Hidden Depths - Grandmaster Flash, The Glimmers, The Unabombers, Richard Sen

Back for a second time around San Miguel Hidden Depths hit Manchester on 10^th July 08. This time it’s the turn of Belgian electro/ punk/ funk duo The Glimmers to curate. While also playing themselves, they pick a diverse line-up to entertain the crowd at Joshua Brooks.

Opening was Richard Sen, who warmed up the arriving audience with his chilled out disco house sound. It was obvious to see why he was on the line up with his tune selection being very similar to that of The Glimmers. He was followed Manchester favourites and former Electric Chair organisers The Unabombers. Their bass heavy, dirty electro and house set seemed to remind the crowd of the good ole’ days back at The Chair.

The night, however, didn’t really kick off until The Glimmers came to the decks. From the opening tune to the last it was obvious these guys throw a damn fine party. There was a lot of cheesy (and needed) disco, bass driven house and the odd old school classic thrown in for good measure. The mixing skills of the duo were something special too, with tunes falling effortlessly into place, massive bass lines dropping behind classic tunes and the cuts and chops of records adding to the party behind the turntables. The audience had definitely succumbed to charms of the duo and their set was the definite highlight of the night.

Grandmaster Flash came to the stage after a brief warm up from his crew, who finished with the disco classic Night Fever. After an early technical hitch, the former Sugar Hill Gang member played a set full of classics, with the likes of Smells Like Teen Spirit and Seven Nation Army even gracing his set. However, there is something particularly uninspiring about seeing someone scratching (sometimes out of time) to a predetermined set on a laptop. When seeing a DJ as famous, and with as much experience, as Grandmaster Flash you kind of expect something special when they play live, which this just wasn’t. The crowd did seem really into the tunes he was throwing down, but there was a great deal of effort lacking from such a legendary figure in the music industry.

There was a large amount of media interest in the night, and those who had been sent here for PR did stand out like a sore thumb. The vibe of the night didn’t suffer, though, as everyone made their way through the free San Miguel on offer. Even if the dance floor was a massive sweat pit during Grandmaster Flash, The Glimmers stole the show for me.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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