It used to be, come the first week of the month, you could count on a new Certified Bananas MP3 mixtape showing up on-line, clocking hits of the day (reggaeton, rap, dancehall) alongside the Providence DJ duo’s inimitable blends and remixes (say, freak-folkstress Joanna Newsome tagged over a Tego Calderon beat). There’s been Web silence since October: P. Neezy and the Audiovandal have been in the lab working on an “official” debut — that is, a self-released mixtape on CD instead of on-line — as well as preparing the CD version of a split mix with NYC’s Caps + Jones of sets originally released on Phoenix contributor Chris Nelson’s Lemon-Red.org blog.
But even during the MP3 blackout, CB have continued to make noise with their monthly residency at Central Square’s Enormous Room, and last Thursday night they made their second appearance in two weeks, the bonus round tacked on to accommodate a visit from Canada’s Disorganised Crew. The men of Disorganised — Pho, Camelonic, and DJ Booth — throw a monthly party in Ottawa that has hosted guests from Caps + Jones to Diplo and is legendary for its ability to get a regular bunch of people wildin' out in the basement of a family restaurant. At the beginning of the night, though, the Certified dudes were behind the decks, dropping the needle in a style somewhere between booty shaking and anything goes, with the Cure and Cam’ron shacking up on a playlist with trumped-up A Tribe Called Quest remixes. Harvard/MIT-looking preppies milled; one couple used the music for its proper purpose, as the soundtrack to an attempt to get it on in the corner. They were sitting above my head, flirting in naughty ways, but it was clear that this particular Poindexter couldn’t quite seal the deal. Also, he kept kicking me while mackin’. Party foul!
It took till midnight for the dancing to kick in, but when it did — as disheveled hipsters and sexier hip-hop heads started to filter in and Disorganised Pho dropped Amerie’s “1 Thing” remix — the crowd woke up. Amerie is still undeniable, and hourglass-shaped ladies gyrated in a corner while a cute MIT scientist-type worked hard up front and charmed the girls. There were drunken-making-out-on-the-dance-floor moments. A Canadian indie-rocker girl broke out solid video-ho’ dance moves. The DJs spun Kool Moe Dee and serenaded themselves with Rhiannon’s ode-to-DJs “Pon de Replay.” At 1 am, Pho gave a quick taste of his project with singer Alanna Stewart. As Bonjay, she sang in patois, covered Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps,” and reimagined TV on the Radio’s “Staring at the Sun” over a dancehall beat. There was, as the man once sang, no parking on the dance floor. But as I walked to my car, I found a Cambridge police officer blocking my path while writing up a ticket for a car with Canadian plates. He rolled down his window, looked at me, and spit, in a perfect Boston accent, “The Canucks are gonna get it.”
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On the Web:
Certified Bananas: http://www.certifiedbananas.com/
Disorganised Crew: http://www.myspace.com/thesexuallifeofsavages
Email the author:
Elisabeth Donnelly: elisabeth.donnelly@gmail.com
