Reviews - Events
Wonderland
venue: MINISTRY OF SOUND, LONDON UK
headliners: PETE TONG, KRIS MENACE, FRED FALKE, & CHRISTIAN SMITH
what we think: CAN I DO IT AGAIN PLEASE? CAN I?? CAN I???
October 18, 2008
by Liz Cirelli
Well, what a night indeed! Arriving soon after midnight, about 15 minutes into the beginning of Kris Menace’s set, the club was already full of people, eager to enjoy the night ahead. I walked into the main room to the wonderful sound of Nathan Fake – and saw Kris Menace behind the decks. “Brilliant”, I thought, “this is going to be a special night”…and my word, it was!
Starting deep, then progressing onto a rollercoaster ride of nu rave-infused delights, Kris masterfully sent the dance floor spinning. Combining Prodigy classics with modern, driving electro, Kris got the party started on full-throttle. When he dropped his amazingly uplifting Stereophonic, I almost wet myself – I think the rest of the crowd pretty much did too as they erupted into a bout of joyous cheers and whistles.
Kris’s set was coming to an end, and the DJ booth became a hive of activity as the MoS sound engineers busied themselves with helping Fred Falke set up. Out came his bass - “how cool” I thought, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone playing bass live in a full-on club like Ministry!” Maybe I’ve just had my head stuck under the sand for the past decade, but maybe this is something that’s still pretty much unheard of in clubland. “Now THIS is a live set!” I chucked to myself.
Opening with Last Wave, Fred picked up his bass and swung the party into a frenzy of uplifting French house. Using Ableton, Fred builds his live sets, playing exclusively his own productions. A few tweaks on his M-Audio Trigger Finger pad and his bass is sounding perfect, sending warm waves of fuzzy contentment through me with each note. Infectiously funky bass lines bounce around the club as Fred fully gets into the swing of things, following Last Wave with his awesome remix of Hot Chip’s Colours. His love for the music is evident as he bops around the DJ booth, smiling from ear to ear. He drops his remix of Golden Cage and the entire club throws their hands up in the air…this music is absolutely fantastic!
Pete Tong enters the DJ booth, accompanied by an entourage the size of a small town, and Fred’s hour-long set is over all too soon. The DJ booth is brimming with Tong’s friends, fans and colleagues…and the club’s security are becoming visibly concerned with the number of people trying to cram themselves in. People without wristbands are asked to leave, the commotion settles, Fred puts his bass away, and Tongy takes the reins.
Sexy burlesque dancers saunter their way onto designated stages in front of the DJ booth and begin a performance that gets even me hot under the collar…try to focus on the music, Liz!
Keeping things housey, Tong plays a few crowd-pleasers to announce his arrival to the masses. Over the course of the next half an hour or so, and to my surprise, he then begins to take things techy. He starts dropping wonderful little underground tech-house gems such as Sis’s Nesrib (reviewed in last month’s issue) with it’s super-catchy vocal line, and also Sis’s masterful Trompet – a track that has one the silliest, most contagiously wonderful bass lines in tech house history! I’m smiling. I mean properly smiling. This is the stuff true parties are made of!
Tong plays his final tune and now it’s time for Christian Smith. Taking things darker and heavier, Christian continues along the techno route. He quickens the pace, progressing into a flurry of tribal tech. Although late, the dance floor is still full, and the party people have their heads down and their stomps firmly on. As we make our way to the club’s exit, I smile to myself “man…I wish I could do that all over again!”
