Just got back home to Leeds. I had a fantastic time. Really great evening. Thought John was immense and it was lush being there from his opening ambient track to just after 4am when he was belting it out. It was great to see some people I’ve not seen for years (My shaved head covid cut is a fashion choice, not a necessity Benson. I can have a full head of luxurious hair thank you very much lol). The London crowd are always up for it (it seems the London drug scene is definitely still in full swing) and plenty of funny characters wandering around.
I don’t think there’s any secret sauce to him and Sasha playing better when they play in London clubs - they do the whole night so you get the several hours of build up where he’s playing really interesting stuff while slowly cranking up through the gears. Stuff you just won’t get when they do a 3 hour headliner set elsewhere in the country. It just misses so much stuff out.
The venue was alright - seemed the sound system in the main room was screwy for the first 30 mins or so of John’s set until it got sorted. There was definitely sweet spots for dancing where it sounded much better than other places. I hardly moved from the spot I found all night as a result but no bad thing. Busy but not too busy which was cool.
Room 2 was mental. Absolutely blasting it out from the opening and it never slowed down. I thought when Danny Howells came on at 2am he’d slow it down a bit but nope - he just went with it. It was the only room with any seating but definitely not the chill out room at 128+ bpm lol.
So great evening all round. Tired today but not hungover or coming down which is a result. Loved it.
