TOUR REPORT 2004

It all begins with a dream !

How true this line is proving for Jazzy Concepts ! Hip-Hop Hurray, the All-India Tour has so far gone to Chennai, Shillong, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Delhi. Other cities to follow are Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chandigarh. The tour has featured DJ NEBIU (AFRICA) and DJ JAZZY JOE (INDIA). Jazzy is also the conceptualiser and promoter of the tour through Jazzy Concepts.

The tour began on 28th May, 2004 when Jazzy and Nebiu flew in to The Park, Chennai for the first show on 29th May at PASHA, the Hottest club in Chennai. The creme de la creme of Chennai's party crowd turned up for the event marking a wonderful start to the whole tour. The crowd danced all night long to the Hip-Hop beats and the party was on till the wee hours of the morning. It was a great night except for a brief period when the resident DJ insisted on playing a session of House music (On a Hip-Hop night???) and wouldn't stop till there were less than 10 people left on the floor. But then, Chennai always does this strange blend of Hip-Hop and House - the crowd want Hip-Hop and the DJ's want to play House. Guess who wins ??

After Chennai, Nebiu had to go back to Delhi for some exams and Jazzy travelled to Guwahati by 2 seperate Trains (Chennai-Kolkata and Kolkata-Guwahati) to set up the North-East side of the tour. As this was the first time Jazzy was coming to this side, he wanted to be sure that all the fine details were properly worked out to ensure great shows. His good friend Mr. S.M. FARID (also known as DJ FREDDY, having learnt DJ'ing from Jazzy), who was incidently the one who suggested and encouraged the whole North-East tour, made sure that Jazzy was taken good care of and helped out with the details. Although the event liason in Guwahati (Take Off) gave a lot of trouble, Shillong and Gangtok were very supportive and encouraging. Finally, with a lot of work and patience, details were worked out and the shows were ready to roll. So, Nebiu was flown in to Guwahati on 10th June and the tour continued with Jazzy, Nebiu and Freddy reaching Shillong on 11th June where the show was on 12th at CLOUD 9, Hotel Centre Point. Before the show, the trio went around town shopping and taking in the sights - Jazzy fell in love with the place. One of the Hotspots was this cute coffee shop called SWISH which had wonderful food and great service. Also, they saw the launch of a new place called TANGO and also visited the other clubs in Shillong. As for the show, with Mr. MING (the very dynamic owner of Center Point) personally involved, it was a phenomenal turnout of the Best crowd in Shillong (and also other parts of the North-East). The night Rocked on till the wee hours of the morning and it was a memorable experience for both the dj's. Then, it was back to Guwahati so that Gangtok could be reached.

After a good night's sleep, the trio left for the airport on 14th morning for the Guwahati-Bagdogra flight ( after Bagdogra, which is really the airport name for Siliguri, it takes around 3 hours to Gangtok by car). But, the roads were blocked due to some procession, resulting in a huge traffic jam. Although a lot of good friends at the airport and in the airlines went out of their way to help out, the delay made sure that the flight was missed. HORROR !! This meant that the first night (there were three different nights in Gangtok) would be Missed. Immediately, Gangtok was informed - they already had someone waiting to recieve the dj's at Bagdogra. What a mess !! But, the good people at Gangtok understood the problem and reacted in a very mature way. Now, the issue was how to reach Gangtok - either they could take the flight next day or they would have to travel by road (12 hours). Jazzy decided that the road was better as anything could happen with a flight (cancellation, delays, etc.) but at least the bus will reach by morning although it meant quite a strain on the body. Everyone agreed and so the bus was boarded at 5.30pm and it reached Siliguri at 8.00am. A Sumo was taken for the rest of the journey and after breakfast, the climb through the mountains began. What an amazing journey - greenery, mountains and streams! They just had to get Nebiu's permit (him being a foreigner) made at the Sikkim border (it took 10 minutes) and then they were off to Gangtok. On reaching, they checked into Hotel Hungry Jack, an amazing hotel with wonderful rooms, great views from the windows and a great Room Service Menu! And, in came ZIMBA - Jazzy's good friend and the man responsible for setting up the whole Gangtok tour. His fun-loving and down-to-earth attitude soon had Nebiu and Freddy also talking to him as if they knew him for years. Also, Zimba introduced his friend KARMA who within 5 minutes became everyone's friend - such are people of Sikkim.

