*REVIEW*

Rich Kelly Writes…

Laurent Garnier and The End are a match made in disco heaven, made for each other, and when he plays here you always know that you'll be guaranteed a (to use the old cliché) musical journey of epic proportions. Having unfortunately misplaced my clubbing mojo for the last few months of 2007, the 26th was to be my first proper rave up of 2008. No swanning around in VIP, no hanging off the end of the bar, no getting wasted and forgetting my name and definitely no talking shop.  I just grabbed a beer, some water and dove straight into the main room to punch the air at regular intervals, and get right down in amongst the heaving sweaty masses, all whilst wearing a scruffy pair of jeans, an old T-shirt and comfy trainers. Rule number one kids, always dress for your raving comfort.

His warm ups are probably my favorite part of the night.  His record selections at this time are perfect for slowly building the energy in the crowd and the tension of the impending pandemonium that you know is fast approaching. Deep house music to put a smile on your face. As the tempo slowly increases and the club reaches capacity, Garnier drops one of those records which gives the crowd a massive kick up the backside.  At around 1.20am (yes I did take a note of the time) the soaring, almost trance-like chords, of ‘Air Conditionne’ by Julian Jeweil screamed out of the Thunder Ridge, just as the lighting guy fired up the hi tech multi coloured lasers, which silhouetted a hundred pair of hands pointing skywards. This ecstasy moment was swiftly followed by what can only be described as one of pure unadulterated insanity as the deep low growling bass line of an old friend could suddenly be heard, as Garnier cut in possibly one of the greatest techno records ever, CRISPY BACON!  This was it; here we go ladies and gentlemen.  The main room simply exploded, clubbers were pouring in from the lounge, surging towards the DJ booth, and there were bodies flying around everywhere.  From then on there was no turning back, Garnier fully focused and in the zone as he expertly guided The End for the next six and a half hours.  No record seemed out of place, he knew exactly what he was doing, and we were all strapped securely into the rollercoaster. 

We had mad bossa nova percussive rhythms, a few dodgy drum and bass tunes, classics from the vaults such as ‘LFO’ by LFO, big techno, epic Detroit strings, dub, a remix of New Order's ‘Confusion’, I think we even got some Iggy Pop and The Velvet Underground thrown in for good measure. And of course right on cue at around 6am he broke out the disco; ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’ by Sylvester, free smiles all round and a chance to bust out some Saturday Night Fever-esque moves.

Laurent’s parties always attract a musically savvy, cosmopolitan, well turned out friendly crowd, an even split of boys and girls.  This one is all about dance music that packs an emotional punch, expertly selected by a musical obsessive who knows the dancefloor like the back of his hand.  My advice to you; book your tickets, put on your best dancing shoes, arrive early and get stuck into that main room.  I’ll see you on April 19th.

Read our interview with Laurent Garnier here