Paradigm, Concord Dawn, Bulletproof at Wyndham Bowling Club

By STEPHEN JEWELL

"You know there's drum'n'bass up there," a well-dressed man says to me as we stand outside the Wyndham Bowling Club - or the WBC as it is fondly known in club circles - at 1.30 on Saturday morning. I assure my new-found friend that I do indeed and he saunters off up the road to the swankier surrounds of pretentious House club Centro.

As it turns out, I'm not the only one that knows that the WBC is home tonight to drum'n'bass - or specifically Clockwork starring the three shining lights of New Zealand's burgeoning drum'n'bass scene, Paradigm, Concord Dawn and Bulletproof - as we have to wait out in the cold for 15 minutes until a few shell-shocked punters have left the full-to-capacity club.

Once we get inside, we're greeted by the awesome sight of Paradigm's long-haired, bushy-bearded wild man DJ Jiggy cutting up a storm on the decks.

I'm initially confused because Paradigm's main players, Mark Kneebone and Damian Vaughan, are nowhere to be seen but eventually I spot the pair loitering with intent behind the turntables.

As a previously unknown quantity to me, Jiggy proves to be the revelation of the night as he effortlessly spans the full spectrum of drum'n'bass, interspersing original Paradigm compositions with international tracks.

Next up is Evan Short from local heroes Concord Dawn, who have cleverly realised that a musical act can actually be in two places when it comes to playing dance music as you essentially need only one person to spin the vinyl and load up the CD player. So while his other half Matt Harvey is touring America, Short keeps the home fires burning with a set that seems geared towards hardcore drum'n'bass aficionados rather than the average clubber as he resists playing Concord Dawn's signature tune, Morning Light.

Short is followed by Bulletproof's Pots, who actually manages to sound harsher and louder although no less musical. Bulletproof are the unsung stalwarts of New Zealand drum'n'bass as they have just as many international releases to their name as Concord Dawn but not the same local profile as they have concentrated on DJ-friendly vinyl and not CDs.

But with the morning light approaching, I decide to call it a night. My companion for the night remarks that he wishes local House gigs were greeted with the same amount of enthusiasm.

But much of Clockwork's relaxed, chilled-out atmosphere can be attributed to the homely, well-spaced out WBC which, apart from the incongruous disco mirror balls hanging from the ceiling, turned out to be the perfect venue for Clockwork.