UOX Play Future @ Bukit Kiara Indoor Arena

By Ben Liew  •  in Reports
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The night was all set to be a rocking rave-out affair at the recent UOX Play Future. After 6 successful installments featuring dozens of performances from international and local music acts, this 7th and final party was to end the series with a bang.

And what a bang it was! Proving once and for all that dance music rules the world was the star-studded line up of Stretch Armstrong, Pase Rock, Sh!tdisco and Steve Aoki. Joining them were our local heroes of indie disco Twilight Actiongirl and electro agitators Lapsap.

JUICE got there early to support our rakan joget TAG. Apart from the few diehard Taggers, most of the early crowd consisted of UOX and Xpax members who took advantage of the special door promotion where free entry was permitted with every RM20 reload.

After 2 good hours of familiar tunes, the dance floor was well warmed up and ready for Stretch Armstrong to take over. The New York-based DJ was known for helping to establish the careers of artists such as Redman, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and Busta Rhymes. So it was only natural that his set consisted of a blend of hip house and electro. We really dug the percussive instruments mixed into the background of his music that give his tracks a sort of tribal feel as well.

Carrying on the party was none other than celebrity DJ of choice Pase Rock. As the DJ for private parties of stars like Snoop Dogg, the Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake, the charming Pase Rock was looking sharp in his tuxedo and spun some even sharper hip hop flavoured tunes.

The real fun started close to midnight as Sh!tdisco took over the decks. The twisted disco punkers quickly scared off the poseurs with their noisy jarring beats, but won the hearts of true partiers. Halfway through their set, we heard the familiar Lapsap chant: “Shake it! Shake it! Shake it!” Turns out, the good ol’ Lapsap boys had joined Sh!tdisco on the decks as a tour de force of electro punk.

But the night was not over yet. And the man that everyone came to see finally arrived on the scene a little past midnight. Steve Aoki immediately turned the volume up to 11. For a DJ, he certainly did not spend much time behind the decks. Instead, he was at the front of the stage most of the time, throwing water at the audience and screaming into the mike like a hardcore rocker or a tripped out wrestler.

The award-winning DJ’s music could only be described as frantic and raw. We started thinking to ourselves: “This is not a rave. This is an all out rock concert disguised as a dance party!”

Idol worshipping aside, many of the performers that night came out on stage to join Steve towards the end of his set. Pase Rock started skankin’ like a rude boy and the Sh!tdisco boys stage dived into the crowd like the rockstars they are. We even spotted a funky white dude with a huge camera who turned out to be The Cobrasnake.

All in, the party was mad and left us wanting for more. It really showed that the harder side of dance music could be as energetic as a stadium rock concert. Rave on!

UOX Play Future blew our minds at the Bukit Kiara Indoor Arena on 30 May 2009. Checkout the insanity at our gallery here.

Image UOX