With the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, that deadly flu-like bug with no cure, officially spilling onto this side of the causeway, many were worried about its detrimental effects on the health of the dance industry. However, it was evident that SARS news had not yet escalated to a widespread alert - traffic clogged the roads of Telawi in the Bangsar club district like coronary plague.

Terry Ryan, one-half of UK breakbeat duo, the Atomic Hooligans, sat upstairs at Bilique waiting to go on, having braved the flight into SARS-infected Asia. The atmosphere seemed somewhat sombre, as KL indulged in its typical habit of turning up late, if at all, for independent events like this Beatmonkey night.

When the crowd did arrive, it was a discouraging sight despite their much-welcomed enthusiasm; the night deserved a bigger turnout.

Terry stepped up the decks promptly at 12.30am and kickstarted the set with a little history lesson. Tracing his roots back to his hip-hop days, Terry decided to give the crowd an audiovisual display of excellent turntablism. And it wasn't just a mélange of scratchy noises whining out of the system either, as the sounds were groovy and funky -with a tinge of soul. just the way he likes it.

It was obvious that the disappointingly small numbers were not going to deter the DJ from performing his best. The intimate crowd and setting allowed an optimum level of interaction with the DJ, and the punters followed his gestures like an orchestra to the conductor's baton.

The breakbeat congregation felt more comfortable letting the music take them when they saw that the DJ was having a brilliant time as well. As if attempting to magnetise the remaining wallflowers onto the dance floor, Terry dropped a remix of Missy Elliot's Work It and spiced it up even more with another blinding display of turntablism. Reacting like a swarm of ants to sugar, the wallflowers hovering on the fringes of the dance floor rushed in, while heads on the dancefloor erupted into a spontaneous sing-along.

As the night wore on, Terry decided to get chummier with the Malaysian breaksheads. To the crowd's delight, he left the console to Beatmonkey DJ, Eush, while he joined them for some dancefloor foot action.

For the closing set, Eush chilled the crowd out before wrapping up the night. It was obvious that he has moved out of his bedroom DJ mode, judging by the tremendous improvements of his opening and closing sets since his debut with the Beatmonkeys late last year.

Finally, many went away with happy faces and sufficiently blistered feet. Thank you's were free flowing as eager punters crowded around the night's main attraction, Terry Atomic. In Malaysia, punters often come up to thank DJs out of honesty - they've had a good time and they want the DJ to know - not just because they want to grease their palms with superstar sweat.

It cannot be stressed more what a pity it is that despite the obviously good acts brought in by the Beatmonkey crew, turnouts continue to hover at a small number. Let's hope word gets around quickly in support of independent promoters and more importantly, purely good music.
 

-Kathia