OUTTAKES
Drawing the line
New Order bassist-turned-DJ Peter Hook played a rocking set at Tribeca on May 6 - for those lucky enough to get in. More than 100 angry ticket-holders were left queuing in the heat for several hours before fruitlessly seeking a refund and moving on.
University of Hong Kong academic Adam Switzer says he arrived at the club in Wan Chai's Renaissance Harbour View Hotel with some friends about midnight, bought two $220 tickets and was told to stand in line outside the club. 'The line was long, but not, one would imagine, unmanageable. After waiting in line for an hour I estimate I had moved four metres.
'It was then that a few friends and I decided to see if we could get our cash back. But suddenly no one had any idea where the promoter or ticket sales co-ordinator was. I decided to tough it out, but by 2.15am I had only made it to within five metres of the door to the lift lobby.'
Even though the 'full house' sign had been raised, tickets were still being sold. Switzer and his friends had had enough and left. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department says the club is licensed to hold 543 people - including staff - and Switzer questioned why he was sold a ticket bearing the number 0927.
A Tribeca spokeswoman refused to discuss the club's licensed capacity and said the problem was partly due to a large number of patrons with complimentary tickets issued by the event's promoter, Lotion. The promoter did not respond to any of Outtakes' emails.
Historic hip-hop
Hip-hop fans are in for a double treat this month, with sets by one of the pioneers of rap and a DJ who is moving the sound into the future.
First up is tonight's show at Volar by DJ Krush (above), a Japanese turntablist who brings a delicate eastern sensibility to a sound usually associated with macho posturing. Krush spins an intricate web of lazy beats mixed with recordings of traditional Japanese instruments such as the shakuhachi flute.
On May 31, Dragon-i is hosting hip-hop godfather Grandmaster Melle Mel. Melvin Glover was the lead rapper for Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and provided the vocals for 1980s hip-hop tracks such as White Lines and The Message.
