28 February 2015 (gig)
05 March 2015
The Manchester rain poured as souls huddled in a linear fashion. Nobody was going to let the weather get the better of them.
The first point of note was the tremendous venue. The season is being held in one of the city’s most beautiful structures - The resurrected Albert Hall. With high ceilings and solid structure, the chapel instantly boasted itself capable of withstanding the drones and delicious beats that were transpiring.
Deetron and Krysko were up as the crowd filtered in. Excitement was ablaze, akin to the stained glass windows as the erratic lights hit them. It wasn’t until I’d returned from the ladies’ room that I realised that the majority of the standing space below had completely filled up.
Above the main floor is a balcony, allowing a broad view of the showcase below. Admittedly I’m not the best with heights, but seeing people above my head thriving as the beat dipped and rose was really something else.
Hot Since 82 wasn’t scheduled until 2am, but the phrase ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ was certainly applicable.
Booka Shade put on an electrifying set. The German duo represented the electronic dance-music scene, the veterans they are, providing a mix of tracks that fall under the ‘iPod playlist’ category as much as their club culture stance.
Flecks of their pop and techno background rose only to be combatted by euphoric melodies, ‘Line of Fire’ being one of their most recent examples. Everyone buzzed off them, they even gave us an old ‘Hello Manchester!’ which, let’s admit it, is always a sure-fire crowd pleaser.
Finally, Hot Since 82. There’s no doubt the one man sensation has had a fantastic year, 2014 could even be said to be ‘the’ year for him. Northern born and bred, Daley Padley stayed close to home, exhibiting his play-safe, beat heavy sounds. Always thinking ahead, each futuristic note had everyone cheering and clapping mid-track.
I don’t know whether it was the timing but come 3:30, people were slowly dispersing and as the drum rolls slowly got the better of us, it was time to go. We had witnessed house music in a few of its wonderful forms. We came for a show and that’s what we got.
