054. Gatecrasher: Red & Black [13-10-2012]

At the turn of the Millennium, Sheffield based clubbing promotion Gatecrasher was in the decided ascension. Throughout 1998 Trance was fully establishing itself in the collective clubbing consciousness, leading the way as the underground and overground dominant paradigm genre. By 1999 it had defined itself as the sound of the era, it's own production values seeping into artistic styles of other genres (think dubstep now). Trance was the zeitgeist. Gatecrasher was central actor in this process.

Unlike Ministry of Sound, which while commercially larger and around longer and having carved itself a niche as a trendy place to club. Gatecrasher had succeeded in a way MOS never could have imagined. It had spawned its own youth subculture. Like the Ravers, Goths, Punks, Metal Heads and Teddy boys before them the Crasher Kid was its own, if rather niche youth sub-culture which was essentially linked with music. Gatecrasher had it set out: the music, Trance, the new clubbing sound with european influence whit a harder edge, clothes from Cyberdog and a vaguely, but certainly undefined and often unacknowledged, Cyberpunk/cyber goth leanings. Oh, and that’s forgetting a little bit of a drug connection with MDMA and amphetamines.

Things change a lot in 14 years and all signs of that core cultural connection had long since been replaced by trendy handbags, shoes and shirts done up to the collar button.

Gatecrasher Red & Black was headlined as part of Gatecrasher Birmingham's 4^th Birthday. While the Gatecrasher brand had been around for much longer, the club had expanded from its Sheffield home. In way of celebration, a classics night featuring Tall Paul, Seb Fontaine, Judge Jules, Scott Bond, Solar Stone and Signum.

During that era Judge Jules was at the peak of his DJing career. Listening to his two weekly shows on Radio 1 was the reason why I got decks and started DJing in the first place. Seeing him play the tunes I owned, and remember playing on the radio would be tempting to say the least.

I have always attributed to Jules the skill of 'understanding' as a DJ - recognising the time he was playing, who he was playing between and importantly what kind of night he was playing at. I regarded him as a 'safe pair of hands' who could be trusted to keep the course true. I distinctly remember Jules adapting his sound the the particularities of any given night. Sadly, he got this horribly wrong at Red & Black, playing only a handful of 'classics'. While I understand the incentive to play some contemporary music to keep modern, younger fans interested, the balance last night was poor to say the least.

Things were amply atoned for with the arrival of Scott Bond on of the main driving forces behind the success of Gatecrasher during its halcyon days. As the average age of the dance floor dramatically increased, he produced a perfectly pitched set full of classic era tunes without the commercial baggage. A set brimming with the sound of Gatecrasher as I remember.

Pulp Victim - The World (Moonman Remix) by dcp84

Ticket Price: £13.55
DJ of the Night: Scott Bond
Tune of the Night: Pulp Victim - The World (Moonman Remix)

020. Hot Chip & Rex The Dog @ O2 Academy, Oxford [27-02-2009]

When you’re behind the decks, it’s important to remember that no matter the quality of the set you have constructed, how amazing the records you choose are, or how perfectly you can mix between them, not everyone is there for the music. People go to a club to have some drinks, look at the girls (or boys), have a bit of a dance, see a named band or DJ they’ve heard in person, or a combination there of. Some people are really into the music, others less so and just have a general preference for something a bit electronicy of an evening out. Some couldn’t care what’s been played, they just want to have what they think is a good time. Sadly, when I’m in front of the decks I can forget this, as I did for a short while this weekend when it was off to the O2 Academy to watch Rex The Dog work his magic for the second time in four months.

First up was Hot Chip. As a band they are averagely mediocre; generally inoffensive but nothing breathtakingly, pantwettingly amazing. As DJs they are much the same. Their set gently bubbled away giving us some nice tunes with a good groove, but just when things felt like they were coming to a boil and about to set the night off there was no reward.

Hot Chip then, certainly not ones to avoid, but not ones spend all your savings on to see one last time before the economy collapses beyond all recognition. Unfortunately, their set was marred by a high crowd ratio of absolute knobbers - people completely off their head on chemicals (of the legal and illegal variety) intent on partying in their own way irrespective of whether they spill their drunk into you, shove you out of their way or collapse all over you in an attempt to ‘dance’. God, I sound so old.

