Kid Hops was spinning some of the trad dub for which his Positive Vibrations show is famous as I entered Neumos for the Db in Dub Pt. 1 showcase. Approaching the bar, I felt some seriously fearsome vibrations, most of ’em positive (who knew trousers and bones could fibrillate like that?). “The bass has all of these bottles rattling,” the bartender told me. “The lights [above the bar] have been shorting out, too.” Ah, Sean Horton’s promise in this article was no idle boast: “Rest assured, there’ll be massive amounts of bass at these venues.” Duly noted and appreciated.

Hops played an extended set due to DJ /rupture missing his flight (such a bummer). Then came Echospace, two chunky Michigan-based Caucasians who laid down some grave Basic Channel-like dub techno, but funkier than those pioneers ever were. The kickdrums were lethal, like the hammers of the gods hitting coffin nails, but the bass at times distorted. Having just had a convo with Decibel sound guru Vance Galloway about the 21” Macauley subwoofers ($70k retail for those babies), it seemed weird that all the acts wouldn’t be dialed in for this showcase. But apparently they were saving the full monty for headliner Benga. Hmm. When you have artists the caliber of Echospace and Mad Professor below the headliner, you might as well blow things out to the max all night. Just my outsider's opinion, but I think it’s one shared by others.

Anyway, Echospace proved themselves the true heirs to Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus with a crushingly great set. Aquatic/astral atmospheres whorled above a FAT bottom end, a stolid, two-ton Teutonic 4/4 that bulbously shimmied and often made me think this was the best shit ever. The looks on other punters’ faces suggested a consensus building among us.

Crossing the street to Sole Repair, I caught Swedish-born LA-based minimalist Mikael Stavöstrand in mid set. Minimal-techno producers often surprise when they play out, as their tracks seem to accumulate more girth and emphasize the pleasure principle more than they do on record. Such was the case with this intense Swede, whose driving cuts subverted common perceptions about “cold Scandinavians.” Pretty party people were getting their groove on just fine to Stavö’s clicky, linear tracks.

Derek Plaslaiko followed and reprised his fantastic Decibel set in this very spot last year. Not that he played the same exact cuts, but rather he spun similarly ass-motivating jams that still carried a weird textural cargo. It got pretty lysergic in Sole Repair for a while, and I may have had a couple of welcome flashbacks. Thanks, Derek.

I only caught a small portion of Mad Professor’s performance, but it seemed like folks were really feeling it—even the hyper-critical Stranger IT savant Briango, who savaged the Prof’s last Seattle gig at Nectar. Things seemed to lock into a history-lesson-ish steez, and I heard the track “Fast Forward Into Dub,” which the Orb sampled for "Blue Room," at least twice (not complaining at all, as it’s the jam). He reportedly dropped Massive Attack’s “Teardrop,” Bob Marley’s “Slave Driver,” Johnny Clarke’s “Blood Dunza,” Lee Perry’s “Bushweed, Corn Trash,” and probably something off No Protection, too.

But the man I really wanted to see, Benga, brought it tough—most of the time. With the bass presha finally being pushed to the max, we could feel the low end with apocalyptic force. Neumos was hot as fuck (did I mention how well attended every venue was last night? The Sight Below informed me that the Ghostly International event at SAM had an overflow crowd, as well. What dismal economy?), and Benga’s humid dubstep plates only intensified the jungly aura. His selections ranged from stalking to R&B to loved-up to apocalyptic (talking Bug-like menacing), although Benga ended on a very weak pop-R&B-flavored number.

While we’re griping, I could’ve done without the MC’s frequent badgering to “Make some fucking noise, See-ATT-l.” I thought we were done with this tired trope. Oh, no, it’s still going strong, even in dubstep, mate. This bald white bloke [anyone know his name? My research turned up nothing] uttered other inanities, too. Some peepz love MCs in dubstep. I find that only Space Ape, with his understated, deep monotone, really does it for me in this context.

But let’s end on a positive note. During Benga’s set, a young white couple were freak dancing like mad, front and center before the stage. Maybe that's why it was so hot in Neumos…