Basement Jaxx and Armand Van Helden in Sankeys Warehouse

2 champions of house music joined forces last night in Manchester's Victoria Warehouse. The building is now host to Sankeys Warehouse, a season of house music events running up to Christmas and New Year. Last night they brought together two of the biggest names in the genre: Armand Van Helden and Basement Jaxx.

On entry everyone who wants to buy a drink is required to buy drink tokens, which come in break-off strips and denominations of £10. This I have a problem with. Some of us are designated drivers. We don't need to spend that much on soft drinks. 

 

The venue is huge, featuring numerous rooms, stages and performances. I managed to catch a small part of Crystal Waters performing Gypsy Woman early on in the night.

Basement Jaxx are comprised of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe, the latter of which bears a passing similarity to Bill Gates. Here we see them passing over to Armand Van Helden, or Vice Versa.

Basement Jaxx and Armand Van Helden

They played great music, but I got the impresion Buxton and Ratcliffe are producers at heart, rather than DJs who put on a performance on stage. You'd imagine them being more comfortable making music in the privacy of their studio rather than playing it to a huge live audience.

It's still great to see such big names in the flesh.

Here's some guy being turfed out of the venue.

Best moments were not videoed- too busy dancing. In Van Helden's set, his last few songs were his own- I Want Your Soul, Funk Phenomenon, My My My. Brilliant atmosphere. The 45-year-old DJ and producer responsible for this looks much younger than his age. I remember seeing him play in Sankeys in 2004. I don't think I could get close enough to the stage on that night.

I went with Party People Manchester, this being my first Meetup with the group. My first impressions were that they were my kind of people and we had a great night. I'd met at least 3 people previously from other Meetup groups, which shows that the culture of Meetup is working- we're forming social circles and finding the people who share a passion for our music and venues through the different groups. 

The Facebook event for Sankeys Warehouse Opening Party has more info.

La Notte Mondaine @ Milton Club

Friday: a French and Italian-themed night at The Milton Club. I picked up a mask at reception and entered the world of La Notte Mondaine, which roughly translates as “The Night Society”.

On entry we were greeted by the friendly events manager and stilt walkers.

We were then treated to great house music and canapes provided by 63 Degrees restaurant in the Northern Quarter. The stage shows soon began with impressive fire breathers.

The superb violinist performed a number of familiar songs, including Barber's Adagio for Strings by William Orbit...

... a European classical song I definitely recognise...

...a housed-up version of Vivaldi's Summer from Four Seasons...

… and a violin interpretation of Rihanna's Diamonds.

Talent was provided by the La Notte Mondaine Event team (Lloyd, Carole and Federico).

Great upbeat entertainment with some good drinks deals as well.

I went with Manchester Social Group. If you fancy this kind of smart nightlife and want to go out in Manchester, get involved!

Prospective Mondays

Friday: The Milton Club hosts La Notte Mondaine Masquerade Party, a night of French and Italian style, with masked performers, canapes, a complimentary cocktail on arrival and a live violinist. All of this plays out to the backdrop of RnB and Deep House until 4am. Tickets are going fast.

I'll be there with Manchester Social Group. Join us!

Saturday: Kazakh middleweight WBA and IBO champ and absolute powerhouse Gennady Golovkin takes on Canadian David Lemieux. Golovkin's punching power is bound to draw in big viewing figures.

I'll catch up on it later, though: Saturday night is party night. And this week I'm at Sankeys' opening party with Party People – Manchester. Some other friends are also going to be there, and I'm hoping to make a few introductions. Sankeys is one of Manchester's longest-running and most prolific dance clubs, and is known for playing host to some of the biggest names in the field. I saw Armand Van Helden there in 2004. This time he's back, along with Basement Jaxx and Crystal Waters. There are still tickets....

To round off the week, why not a pint in Manchester's newest beer hall, Albert's Schloss? The MEN had a sneak peek earlier this week. The unit on Peter Street might be remembered as Brannigans, or more recently as the second room in Albert Hall's club nights. On Sunday it reopens as Manchester's newest (only?) Bavarian beer house. I'm not a beer drinker myself but the food looks good.

Tweet me to get your event listed for free.

You should have been at Eivissa on Saturday

Eivissa is a night of dance and house music in a classy, upmarket Oxford Club (Formerly One Central Street), behind the Central Library. The plush venue takes its inspiration from the refined interiors of Oxford University, according to the site. 

The housey dance music went down a treat and was no shortage of talent on display. The club did seem to quieten off towards the end, with one of the rooms closing.

Pictures from 10^th October will be here. 

I went with Manchester Social Group; the event was also listed on Party People Manchester. The organiser arranged guest list for us all but we were all required to pay £10 in regardless. A question: What's the benefit of guest list if we still have to pay? It doesn't affect dress code: we were all smart enough. It's not about time of arrival: it was filling up as we arrived. Is it just for them to gauge attendance figures before the night?

Anyway- the group was superb; a great bunch of people. Most of them are regular Meetup attendees so I've got to know people over the course of the last few months. Keep your eyes peeled on the group for a masquerade party, a rave, a cinema trip and a monthly group meetup.

