Circus presents Cocoon, Nation, Liverpool - 26th November 2010
It was a weird mix of personal emotions going back to Nation after a 10 year absence, especially given the familiarity of the guests for the occasion, Sven Vath and Cocoon. Having spent a large chunk (most weeks actually) of the summer soaking up Cocoon at 'ground zero' in Amnesia, this felt like somewhat of a victory lap of honour with all the biggest tunes of the Ibiza season getting a good run out and it generally seeming like 'here was a taste of Cocoon in Liverpool'.
That meant stuff like Nous Sommes by MMM, Blaue Moschee by Die Vogel, The Secret by Joris Voorn laced Papa Sven's set in the main room and somewhat naturally caused the biggest reactions. After Sven, Yousef similarly continued the high energy feeling by blasting through some of his favourites from 2010 and particularly his sets at Space in Ibiza this year. Blu by Pirupa still smashes it up!
Elsewhere Booka Shade were the other highlight of the night, playing a great live set of their back catalogue in a throbbing courtyard. When they finished, the room emptied unfortunately, leaving Guy Gerber playing to practially nobody and others on the bill [Onur Ozer and Raresh] I'd missed earlier on in the night. A decent night all in all, especially given the freezing temperatures AND the fact Loco Dice was hosting a Desolat special at the Warehouse Project just up the road.
Warehouse Project presents Cocoon, Picadilly Train Station, Manchester - 10th December 2010
We arrived at about 11pm, and after a brief queue of about ten minutes, we walk in and were instantly met with a wall of people. It was only early and it was jam-packed already. It's a refreshing change though, and reassured me that there is still a clubbing scene thriving in the UK.
All I could think was how cold it was! But if you will attend a party in an underground car park, in December, in Manchester, you should have guessed it would be pretty cold. As we struggled to get to the bar, I was dreading the prices. Having paid €14 for a Redbull in Ibiza earlier this year, I was hoping that the Warehouse Project stuck to its down-to-earth roots and when I paid £3.30 for a spirit and mixer, I was more than happy. Especially as they had spiced rum.
Ever the cynic, I expected the crowd to be either a really snobby, elitist crowd, or the cast of Skins and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, you did have alot – and I mean ALOT – of boys fashioning All Saints' autumn/winter 2011 collection; but generally there was a good mix of people, all of whom wanted to get ridiculously sweaty and dance relentlessly. Right in the thick of it, the crush was insane, the majority of the clubbers who attended, seemed to all want to be in that exact same place, at the same time.
I'm not a connoisseur of techno, but you don't need to be to know that the music was amazing. When you dance, effortlessly, all night, you know the music's good. Anybody who dislikes the minimal side of techno needs to experience it in a club; in an environment like the Warehouse Project. I challenge anybody to spend five hours with Sven and friends, and deny they had an immense time. I know I did.
