The merch stall sold out of Moodymann Live in Japan t-shirts in moments flat, the supply of 12″ singles went soon after. It’s the long awaited Kenny Dixon Jr/Mahogani Music night in Tokyo at the Liquid Rooms� new home in Ebisu, I stayed in Tokyo an extra fortnight to be here.

I am disappointed when my stalling means I miss out on the goodies. Still into the cavernous club to the sound of dreadlocks-waving, sharp move strutting DJ Pirahnahead. Hard to believe it is only late Sunday afternoon as he cuts through a virtual Detroit jukebox: Jaguar, I Can’t Kick This Feeling, Aril Brikha and a killer mashup of Voodoo Ray and Tricky Disco. Lurching repetitive beats gradually give way to Nina Simone’s aching voice at one moment, then sharp handclaps and deep techno. DJs like this make something more out of the music. He tweaks the EQ and you can see he’s completely aware that each subtle movement is intimately linked to the carnage it’ll cause on the dancefloor. He keeps teasing with the bassline from Teddy Pendergrass’s You Can’t Hide From Yourself, but when he finally lets the entire track drop the crowd explodes. Everyone’s waiting for Moodymann though, Kenny Dixon Jr. What will he play? Who will be there? The gig’s billed as Moodymann & Guests, so we’re wondering just who he’ll bring on stage. So we’re loving Pirahnahead’s set, but equally dying for it to finish.

But the gig feels like a Mahogani Variety Show. Perhaps it’s just a twisted self-indulgent element of Dixon’s huge ego? With a huge cast of talented musicians, what does Dixon do? He sends them out one by one, Roberta Sweed sings over a DAT, Pirahnahead sings and plays keys over a recorded track from somewhere else. It’s bizarre and hugely disappointing.

Pirahnahead’s first out for a set of soppy Dwele-style balladry, it’s hard to believe that the awesome DJ only 30 minutes before is now playing such rubbish. The guy with such an instinct for the dynamics of a dancefloor and fine-tuned manipulation of rhythm is now crooning weak R&B by numbers.

Roberta Sweed slinks out in a sparkly clingy dress, straight out of your local drag show, and sings second-rate cabaret songs. She keeps reminding everyone why she’s there, humming the chorus from ‘Runaway’ or even singing it right through a couple of times. Fortunately, Slum Village/Mahogani lynchpin, Andrez has percussion locked down. He is by far the most interesting guest, rarely overdoing anything and, alongside the Detroit Experiment’s Paul Randolph on guitar, knocks out some killer live broken beat. Randolph is mostly great too. Camp and theatrical, but he does a few too many soppy love songs, like his disappointing Kirk Degiorgio collab ‘I Love You’. Hell Dixon even brought his grandmother on tour, she spent most of the night swanning around the stage in her baggy tracksuit and looking out incredulously at the sea of Japanese faces.

I feel like the one thing to take away from the show is Dixon must be an incredible producer to carve his magic out of such a mess. When they’re left to their own volition it’s self-indulgent, but the bigger picture is it’s Dixon’s own ego on show. Everyone was there to see him and when he was on stage he electrified the whole club, but damn! He was only on stage for three songs. It was cool when he was up though. It was cool, but it wasn’t enough.