Does Radio 1's Tim Westwood have a vaginal fixation?

Last night hip hop DJ and Radio 1 presenter Tim Westwood played in Suede nightclub, Longworth St Manchester.

Some love him, some hate him. Some disregard him as a middle-class white son of a bishop from Norwich, or as some kind of wigga clown. Whatever your opinion, he's been at the forefront of the UK hip hop scene since the 80s. I first stumbled across his rap show in 1996 and was equally perplexed and fascinated. What is that accent? He sounds white. Is he white? How has he got to where he is? Regardless of these questions, the biggest rap stars poured onto his show week in week out. I heard him interview Snoop Dogg back when he was Snoop Doggy Dogg. Wu Tang Clan (including now deceased Ol' Dirty Bastard) took over his Friday night show. Other stars followed as hip hop became more mainstream at the turn of the century. I've been a fan since then, and I've wanted to come to his shows for a while.

Last night, though, his popularity was confirmed: the 58-year-old took to the decks of Suede, which must have reached capacity. Before long, he began discussing the vaginas of the female customers. Well, why not?

“It's time to go and give a shout-out to the girls with the tightest pussy,” he claimed. “If your pussy's tight and clean, scream!”

There were a handful of affirmative responses.

Westwood stopped the record. “That white girl didn't scream,” he claimed, pointing to the dancefloor. “That's because she put her drawers on back to front and her pum pum smells of doo doo.”

He then busts out Vybez Kartel's Romping Shop, which- if I'm interpreting correctly- is about a brothel.

This was not a sole occurrence. He discussed such matters a number of times throughout the night, at one point asking us to “point to the person you want to fuck.” I thought I'd been teleported to Magaluf at one point.

I must be getting old- a lot of the music I didn't recognise, and didn't rate compared to 2000-era hip-hop. On a few occasions I seemed to be the only person who didn't know the song at all, let alone blast out the lyrics. I'm not massively bothered by the language, but I can see why it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Pics from the night will be here.

I Hereby Vow Not to Buy Any More Books

“Hi, my name's Matt.”

A unified reply: “Hi Matt.”

“I've been a book addict for about 5 years now. It started in 2010 when I went to the Manchester Literature Festival. I started buying books there, and I haven't been able to stop. Sometimes I see an advert for a signing, or I walk past an Oxfam shop, and I can't help but go in. I have to be carfeful when I visit Manchester Arndale: if I pick the wrong exit it'll throw me out at the Northern Quarter end and I'll have to go into the 2^nd hand book shop there.

“Here's a picture of the books I haven't read yet.”

Audible gasps.

*

I'm kidding. I haven't really been to an addiction therapy support group. Although maybe I should, given that this pile of books is getting larger every few months, no matter how much I read. So here's my vow. I've not bought a book in about a month now. It looks like I've sedated the literary consumerist inside me for the moment. I'm going to keep it that way until all these books are read. I doubt I'll manage it, given my tendency to stray into discount bookstores, and given my obsession with celebrities. Famous types usually bring out a book here and there, and I'll buy a copy mostly to meet the writer. (This has led to a broadening of my literary tastes, as well as a burgeoning celebrity album on Facebook.)

Annoyingly, I've decided this in the run-up to Christmas, just before the Manchester Literature Festival and the time of year when book releases and signings generally occur.

I'll give it my best shot, though, and possibly in another 5 years time I might be on top of it all. THEN I'll check out who's appearing at a Waterstones event.

X TO THE MOTHERFUCKING Z! Xzibit in Gorilla Manchester

Rap star Xzibit takes the mic and shouts, “There's nobody in this club that can drink more than me.” He points the mic out into the crowd.

The crowd, in unison, gives the rehearsed reply: “FUCK YOU!”

It's a wet Tuesday night in Manchester, and the small hangar-like Gorilla nightclub is packed (mostly with 20-something white guys).

It's taken a while for X to come on stage: we'd been in the club for about an hour and a half before he appears with cohort Bishop Lamont.

Thank u @MBP06 @BishopLamont @xzibit @DJInvisible313 @Gez2wo9ine @missmelliii - INCREDIBLE NIGHT! #TigerBread pic.twitter.com/sfMll6iuBk

— Sarah Jayne Hall (@sarahjaynehall_) October 7, 2015

I'm drinking a can of Hooch that cost me four fucking pounds, there's no reception and the WiFi password's protected, but none of that matters one iota right now. Everyone's getting in the mood as the hip hop classics are rolled out, and X raps and shakes front row hands that are thrust out to him. The Hooch might only be 4% but the smell of good weed wafting through the club compensates.

It occurs to me that a lot of his music I'm not that familiar with- that his appearances on Dr Dre and Eminem albums makes up my knowledge of his output. It's hard not to get in the mood, though, and it's obvious that Xzibit still absolutely loves performing on stage.

What's a little disappointing is that his set is cut short, and that I'd possibly spent more time waiting for him to come on than I did watching him on stage. Also, it can be hard to see the stage when you're a short-arse like me and the woman in front of you has come inexplicably dressed as a pirate and her hat blocks your view.

Still: Xzibit. What a legend.

 Fore pics: Gorilla's Facebook album.