At the top of his set at Skratch Bastid's BBQ cookout, DJ Nu-Mark hilariously recollected having "bottles thrown on me by Green Day fans at the Vans Warped tour" the last time he was in Montreal. Granted, that was back when he was supporting Jurassic 5 — this year, the turntable legend made his return for the last edition of Skratch Bastid's BBQ cookout concert series, presented by POP Montreal. It's a simple backyard boogie where Bastid brings together the best local DJs (Dr. MaD, Walla P, Kelly, Ridley), artists (Mike Shabb, Nicholas Craven, Jimmie D) and restaurants and literally adds his own (hot) sauce.
The festivities got popping with a locking and street dance competition as the pitmasters from Mange dans mon Hood were slanging smash burgers and jerk tacos. The fall sunshine was perfect and the dancing was contagious as the boogie stylings of Dr. MaD and Walla P melded with Ridley and Kelly's R&B and hip-hop bangers. Superproducer and dusty loop generator Nicholas Craven soon took the stage to introduce standout Montreal act Mike Shabb and his veteran rapper protege Jimmie D. Both have recent projects out and took control of the crowd with call backs and backspins from Craven.
Finally the main event arrived, and Skratch Bastid's routines did not disappoint. Widely considered one of the most spectacular technicians in the world, Bastid got his start in Montreal, and for the final leg of his summer BBQ series he gave the crowd some explosive transitions mixed with his classic cuts. The stage was set for Nu-Mark to close it out, and he brought out some more creative and lesser known selections that were truly worth the price of admission, some cherries to top off this melting sonic sundae. Bastid crafted the perfect lineup and the city came through — 'Nuff said.