Monday 31 March 2008

Super Flight and heavy Hercules

First of all, a quick apology for the lack of updates recently. As some of you may know, things have been a bit hectic at Tricky Disco HQ, what with numerous best before: parties, work commitments and an office move. Things have calmed down a bit now, though, so expect a rash of bits and pieces soon - interviews, new mixes (at last) and random reviews of interesting new music.

Saturday night saw a big joint best before: & UFO event down at Timbuk2 in Bristol, with Chateau Flight's Gilb'R headlining on his first visit to the West Country. Thanks to all those who braved filthy weather to make it down (and there were plenty of you!) – it was a memorable party with fantastic moments aplenty. Gilb'R himself was superb, showcasing his undisputed skills as a DJ with a set that impressed our resident house and techno nerds and kept an initially reticent dancefloor happy for the full two hours. The number of "randoms" made his job harder, but he overcame it by seamlessly moving between deep tackle, techier bits, European techno, Detroitian sounds and some springy, Fulton-esque offerings. He varied his pace and never went full throttle – something that always impresses those of us who think you don't have to bash things out to get the dancefloor going. Gilb'R seemed to enjoy himself, and hopefully went back to Paris with a favourable impression of Bristol.

Elsewhere, there were brilliant second room sets from some our favourite local DJs - Andy Clarkson (whose P-Funk/electrofunk/Miami bass selection was inspired), Powercut & Lingo (perhaps Bristol's best funk and hip-hop DJs these days, and that's some feat) and Joe Hart. The latter's set was a particular delight, since he managed to keep a rammed room dancing like mental freaks to some of the most obscure freestyle, Miami bass and stone cold electro around. Once he'd done our own Kelly Twins took over, smashing the place up with a pure party set that was a joy from start to finish. I was practically sober (it's a long story) but was jumping around all over the place. Legendary Tone was loving it, too - and it was his birthday (though he kept it quiet). Happy birthday boss!

A good night all round, then. We do it all again this Friday at the Bank, this time with a couple more of our friends from Bristol's club scene. Freejive main man Jambo and Seen/Club Dave heavyweight El Harvo (fresh from supporting Crazy P out in Australia) are the guest selectors ready to make the pub rock. It should be fun.

There's also the small matter of our Bank Holiday Sunday bash at Timbuk2 on May 4th. We can now officially confirm that our guests of honour will be Tricky Disco faves Hercules & Love Affair. Before you ask it's not the band - it's main man Andy Butler with one of his trademark DJ sets. He's a great selector with a fantastic record collection (he counts Derrick Carter and Daniel Wang amongst his musical mentors, so you'd expect nothing less), and I know he's looking forward to finding out just how fun and raucous it can get in Bristol. He'll be moving from disco to acid house while throwing in all sorts of other weird and wonderful delights. Expect big things! Completing the line-up are under_score's Placid, Byte's Al Dare, Bernie & James L from Wonky/Wriggle, and the usual best before: residents.

Tickets for that one are on sale now priced £7 plus booking fee. They're available from Bristol Ticket Shop, either from their store at the Galleries in Broadmead or online.