The Warehouse Project Launch weekend - Part 1 & 2

Friday 26th September
Launch weekend - Part 1
21:30 - 05:00
Sasha
Locodice
Paul Woolford
Tini [ Desolat ]
Greg lord / Andro



Saturday 27th September
The Launch Weekend Part 2
21:30 - 05:00
Basement Jaxx [ DJ Set ]
Duke Dumont
Riton
Disco Bloodbath
Krysko
Greg Lord








Warehouse Project Launch Party Part 2
29 Sep 2008
The Warehouse Project is back for another twelve weeks of big lineups and heavy beats. But can it live up to previous years’ successes? We checked out the Launch Party Part 2, headlined by Basement Jaxx, to find out.
When the Warehouse Project first started out, a big part of the hype surrounding it was its short-term nature. The first WHP took over a huge, disused brewery on the edge of town, declared that "For twelve weeks, this city is ours..." and unveiled the biggest and most varied lineup Manchester had seen in years. The clubbing community went crazy for it, making the most of the opportunity at hand without knowing if they’d ever see its like again. When Boddingtons Brewery closed its doors for the last time on New Years Day, there was the general feeling that for three months Manchester had been home to something fleeting, iconic and extraordinary.
It wasn’t until the first of the WHP’s big bank holiday parties that clubbers learned the team were planning another takeover. Excitement was high over the new venue, a series of arches below Piccadilly Train Station on Store Street. WHP2 proved to be every bit as exciting as its predecessor and once again clubbers poured in from across the country.
But this year, things are a bit different. The Warehouse Project now has a permanent home at 112-116 Princess Street (aka Paradise Factory) for 6 months of the year. We know they’ll be hosting massive bank holiday parties at Easter and August. We know they’re planning WHP4 already. So, with the club now a seemingly permanent fixture in Manchester’s clubbing calendar, can the Warehouse Project live up to the excitement of previous years?
Walking down for the Launch Party Part 2, there was definitely a buzz about. The last few tickets for the party, headlined by Basement Jaxx, had gone earlier in the day and rumours were being passed along the snaking queues that ticketholders wouldn’t be allowed in after half past 11, so it was with a little anxiety that we waited to get through the doors. We needn’t have worried. Last year’s heavy-handed door policy (sniffer dogs and the closest thing we’ve had to a strip search) had returned back to a normal bag check and within ten minutes of joining the queue we were inside.
No matter how many times you’ve been to the Store Street venue, it is still impressive. A sprawling warren of brick archways and cavernous spaces, the venue harks back to the early days of raves and warehouse parties but the addition of huge AV screens and Funktion One soundsystem root the club firmly in the present. This year the space has been put to even better use, with the introduction of a chill-out room full of deckchairs under one archway and a smaller, more intimate second room installed under another.
They’ve also made sure there are three bars, so we found that even though the club was starting to fill up we got served in under 5 minutes. Prices are lower this year, but £3.50 for a can of Budweiser (the only beer option) still stings a bit.
Duke Dumont was given the task of warming up the crowd before Basement Jaxx’s set. He started out in fine style, playing exactly the kind of twisted fidget house you would expect from an artist who’s first releases have been on Tiga’s Turbo Recordings and Switch’s Dubsided label, but seemed to lose his way at the end of the set, with the last 20 minutes or so given over to playing Mujava’s Township Funk over and over at varying speeds. We’re all for innovation on the dancefloor, and there is no denying that this is one of the biggest tunes of the year, but by the third replay it was wearing thin.
However, the grumbling of the crowd disappeared as the first beats of Lennie De Ice’s proto-jungle classic We Are Ie hit the crowd. A massive cheer went up as the crowd welcomed Basement Jaxx to the stage. The goodwill spread across the whole set. Clubbers carved out grooves in the floor to the jacking house music until Basement Jaxx began breaking out re-edits of their massive hits like Rendevous and Do Your Thing. The biggest tune of the night was a re-edit of Where’s Your Head At, with the intro teased out for so long that when the tune actually dropped the crowd cheered so loudly they almost drowned out the bass.
Whether the crowd hadn’t quite found the second room or it was simply it never stood a chance against the mighty Jaxx, the second room was relatively empty all night with only a handful of clubbers throwing themselves in Disco Bloodbath’s set. There is definite potential in that space though and we think that as this season progresses, the second room will come into its own.
Riton finished off the night with records that kept a healthy proportion of the crowd dancing straight through to am. Looking at the flushed, sweaty, exhilarated faces as the lights came up, it is clear that this year’s Warehouse Project is still on top form. With nights already selling out throughout October and a visit from the Chemical Brothers tipped to be this year’s hottest party, the next twelve weeks are going to be massive. M.AfterDark