Venue: Riviera - Atlanta, GA
Presented by: Liquid Groove

The Virus Tour, headlined by Metalheadz Ed Rush's first ever and Matrix's second Atlanta appearance, had a quality start with mixes turned out by Athens resident D:RC. He had many of the unaware thinking he was one of the headliners and had an unusual amount of the crowd's attention for an opener. Before long, a breaking circle ensued with the dancing being limited to the elite few who dared to match their peers' performances.

Atlanta had waited for quite some time for the likes of Ed Rush and Matrix and they came with the heavy DnB they're renowned for through their previous work with the Metalheadz and current efforts under the Virus label. At around 1 AM Matrix stepped up to the tables and the circle was eliminated as a result of the entire club bouncing with bodies. He kept the crowd's attention and Ed Rush followed soon after, picking up where Matrix left off at around 2 AM. He was greeted by quite a reaction from the crowd and fulfilled everyone's expectations. Around 3, the two maniacs tagged for their final hour.

Their emcee for the night, Skibbidy, did a good job. He gave a minimum amount of input over the beats, which I prefer over typical emcees that find it necessary to rap over the music. Both Matrix and Ed Rush played recognizable tracks, most notably Bad Company's "Champion Sound," which got the greatest crowd reaction. Other noteworthy tracks heard include Sketchy's "Cold Steel Pressure 99" and "Hazardous" by Decoder & Substance. Although these were all crowd pleasers, I expected more unfamiliar tracks produced from their work in the studio with their Metalheadz affiliate. Overall, this event was about as pure drum and bass that Atlanta has seen in quite some time and Ed Rush gave Atlanta something to look forward to as his return has already been staged. He's slated to perform September 30th, 2000, as part of the Liquified Universe bill.