Live Review: Salmonella Dub Soundsystem, Kosha D Vs De La Haye, Operon & Dayelle

DJs Kosha D and De La Haye go back to back in an opening set to warm things up. They start with solid reggae tunes and have the people there early dancing for most of their set. Having heated the crowd up a bit they move to jungle and everyone joins them. Even as they go to darker vibes the crowd stays with them, although they don't stay long, going back to ragga jungle and even into some footwork. As their set progresses and more people reach the dancefloor it's shaping up to be a great night.

The DJs then drop back down near the end of their set so that Salmonella Dub Soundsystem – a vocalist, DJ and three-piece horn section – can come on. On the first night of their east coast tour, Salmonella Dub Soundsystem are in top shape.

Their first song is a cover of Junior Byles' Fade Away, making full use of the horn section and excellent lead vocals. They then move into jungle territory and remain there for most of the night, with the crowd getting right into it. The instrumentalists switch between their horns and various percussion instruments, utilising them all to full effect. They strip it back to the roots several times, giving the crowd a bit of a break, with originals like For The Love Of It and a cover of John Holt's Hooligan (Change Your Style). These have the crowd skanking briefly before going all out again to jungle, keeping it going until the end as they wind the room down with down-tempo tunes.

By this point a fair chunk of people have gone, with only the hardcore fans left to hear out DJ Operon and MC Dayelle, who keep up the down-tempo tunes for a few songs before moving into future jungle and the techier side of drum and bass. Dayelle arrives on the stage meekly, but owns the stage once she gets her feet, getting what is left of the crowd moving and cheering. Operon's tune selection is perfect for the crowd, and any time anyone recognises a tune they show it. Dub Phizix and Skeptical feat. Strategy's Marka gets the type of reaction you expect from a monster of a tune. Operon plays a few originals that go over just as well as everything else. Dayelle does a smashing job on microphone duty and lets tunes run appropriately.