01 November 2014 (gig)
03 November 2014
On the 1st November, we were invited to become one of the ‘infected horde’, instructed to ‘keep moving along’ and informed that there was ‘no escape’.
Victoria Warehouse was quarantined. Ticket holders were guaranteed nothing short of an eventful night. Unfortunately much anticipated Sam Smith pulled out due to illness, but nothing was going to restrict the warehousers from making the most of the most terrifying night of the year.
Walking into the warehouse was a rush, actors dressed in army-clad costumes screamed and flashed torches in our eyes...some were zombified, moaning and groaning. The second surprise was a ‘scare maze’. Walking towards the main room, narrow corridors existed containing terrifying staging of operations and haunting apocalypse-type goings on.
I was relieved arriving into the performance area, although the party-goers looked nothing short of terrifying either!
Labrinth was first up, and performed a classic - ‘Earthquake’. Equipped with a guitar, he continued with soulful ‘Express Yourself’ and flawlessly closed with ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’. The sea of arms in the air depicted the crowd’s excitable reaction.
Manchester-based Rixton noisily proved a hit, Vocally on point, they provided a strong mix.(Ariana Grande’s ‘Problem’, co-written songs with Ed Sheeran and their chart-topping ‘Me And My Broken Heart’. The stage production was immense, including confetti and crowd singing battle-offs.
Then came Ella Eyre. Accompanied by a two-piece choir providing added sass, her set emitted power and proved she was not a force to be reckoned with. She performed co-written ‘Too Long’, made famous by Paloma Faith. With bursts of energy came her last performance - ‘Comeback’. Ella told us that when listening to this song, we should keep in mind ‘anyone who treated us like sh**.’
I decided to make my way downstairs to experience Gorgon City. The most notable factor of Gorgon’s performance were the artists who work alongside the duo. From haunting Laura Welsh in ‘Here For You’ to Zak Abel in ‘Unmissable’, the electronic producers delivered an unforgettable last half hour - it was impossible to stand still.
All of the above acts and Vevo made sure that we all had a thrilling night and celebrated Halloween as it should be.
