talent to please the masses. This was definitely a bass heavy night of music with TERRAVITA and J.RABBIT topping the bill. Rounding out the line up was ST8CYDE JUMP UP - MENTALLY ILL - LEILA - FOGES - JACK MCDEVITT - MILKDUD - ROME THRASHER - SWANKY JONES - TREVMUNZ - THE BLOCKHEADS - LAZERBASS - L-RAD - FROST BREAKS - SWEATPANTS MONEY.

**PICTURES AFTER WRITE UP**

Everything went off without a hitch. The staff working the entry was prompt, polite and professional and made sure everyone kept it moving inside so there were no hold ups. As soon as I got in I made a BEE line for the side rooms to get a lay out of the party. The side room to the left of the entrance was good sized and properly lit; not too light and not too dark with a nice purplish/blue glow. I had more than enough room to bust a move or two. The set of the night for that room was LAZERBASS. Those two were dropping the dirtiest of the dirty beats, and the crowd was feeling it on the dance floor. Watch out for these two as they make their way to the top.

From there I buzzed over to the other side room with the bar. Like the first room it was proper lit, and had clear access to the bar. But, I had to pass up getting my drink on ($7 for a shot of Jameson??!?!?!?! WTF) The set of the night for this room was without a doubt The Blockheads. Upstate NY drum-n-bass has a name and it is The Blockheads. You will not find a pair who gets hyped during a set more than these two. Every build up and every drop these guys are dancing right along with you. And, as a bonus we got a whole extra hour of The Blockheads due a conflict with the DJ playing the 9-10 spot. BONUS!!

The main stage was glowing bright with the awesome décor the folks at DNBC put up. And the sound was thundering! I am always nervous of getting violated in the ears with improper sound or the levels being too high. Such was definitely not the case at The Bee’s Knees!! Every single act that played the main stage was on point and came correct. Leila, Mentally Ill, St8cyde Jump Up, J. Rabbit and Terravita all killed it. Leila then Mentally Ill were dropping tracks to get the crowd up and grooving. St8cyde Jump Up brought the energy up to the next level with Murdock MC leading the pack with his sharp tongue and lyrical assault.

J. Rabbit was dropping bombs so nasty, I felt like I had to go wash my hands after his set the tracks were so dirrrrrrrty. His set consisted of a lot of mash ups and throw backs which felt fresh and familiar all at the same time. He had the crowd primed and ready to rage for the trio Terravita. One word comes to mind when these three were on stage – p r o p e r. Flawless mixing, superb track flow, and a level of hype that had me raging in between snapping pictures. Every time I peeled myself away from the stage the crowd behind me all looked like the cheshire cat with an ear to ear smile of awesomeness. Terravita mixed up the bangers and dub bombs perfectly in my opinion. They kept you moving track after track all the way up to the very end. If you were in the main room you WERE RAGIN!

I tip my hat to the DNBC crew, and all the performers. All the DJ's brought their A game and got the party to light speed and kept it ragin' all night. The Bee’s Knees!! went off without a single hitch or hiccup. This party was on the next level as far as production value and size. The dance floors were packed with over 800 people, the sound was beautiful, the décor was thought out and fit the theme of the party to the tee, and the after hours was grooving until the wee hours of the morning. Albany, NY should be proud to have a crew like DNBC who is headquartered there. FCK YES! can’t wait to rage out at the next DNBC party.

I was able to ask Leila of DNBC a few questions to see what’s going on behind the scenes with the crew. Check the questions out below and then get your ass over to the DNBC Facebook page and show some love!

1) How did it all begin for DNBC?

Leila: DNBC was originally started by Hokilla & included a few djs that he has been friends with and worked with for many years. In 2007 I was asked to join the crew & a few years later was appointed to head it when Hokilla stepped down to devote more time to his record label (Digital Terror Records). I currently run it with my boyfriend (DJ Mentally ill).

2) Where did the name come from?

Leila: Hokilla & Mikey Wisdom spent a lot of time brainstorming - wanting a name that was powerful, implied that we were some sort of military-like force to be reckoned with and, of course, let people know that we are all about drum and bass!!

3) Did the DJing, Production, Promoting come 1st for you?

Leila: I first started going to clubs in late 2000, and within a year started to get to know people within the Albany scene. I used to hand out fliers to local events and promote parties whenever I was given the chance! I didn't really get into organizing & throwing them until Scooby of Massive Audio approached me about organizing & hosting an event at the Fuzebox in January of 2008. As far as dj'ing... it was something that I always thought would be a lot of fun! Although I knew I wanted to do it, it wasn't until 2006 that I was finally able to afford a set of turntables for myself. I just had a realization that I didn't want to be one of those people who looked back on their life and had a list of things I had always I wanted to do in my life - but never accomplished. I used to lock myself in the bedroom for 8 hours a day just learning how to match a beat! Within a few weeks though, my perseverance paid off and I had my first gig (which I TOTALLY was not ready for!!!). Practice, practice, practice definitely helped though - and within 6 months I had my first cd recorded and was getting booked all over the northeast.

4) How is the scene in your eyes at the moment?

Leila: The scene is definitely growing - which should be obvious to everyone involved! However - with this growth, I see that people seem to be losing a lot of the close feeling that originally drew me to the scene in the first place. I used to go to parties and there were all your kandi kids, your jungle kids, your breakers, and those into hardcore - but it wasn't as segregated as I find it to be these days. It seems that everyone thinks someone else is ruining the scene - but in my opinion - blaming someone else is NOT going to help the scene either. I'd like to see people working together a lot more & more than anything - taking care of each other a lot more! Looking out for the younger kids that come to shows - not blaming them or hating them for being there is a HUGE part of it. The whole concept of PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect) - as cheesy as it may sound - really needs to make a comeback. However - I am very excited that new people are coming into the scene! I fully encourage people to go out to events & love seeing a younger generation! It's a wonderful sign that our scene is growing and I'm glad that it isn't "dying" like so many people complained about a few years ago.

5) What's coming up for DNBC?

Leila: The next event that we are doing is The Bee's Knees on Friday May 11th at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, NY with Terravita (Boston) and J. Rabbit (California) - one of the original members of DNBC who went on to become a HUGE name in the scene. We also have an after party scheduled at Red Square featuring several local artists including myself alongside Mentally ill.

6) Anything else you want to say? Any shout outs?

Leila: I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who comes out to support us at our shows - new and old school! We do it for them! Also - I wanna say a big thanks to everyone who has helped us out leading up to the Bee's Knees - we've had a lot of support from a lot of people & we couldn't have done it without them! For those that might not know about who we are or what we do - you can find us at www.facebook.com/dnbcoalition

-Thank you Leila!