Friday 10 June 2016

Review // Eton Messy: All Night Long

Went raving in Ardwick and wrote the lead live review in Mixmag recently! You can also read the full, unedited version below!
The follow-the-trail excitement of secret locations are getting the country’s dancefloors buzzing on the regular and as Manchester plays host to a returning Eton Messy, the boxes seem to all be ticked for the herds of house devotees preparing to sweat it out.
 Trekking to an unfamiliar Ardwick, a stretch from the bustling students of Oxford Road with mouths spilling chit-chat, cider and who knows what else, it’s the youth connection across the online social world that propelled Eton Messy to touring artist status, sharing smoked-out house and future garage for this ‘deep’ cohort of new heads via YouTube. It’s this notion that makes me want to believe that Eton Messy can transport their brand into the live game, as with almost 80 million views and a plethora of original artists blossoming on their roster, the facts surely speak for themselves.
The boys are well into the mix when we take to the dancefloor, bringing the bass from label mainstay Bodhi, Ten Ven edits and Waze & Odyssey screamers in what is an undisputedly stern effort - sometimes even anthems can’t resurrect a mood.
 The swarms of ravers may well be gyrating and bouncing to no end but as we flitter through, many are visibly reeling after disappointments casting a gloomy cloud. From a birthday couple met with rude door staff who jack it all in for another club, to the exasperating inclusion of not-enough portaloos that add little to the “secret warehouse” vibe and rather just feel like an inconvenience - paying a couple of quid for a glass of rolla cola blatantly poured out of a corner shop bottle, also adds insult to injury.
 As lazers bleach out the concrete cavern in swathes of red, green and blue with the pairing’s extended live lazer show, corkers booming off the decibel scale, it finally feels akin to the fully immersive experience that clubbing can be. Yet when the chips are down, it doesn’t feel like the Saturday night, on-a-level spectacle we hoped for, thanks to a setting that seems a whole lot better in theory than in practice.

Words & Images by Yours Truly X

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