Well, Gangtok was waiting for the DJ's to spin their magic. So much so, that the previous night (which the dj's missed) was a sellout at LITTLE ITALY, Zimba's lovely place, because everyone wanted to hear the dj's and even when they were told that the dj's could not be there due to a missed flight, they partied anyway! And, after meeting the press at 'The Square', a lovely eatery with a versatile menu in fast food, it was time to go for the HIGH ENERGY (Another Jazzy Concept) night at BLUES, one of the hottest places in Gangtok with a large dance floor, a spacious seating area and most important, a big console! As it was a tuesday night, Jazzy & Nebiu did not expect a huge crowd like on a weekend - but were they surprised later! Although the evening began slowly, the DJ's were happy to see the place jam-packed soon with the crowd totally freaking out to the Club House Grooves being spun. In fact, the DJ's were so happy & excited after the night that they just couldn't sleep. So, Zimba & Karma decided to take them to GANESHA TOP, which is the one of the highest points in Gangtok from where you can actually look down on the city and see the whole city at one go (although at night, you see a lot of lights) - quite a beautiful sight. The sight cooled the guys down and they decided to hit the bed as next day was bound to be exciting as Karma promised more sight-seeing.

Next day, Karma took Nebiu, Jazzy & Freddy to see the LING-DUM Monestry which belongs to his uncle and is just a little distance away - quite a surreal experience for all three. Also, the long ride was a treat, especially for Jazzy who is quite a nature lover. Once back, time had come to get ready for the HIP-HOP HURRAY night at TIME OUT, a small but very vibrant place, one of the Hotspots in town. This time, the DJ's were ready for the Rockin' crowd of Gangtok and they got what they expected. The place was soon jam-packed and the crowd hopped their hips to the Hottest Hip-Hop, Rap & Ragga tracks mixed by the DJ's. Nebiu was dancing away in the console and Jazzy was Scratching away on his turntable. The night carried on till the wee hours of the morning and the DJ's were happy with another satisfying night. Freddy suggested that after a quick meal, they should get a quick sleep as next early morning, they had to get back to Siliguri for the flight back to Guwahati. So, after a good short nap, all three began the journey back with a sumo that would take them to Siliguri in three hours. After a great long journey through hills, streams and bridges, they reached Siliguri in time for their flight.

Reaching Guwahati by the afternoon, they were taken to 'THE CREST', which was the venue for the show that night (Thursday, 17th June) and which was also where Nebiu & Jazzy were to stay in special guest rooms. Freddy went back home to meet his wife and family after the long time out. As the evening progressed, one thing became quite a problem - unexpected rain. As the venue was an open one, it started to create tension and everyone was hoping the rain would stop. It would stop but start again in a little while - quite an issue. But, Mr. JEWEL (as he is lovingly known), the Dynamic Owner of the property, made sure that the night would happen as he got his guys to immediately make a canopy out of bamboo and plastic sheets for the DJ Console to keep the equipment & DJ's dry. He also was ready with an alternate indoor venue in case the rain didn't stop. Well, the rain subsided and the crowd also turned up and the DJ's began their magic. Soon, the dance floor was packed with people rocking to the Hot sounds coming from the speakers. And all of a sudden, it started raining again............the DJ's thought that it was maybe the end of the night as crowd would move from the open dance floor. But, the crowd did not move and stayed dancing to the music as they were having a great time and did not want to lose out. In fact, everything became even more sexier as they got drenched and started to enjoy themselves even more. The DJ's were pleasantly surprised and made sure they played all the hottest tracks to keep such a receptive crowd happy. All good things must come to an end........the night also came to an end once everyone was totally tired and drenched. It was a night no one in Guwahati or the DJ's would soon forget !

With that, the North-East side of the tour was completed......but the DJ's still had the weekend so they decided to stay. The next day (Friday, 18th), the DJ's put in a special performance for Indian Oil at the Noonmati Club at a function organised by the troublesome event company, Take Off (who have still not paid the DJ's for that performance). Then, Jazzy insisted on going back to Shillong on saturday for the Bacardi night happening at Hotel Centre Point and also to buy a few pairs of shoes he saw last time. Nebiu agreed and so, off they went for the 2 hours drive to Shillong......once there, they checked into the hotel and went for the shoes. By now they were hungry and since Nebiu had been dying to eat Momos ever since he came to the North-East, they decided to eat some at a nearby place. After going through the Menu, Nebiu decided to try the 'Large' momos to see what was so large. Once the momo came, Jazzy couldn't stop laughing as it was a HUGE momo - at least 6 inches in diameter and 2-3 inches high......Jazzy insisted they get it packed and take it to the room where they could take a photo of this 'Football' momo. So, they took it back, took a photo, finished it and got ready for a long night of dancing. The bacardi night started late and had a Delhi DJ playing who played Hip-Hop, R&B and even Rock & Roll to keep people on the floor. Both the DJ's danced away till the last song was played and were one of the last ones to leave. After a long sleep, it was decided on Sunday to go to Cherapunji, which was only about 2 hours drive from Shillong.


........to be continued :)

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