Thankfully, with the big names gone, and Rex The Dog’s MacBook decisively hooked up the sound system, the ratio of undesirables shrank as the crowd considerably thinned. Playing a set which relied heavily on his own productions, this evening confirmed my belief that Rex The Dog live is simply not to be missed. And, hearing a snippet of Kraftwerk - The Robots just before the end was a treat in and of its self (lets hope for some Mel & Kim next time!). Generally speaking, Rex’s tune selection tends to be guided by two core production values: 1) sound great on a loud sound system, and 2) ensure they make people dance. These values guide me when I pack my record box. This is why I like his sets.

I think you’d probably like his sets too. So, look at the pictures below, find out where he’s playing here, before ordering the album and latest single, Bubblicious, here. Finally smile, safe in the knowledge you’ve now got some tunes which sound great on a big rig and are safe bets to get the dance floor moving, plus you’ve booked the privilege to see it done by the man/dog himself.

Hot Chip & Rex The Dog @ O2 Academy, Oxford
[27-02-2009]

Tune of the Night: <--- last tune of night ID --->

Ticket Price: £12 adv.
Pint of Diet-Coke rating: £2.50

019. Hopsitality Oxford @ The Regal [21-02-2009]

It’s easy to forget that Drum & Bass is a parent genre. Like House, Techno and Electro before it, D&B has spawned a numerous progeny of sub-genres and styles. Indeed, sub-genres have grown out of sub-genres. Despite sharing an identifiable common ancestry, each of these variations on the theme have their own individual characteristics, tone and atmosphere, sounding incredibly different. Techstep and Neurofunk are my progeny of choice, so I was slightly reticent when the chance cropped up to attend a Hospital Records club night, headlined by Marky, London Elektricity and High Contrast. Still, you never know until you try, right?

Thankfully, giving it a fair roll of the dice was the right decision. The musical texture of the night was varied and diverse and we were treated to a spectrum of sounds from the D&B family. The music was then complemented by both the crowd and the venue. The Regal Oxford is a great place to spend the evening, the open plan of the club makes the place feel big but manageable; the DJ booth afforded a great view of the dancefloor, plus drink prices (a pint of diet coke!) were reasonable for this sort of event. Lovely low res phone photos attached to give you a flavor of the night.

Hospitality Oxford @ The Regal
[21-02-2009]

Ticket price: £16 o.t.d.

016. Rex The Dog @ Matter [29-11-2008]

Collecting records from the safety and comfort of you home is fun. You can have even more fun by leaving the confines of your house and heading to club to go and hear what other people are playing. Seeing a DJ perform live is important - not only do you get to hear records you’ve never heard before, but you get to have a bop under a nice big sound system too. Another important thing is to make sure you don’t post things on a blog two months after they happen. Oh well, never mind - like Meatloaf used to say, two outta three ain’t bad. Late last year, after much anticipation a trip to the very luxurious Matter at the O2 was in order to check out contemporary house hero, Rex The Dog.

Anticipation is not always a good thing. When you’ve wanted to see someone perform for so long and are such a big fan of his productions, there is the very real danger that expectation will sadly outweigh reality. Thankfully, that was not even near the case. Rex The Dog was simply fantastic, and certainly worth the wait. Opening up with his remix of The Knife - Heartbeats, the short hour and a half to which the second room of Matter stood witness to this impressive event was crammed full of energy.

Rex was awesome and so are his records. Sadly, the only ever time I’ve heard one of his productions played live on a large sound system is when I’ve played it myself. When you’re DJing no matter how much you get into the set there is always a stage of removal between yourself and the party. Hearing for the first time two of my favourite Rex productions, Frequency and Prototype, live, on a large system, dropped by the man himself was worth the ticket price alone.

Rex the Dog is playing much closer to home at the O2 Academy Oxford on the 27th of Feb. Apparently Hot Chip are playing too - but we all know who is more important. Until then, enjoy these photos, and listen to frequency on youtube.

Tune of the night:
Rex The Dog - Frequency