We arrived at the Nektar Bar around 8pm to be greeted by Verse One and Krafty. After sharing a beer or two it was easy to tell these two guys were down to earth and wanted to make sure that everyone was having a good time. Even after having a four and a half hour bus journey from Inverness.

The night was hosted by 'IQ' (Immense & Quest) who were also on the bill to perform but could not because of the venue's time wasting by not letting 'The Kazzo Funk Orchestra' on stage because of an issue with one of the band members age. They finally relented and we were treated to some wacky, funky tunes that were so out there you could not help but enjoy.

After Kazzo 'The Remedies' came on stage. This was the first time I have really heard anything from these guys and I was impressed with what I heard. If you like your hip-hop funky then check out 'The Remedies'. Northern's voice is unique. Quest also managed to show off his beatboxing skills teaming up with Northern for a couple of tracks.

The next group were 'The 44's' and, although good, did not seem to fit in with the rest of the line up being more of a rock band.

Last up was Verse One & Krafty who performed tracks from their new album 'Beat Thief' (review here). During their stint the crowd was treated to a freestyle set with a host of MC's on stage including Bluhnt, who I had a good chat with and is a top bloke, Freestyle Master and Cad who turned up to promote the album 'Natural Selection' (review here). There must have been around 10 mc's on stage and it was good to see all the various styles on show.

Soon after the freestyle set finished the venue, who did not seem to want any punters through the door the whole night, cut Verse One's set short due to the venues bad handling of the earlier situation. Not all was lost tho as Verse & Krafty continued their set at the after-party which was in Northern's Gaff. This was a crazy night with a next door neighbour 'broke in' to Northeren's house and demanded that the music stopped while Verse held the mic to his mouth. Priceless. A few hours and beers later the Police arrived and put an end to the night.

All in all this was a good night that, unfortunately due to the venue wasting time, could have been a great night, but I can not fault the acts. All on top form.

Review by Chris Torres

You can view photos of the night in our gallery section.

You can view a video of the night in our video section.

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