“From the ‘White Isle’ to the ‘White Cliffs’!”
‘As one door closes, another one opens’ goes the old saying – And the third week of September embodies those words quite literally for our british army of dancefloor warriors. This is the week when Ibiza closing parties live by their name & nature, & a summer of festivals on British farms, Croatian beaches & the streets of Spanish cities also power down. Whilst I loved carrying factor 45 for my ginger skin, a trusty bum bag for my bits & bobs, a portable back up phone charger & endless amounts of baby wipes, all good things must come to an end. . Even my legendary easy jet streak across Europe. There were times I was knee deep in pounding bass & cider, accompanied by a tasty serving of sun stroke, & I wished the summer of 2017 would never end : I wished TUSKEGEE would not stop dropping bangers @ Kappa / Sven Vath wouldn’t stop slapping wax @ cocoon in the park, I wished Jackmaster would just extend his set by 4 hours at Circoloco … but seeing line ups for parties back on dry land more than sorted out my ‘festival blues’.
This September signals a spring style autumn for me, it’s time for renewal in the party scene ; And we’re bloody lucky to come from this little island – I don’t mean the ‘White Ilse’. It’s the ‘Great’ island where you can get dark fruits 4 for £5 on pre drinks, the island where you need no sun cream at all. The island where uber works without reservation, there’s no international ring tones, No exchange rate, no need to do the maths on a ham & cheese baguette and what it would have cost you at Greggs. There’s no hidden service charge on your pasta, no segundas – its just starters & mains. It’s the island where your dealer gives you 3 for 50, 2 for 100, and things come in baggies rather than mysterious paper wraps. The island where the powders actually look like what you wanted to buy don’t do a massive bump of kez instead of mandy in the middle of Nina Kravis set, then you can’t find your way back to safe haven of the apartment because everywhere looks like ‘La Diagonal’. It’s the island where you can get balloons dropped to the afters at 6am, (as long as yore using them for whipped cream purposes, “yes i am a chef”), the island where you don’t need an international pin plug to charge your phone. It’s the island with just as many clubs as anywhere in the world, and probably more licensed event spaces & warehouses than anywhere else in Europe. It’s the one where many of the worlds best DJ’s are born & bred, & the island the rest want to come to play. It’s The home of Dubstep, Garage, grime, jungle .. and argueably the total renaissance of house music & the rave scene in the 90’s. It’s the fucking UK in the winter, and I love it. Our line ups are heavyweight all year round – go have a look at Turin, Barcelona, or Splijt in November – there’s sweet FA. A few mincey residents playing 9pm slots in tapas bars… We’ve got it all, all over the country, not just London. The North is actually a powerhouse, not for the reasons Teresa May & Cameron promised, but because we’ve got Manchester / Leeds / Liverpool / Newcastle / Edinburgh / Glasgow .. And we’ve got so much to look forward to …
I love our venues in the winter, the excitement of students coming to tear up a new city & finding out they actually love house music – not iggy azealia, new nights popping up, new seasons of fashion on the high street, frantically booking off all the bank holidays at work… then The Warehouse Project line ups coming out is like the release of the Premier league fixture list (megabus & national rail sites must crash) you find yourself tagging all your mates in the comments section & publicly making transport plans (‘we’re so so cool we’re all travelling to see villalobos, & were getting the first train home’) .
Talking from a Newcastle perspective when I’m looking forward to our ‘term’ starting, would mean looking at the Shindig dates, who have been bringing the big names to the city for the past 25 years, & providing me with parties to cut my teeth at all through my teens & early 20’s. Seeing what the Ape-x team have booked in, this year they’ve got some quality one off parties & tasteful selections. It’s wondering when the Legendary Jaunt> boys are going to make their move, after their 10th anniversary has already been announced in Leeds, you’d expect a banger in the toon. It’s also wondering when Motion are going to come out to play…. & this year there’s a couple of fresh headyzy promoters serving my musical appetite to a T – firstly Foreplay have come into the mix (forgive the pun) & are promising Detriot legends to come throughout their series. I pray this is true. Secondly ; Backdrop who have delivered nothing but underground quality from day dot.. & Finally, our own Baby – Concept 10 @ The Boilershop. Newcastle’s, most historic venue (I beg you google Stephenson Co.) After bringing Skream / Jackmaster / Robert Dietz & Matthias Tanzmann to the Warehouse last season, it’s fingers on the button for our Season 2.0. line ups..
The 22nd of september is an amazing night to live in Newcastle, there’s enough Dj’s to make a up mix mag legends 5-a-side team playing in our fair city… And You can actually make a Concept 10 5-aside team out of our line up … Matty Robson in nets, with his trusty partner in crime Johnny Burn slotting in defence in front of him – then you’ve got the hottest young gun Ejeca alongside him, bringing some mad cuts to the floor. In midfield we’ve got the most anticipated – Mella Dee holding everything together & finally the formidable Dusky Boys up front headlining the whole operation. Warehouse Vibes, UK Tings. Not to be missed.
With shows @cosmic, Wolrdies & Digital – You won’t get a city with this much competition anywhere else, so fuck anyone that tells you Summer is over, the fun is just beginning… forget wherever else is stereotypically ‘trendy’. Our scene is POPPING, its not on the beaches & in the super clubs, it’s in the warehouses & tight bass filled rooms. Strap on your air max & bin your high heels, break out the wavy jumpers & save the bikini for david lloyds. bring me back a sleeve of JPS crushball if you can, but leave the rest of the holiday shit in spain. Be proud to be a geordie (or and adopted one). Its GO TIME.
Remember Remember the 22nd of September… you know there’s #plentymorewherethatcamefrom
Tickets on sale now at www.Concept10.com
Written by Simon Mooney – ‘Newcastle Clubland PART 0.1 (Friday 18th August 2017)’