Category: Reviews

Cargo has long been the go to night for Sunday bank holiday fun in Sheffield and for this May bank holiday they brought house legend DJ Sneak to the Steel City. TBC however,  were far more excited about the day time events Cargo had to offer! This night has consistently brought quality parties to Sheffield for bank holiday with their sister party Mango on the BRB Terrace being a TBC staple and also the frankly insane loading bay party at Corporation in 2011. That day went down in Sheffield clubbing history not least because the bass was so intense the party got shut down by the environmental health!

This time saw the party move to the Fez loading bay but loading bay it was all the same! TBC got there fairly early to make the most of those sunny rays and we were greeted by the lovely Sir Vinyl Instinct complimenting the sunshine with some laid back, funky, old skool disco. TBC were the only peeps on the dance floor at this stage but did we care? Erm………….no! These disco vibes were just too dang good to sit and chat! The bar was packed with delicious cocktail ingredients and boy were those Brambles tasty, adding a bit of glamour to the edgy car park surroundings! Hunee was the main event outside and as the sun set over Sheffield he graced the decks looking exceptionally dapper in suit and bow tie no less (what was I saying about glamour?). He upped the pace with some seriously danceable electro and really the got crowd going which by this point was packing out the dance floor! A particular highlight was Daphni “Ye Ye”. I distinctly remember TBC going a bit mental at that point! So as far as living up to very high bank holiday expectations, Cargo loading bay party did not disappoint and reminded everyone there that there’s something just so Sheffield about having a party in a car park with a concrete jungle of a back drop and some seriously epic tunes.

It’s fair to say, the hype about this night had been LARGE!!! Blawan, the  Barnsley Boy done good playing what can surely only be described as a home coming gig with his  Hessle Audio buddy Pangea.  Tongues they were a wagging months in advance and TBC was majorly excited about seeing one of it’s favourite djs of 2012 in the Steel City. So ladies and gentleman, did it live up to expectations? Well, …………………………….where do we begin?

The queue to enter the venue would probably be a good start! From this initial eavesdropping/shivering period , we could safely say, so far, so good. The other clubbers in the queue appeared to be mainly students of the friendly, up for it, generally decent variety! Pre paid tickets only at this stage (12.30am) as large demand had meant only a limited amount of on the door availability.

Once inside it was time to check out the venue. This was TBC’s first outing to Hopeworks, the relatively new warehouse venue opened by Dan Sane head honcho, Liam O’Shea. It certainly packed a punch once inside. Busy already, with huge screen projections behind the DJ booth which added to the venue’s, gritty, raw, industrial edge! The main thing this venue had to offer though is a bang in the face sound system. The venue on the whole, is gritty and I mean gritty! If you like that kind if thing, and I do, all well and good but be prepared. There’s no cloakroom and putting your coat near you next to the wall will inevitably mean you leave the club looking like you’ve just been mud wrestling. But hey, it’s Sheffield and we like that kind of thing!

Dj wise we were greeted by the funky yet industrial grooves of local hero Chris Duckenfield followed by the consistently solid techno we have come to expect from resident Loshea. Pangea was up next. While TBC was really looking forward to checking out this UK fave, it has to be said that he was very much a let down! The 2 hours of Pangea’s set can only be described as an endurance test seen through only to get to hear Blawan on the other side! His set was disjointed and lacked any kind of flow. Not good readers, not good! However, Blawan did not disappoint and was well worth the wait! He tonked out techno through the bonkers sound system like nobody’s business and was generally awesome! He definitely played harder than any of the other times TBC has seen him, which are numerous over the past 12 months. Such banging techno was completely fitting for Hope Works at 4am! The crowd bloody loved it and the place was still going wild at 7am! It really was an excitement to see such a big name in Sheffield and it can safely be said that the local clubbers have really had their appetite’s whet for more of the same over the coming months!

Dense and Pika, Glimpse and Alex Jones!

 From the moment TBC walked into the familiar DLS courtyard it quickly became apparent that the vibe down at the city’s most talked about warehouse venue was different to any Collect night TBC had been to before. The crowd at Collect has always been second to none in the steel city and reminiscent of the old Urban Gorilla party goers. However tonight……tonight there was something even more exciting in the air! Not that the crowd weren’t as cool, down to earth and friendly as normal, fear not readers, TBC had just as many random conversations with lovely Sheffield folk while having a chill in the court yard, were apologised to on more than one occasion when people accidently bumped into us on the dancefloor and were generally beamed at by all and sundry in this wonderful venue. It was the sheer size of the crowd and general popularity of the night that had transformed from reasonably busy gathering of those in the know to absolutely bonkers techno party! Whether it is word of mouth or the “Faction Factor” this night has kicked off and is now on a whole new level in terms of Sheffield clubbing!

Sir Vinyl Instinct opened the proceedings in the main room with some extremely dreamy, deep house. The biggest crowd of the night congregated in the main room to hear the Itchy Pig Head Honcho’s set and his uplifting tunes kicked the night off perfectly. Dense and Pika were up next and produced what can only be described as an hour of sheer mentalness as the crowd went wild to their ridiculously hard, bonkers, techno!!! There is a lot of hype surrounding these two Hotflush djs at the moment and TBC can confirm, they lived up to it and a lot more.

There was mild panic at Collect Towers in the hours before the night began as Locked Groove couldn’t make it to the UK due to an airport closure. Despite making real efforts to try and make it, it just wasn’t to be for Dense and Pika’s label mate at Hotflush. However, being the kind and generous people that they are, Dense and Pika provided a very VERY good solution to the problem. They agreed to play an extra hour and a half set EACH as their alter egos and well renowned dj aliases, Alex Jones and Glimpse!!!! Alex Jones was up first spinning an eclectic mix of house, techno, hip hop and drum and bass. Glimpse then took the batten and gave the Collect massive some seriously sexy house to jump around to! As you will have gathered, the music in the main room was varied with each set of the night but what was markedly consistent was the sheer quality of the music that was pumping on to the dance floor from start finish!

You may think that Collect attendees had been spoiled rotten by the music they had had the pleasure of hearing and dancing to that night and indeed we had! However, it didn’t end there………..and staggeringly the set that was to follow was the highlight of the night! Alex Jones and Glimpse having already played for 3 hours longer than they were originally booked for were clearly enjoying themselves far too much to leave it there. At 5am, the Collect crowd were expecting to hear the wonderful sounds of the brilliant Collect Residents – Set 2 and John Gillett but instead Alex Jones and Glimpse refused to leave the dj booth (whoopee!) and played on back to back! They played house and techno classics, those tunes that you always wanted to hear in a club but until that point had had to make do with dancing like a loon to in the comfort of your own home! Anthony Rother “Mother” and Mathew Jonson “Decompression” are particular examples that stick out in TBC’s mind! When TBC left the club at 7am Alex Jones and Glimpse were still going and the crowd, which was still pretty damn large, were still going mad for it! A very special night for Sheffield that’s for sure. With Room 2 being kept extremely happy by the splendid sounds of Kuijo and the Hold it Down crew, it was a night to remember for all those who attended!