The Hacker...

event:   F*ck The Pain Away venue:   Concorde 2 review date:   Saturday, 5 June 2004 words by:   matt cotsell photos by:   Claire Pratt [ intro | page 1 | page 2 ]

review

What better way to
honour the
anniversary
of D-Day?

Playing a euphoric mash up of Grace Jones and LCD Soundsystem the local Chaos Rocks boys evoke the spirit of famed Glasgow nightspot Optimo without the pretension or posy clientele. Their early 80’s and 00’s set, featuring a great electro version of Talking Heads classic 'Psycho Killer', helped to bring the punters away from the walls onto the floor. Their no frills psychedelic pixel backdrop may have been reminiscent of Saturday morning TV’s ‘The Chart Show’ but who was really watching it?

My eyes were pretty much closed the whole night but I did manage to see local dance rockers Mula, their baggy aspirations somewhat against the rest of the evening. A skuzzier version of The Rapture, they built a strong motorik synth groove that seemed to last a devastatingly long half hour. One which received a surprisingly loud ovation. If it was all a little too Happy Mondays for you, relief was to be found by the main bar where the Fuck The Pain Away DJs were playing the weirder more vocal electro acts like Chicks On Speed and Sigue Sigue Sputnik.

Tonight was ample
opportunity to
convert any
unbelievers

The Hacker, along with collaborators Miss Kittin and Felix Da Housecat, was at the forefront of the second wave of 70’s influenced dance sounds to emerge in the last 5 years from France. Their combined love of retro vocals and dark squelchy beats, now so integral to the now booming electro scene, helped them to stay in vogue whilst already established acts like Air and Daft Punk became just another dinner party mainstay.

Tonight may have been a solo DJ set but it was ample opportunity to convert any unbelievers. The faceless nature of his show may not have brought him celebrity status, but it was hard to find a face in the audience that wasn’t smiling or an arse that wasn’t shaking.

someone said... A VIP comment randomly selected for your delight: "OH DEAR!" Said by OZDIM2004 on Mon, 5th July 2004. click to view the photo

snapped! Click the VIP's name to see where we caught'em! Agent_S djwanker OZDIM2004

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about Concorde 2

Okay, so you may have to walk a bit to reach it... but that just makes it that little bit more exclusive doesn't it! Located along Madeira Drive, the Concorde 2 is a sizeable venue with a huge variety of clubnights and bands on each month. Some top names, some great festivals, World Music... you name it. If you can't find something to pique your interest then you might as well pack your bags and head for Eastbourne... Click for more info and complete listings for Concorde 2