[FLOWREXsac]

Sunday 30th October, Huddersfield

Just wanted to quickly throw up a quick review of the 'Sunday Roast' Jam held this weekend.

I arrived in Huddersfield this morning to find Zorro and his team hard at work moving restaurant tables, setting up sound systems and setting up a marquee outside the bar/restaurant called the Verve Bar. The bar staff were obviously really happy to be playing host to the event and were really talkative and friendly.

As people started to arrive it was clear that the jam had some pull bringing in dancers from both the local towns of leeds, bradford, hull, manchester as well as dancers from as far as london and cambridge. There was also a very good popping contingent present too which was great.

On the decks was D.bo from La Familia playing some of the best hip hop I have heard at a jam for a long time. Throughout the day D.bo continued to spin awesome songs which kept the circles moving from the beginning to the end with poppers and bboys alike loving the beats.

There were two main areas to jam, outside the front of the venue under a marquee with hardboard flooring put down and a really good PA but also inside the venue where there was a dedicated area for people to jam there too.

The comp started with some showcase battles, the first being between two promising talents Little Jay (TBB) and Ghetlow's newest addition Bboy Lite, the skill level even for two really young dancers coming through was really high with Jay showing bags of style and Lite coming through with 5 rounds of relentless power which made for a good meeting of steez. The second battle was also hype with Steel City Rocker's own Bboy Loki vs Dollars (Ghetlow) both dancers again went all out for the full 5 rounds...and it was good to see some of the new generation of Uk bboys going hard.

The Sunday Roast concept was originally to have 4 different 7 to smoke battles each lasting around 15-20 minutes long and on this occasion the numbers dictated that there would be a showcase round for all of the dancers to throw down one set from which the judges (Zorro, Mouse, Soopa Jay) would pick out the top 16 and those dancers would from two groups of 8 for a seven to smoke battle. There were a few new faces making moves in this round, Clint from rain went hard as did some of the members of Generation Ill from Cambridge Marshki and VJ being notable, of course the usual suspects Beans held it down for Ghetlow in this round and Paco (Trinity warriors) was battling even in the showcase round like a true circle soldier. In the seven to smoke battle the two dancers who emerged victorious were the abstract styled Sleepless (Mixed Blood Brothers) and Beans (Ghetlow) who went through to the days final.

An interesting idea but a great one was part of the Sunday Roast ethos where, everyone got to sit down in the restaurant for 30 mins to eat a really nice sunday roast which was reasonably priced at £5 per head, the whole meal was hearty and substantial and added another element of community to the day as people sat down to chat and eat together...I think this is a really nice touch and I think it is always good to give people more of a reason to connect outside the circles too....great food! I wanted 2 dinners....not because it was small but because I am a fatty.

Before the final kicked off there was a show from Special K and his friends performing Popping Choreography as 'Dirty Mother Funkers' the show was really good, the musicality was really on point and the crew entertained the audience getting a really warm reception. Good work.

The final was between Beans and Sleepless...as the host I asked the judges how many rounds and I was told 5 rounds....it was clear that this jam was not about the sprinters of the bboy world but for those with stamina, vocab and an ability to battle strategically... both dancers were strong with beans busting his insane halo combos but also pulling out a lot of his more intricate footwork which we do not usually see in battles of 1 or 2 rounds. Sleepless did not disappoint putting out some of the crazy and zany character concepts he is getting known for, he managed to keep up with beans throughout and also managed to put across his own style throughout the whole 5 rounder....all said and done...Beanz emerged victorious and took the prize bundle containing sponsor gear from Eastpak and Bennia Matherson aswell as an invitation to come back to huddersfield to pick his choice of sneakers....pretty nice little bundle if you ask me. The guys from Generation Ill also invited the events winner as a guest to their forthcoming 'Christmas Jam' In Cambridge on December 18th (Check the calendar for more details) the invite included travel and cooked lunch by one of the organiser's girlfriend (including Cake and a cup of tea too haha).

Overall a good first jam in Huddersfield setting a strong foundation to build and build the event over the the coming months, great concept, fresh ideas and a nice community vibe whilst having some dope heads in attendance...if you get chance to check out the next one, do by all means it is a great way to spend a sunday afternoon. Well done Zorro and the rest of the squad for throwing it and thanks for asking me to host...i appreciate it.

[SmyVy]

Want to second what Flowrex said. Jam was dope.

Zorro was well organised and was working hard to make sure everyone was ok. Jam defo had a community spirit about it, with everyone getting involved in the circles (even a few random homeless people). Dbo was on point with the music and Flowrex done his thing on the mic.

Little bit of a shame about numbers were down, as it would had been good to see the original concept of 4 7tosmokes going off, but the battles that did happen were hot. Big resepct to Sleepless who's unique style was refreshing to see and big congrats to Beanz who was consistant throughout the day, we look forward to having him down in Cambridge in December.

Oh and lets not forget the sit down roast dinner we ad which was soooo good! Big probs for that.

Overall I recommend this jam to everyone. Hope to see more faces at the next one cause this jam really does test ones skill and stamina.

[1jackal1]

Thank you to Zorro for putting on this jam. It had the flavour of the old Fresh Jive events, with an original twist so it was nice to have that feeling sort of rekindled on Sunday. The venue, 'Verve', was really cool, with a space at the back to practice, free teas and coffee's during the event so you have to give it up to the staff for their hospitality.

The showcase battles were really good to see, its always good to see the young'uns looking so confident. Props to Lil Jay and Lite( Lite's whole set holding his eye like an angry pirate was gangster) and to dollars and Loki putting the work in and providing an entertaining showdown. Respect to Ghetlow for being one of the crews who are nurturing the new talent following in the tradition of Shane and his Pat Regan legacy.

The seven to smoke was fun. It had that grimy element of battling outside on the hard floor with the music echoing around the square. It was great to see beanz letting loose and getting busy. Seemed like he was buzzing after wards! Nice one to sleepless for going the distance and trading blow for blow until the finish.

Though I myself couldn't really experience the benefit(I'll have to get through the first round next time ha!) The idea for the jam to be a way for improving stamina worked as everyone was pushing hard to keep up their energy levels - Props to the bradford lads and that veejay(hope I spelt it right) for bringing the heat, steel city rockers and the other breakers. Everyone went hard. The poppers did a cool showcase and Dbo supplied sick track after sick track all afternoon.

Finally..Yo best idea for a sunday jam ever- the roast dinner!! It was really quality and much appreciated. Again, just to reiterate what others said, its good when you can have a little time out from the proceedings to chill and what better way that a nice hot meal! This definitely added to the uniqueness of the event in a positive way. Good shout. Props again to Zorro for being on hand and checking to make sure everyone was ok throughout the day.

All in all a great way to spend a sunday and I hope this Jam continues.

[Clint]

Great Jam we had lots of fun and this was a great way to push and test yourself. The atmosphere was nice as this was an outdoor jam with a bar and a roast meal with bboys from all over the UK. Dbo played some dope beats all day dropping the right tracks at the right time which made it hard to stand still if you weren't battling. Props to all the bboys who were there and I think everyone appreciate what Zorro was doing for us, for the scene and I'm glad I was there for it. Well done and thanks to Zorro and everyone involved for sweet jam.



Clint (Rain)