Posted on Thu, Apr. 13, 2006

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THE SCENARIO

THE SCENARIO: Turntable manners at Tonic

DJs keep things hopping without being choppy

By JENEÉ OSTERHELDT

The Kansas City Star

Chris Cummins/Special to The Star

Denise Jones and James Jackson dance to the sound of DJ Ataxic at Kabal on Saturday.

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Way out in Overland Park, a different kind of flame is blazing.

Table Manners, composed of DJs Sku and Konsept, create a disco inferno with four turntables and two mixers. And on Saturday nights the dance floor sizzles at Tonic, the club of fish tanks, flat screens and reservations.

Yes, make reservations to shake your groove thang.

When you get to the door, if you haven’t called to put your name on the list, you will wait — even if it’s chilly — until they decide to let you in, even if it isn’t packed inside. So if it’s cold, don’t leave your coat in the car.

But once you get in, ditch the coat and order up a cool glass of water because it’s hot. Tonic is a place where the art of DJing has been mastered. Konsept and Sku have a crate-digging chemistry that goes beyond putting a needle on the record. They create the kind of playlist that is charismatic and spontaneous.

And they know how to mix and blend in a way that’s smooth and rhythmic instead of jarring and offbeat. There’s nothing worse than hearing your favorite song at a club, only to have a DJ chop it up without grace and drop it over something without catching the rhythm. Table Manners don’t commit these types of offenses. They mind their manners.

They spin a set that includes the purists and the MTV heads. They’ll play a classic like “The Scenario” by A Tribe Called Quest and Leaders of the New School or “ATLiens” by OutKast. They’ll also rock the snap happy “Lean With It” by Dem Franchize Boyz or T.I.’s “What You Know.” No record is off-limits. You’ll hear the sad reggae sway of Dawn Penn’s “You Don’t Love Me” and the new jack swing of Wreckx-N-Effect’s “Rump Shaker.” They’ll even get wicked and flip something sultry like Ciara’s “Oh” over a crazy house beat.

It’s this boombastic buffet that keeps that dance floor packed with head-nodding, booty-bouncing clubbers. One minute we’d be dancing in a perfect square, the next minute the crowd would get so thick that we’d be two-stepping, hoping for just a nook to shake our rumps in.

We were too busy moving our bodies to worry about getting a drink at the stylish bar. Every now and then we’d peep our heads out the deck door to grab a breath of fresh air, but we stayed on the dance floor. No need to walk around, sit or pose. It’s not that kind of party, not if you know what your ears are being blessed with.

It’s the kind of party that doesn’t require anything but your two feet, the beats and a tall glass of water.

■ Table Manners are at Tonic, 7938 Santa Fe Drive in Overland Park, every Saturday night. Table Manners also kick it at Fatso’s, 1016 Mass. in Lawrence on Tuesdays. For more information, visit myspace.com/tablemannerslk . To make reservations at Tonic, call (913) 383-8340.