LIVE REVIEW

Secret gigs eh? never really that secret...

If they were, then there wouldn't be about 3 million people queuing outside a gated up metal door, and if indeed this modular party (featuring the one and only mstrkrft) was pretty hush hush, then how do you explain the sheer number of flamboyant outfits, asymmetrical hair cuts and general level of heightened wankiness on show? Rome wasn't built in a day, and some of these attires must have taken a good few months of forethought, an appointment with a schizophrenic one-eyed hair stylist and dredging through the charity shop reject bins to put together...

Note to all trendy 30-somethings reading this: some things are donated to charity shops for a reason though guys...

But if we were here to dissect the pros and cons of Shoreditch and its brethren, we'd just summarise it all by saying either "a place for people that generally have very good musical taste and like hanging out in overly expensive rat-holes where you get charged extortionate sums for the privilege and whom are, more often than not, self-obsessed queue dodging pricks", or more succinctly - "a postcode full of cunts". and ones that don't like dancing until the trendy guy comes on it'd seem alas...

Because poor old whipping boy Casper c plays some very good tunes for a good couple of hours and barely gets a pulse out of the room, maybe its the fact that everyone's too busy standing around preening themselves to get down with the kids (or more likely the 2 hour ordeal to get a vodka based drink), but he can count himself unfortunate that there wasn't more dancefloor shuffling going on.

Of course, if he'd had been as good as Ajax it would've helped.

This guys knows how to work the room. Start loud, throw in lots of fucked up louder bits, generally build up to a crashing emission of ear-blowing loudness whilst occasionally remembering to dance like a twat who's having the time of their life. I know i was for about 2 hours solid, which wasn't easy with a rather large bag. in fact, the guy is positively hyperactive, changing cd's constantly, mixing in loops, samples and battered vinyl whenever he has an idea - and ideas is something he's certainly not short of. He looks kind of normal - no self conscious head nodding or stopping to have photos taken with ridiculously attractive girls, merely a man married to his music; obsessed with the next tune and bettering it within 30 seconds of its arrival. If your idea of rave / fucked up electro ends with the klaxons, then do yourself a favour and stalk this guy until that preconception is a thing of the past, and if anyone's got a bootleg of the show, either email me it or please consider releasing it. So... Ajax - fucking amazing!

All of which means that mstrkrft have a tough act to follow, and you know what? they don't... quite...

they try valiantly, and pull out some stonking tunes and remixes in the process, but after the sheer revelry and non-stop action of the last hour or so, their more stationary laptop tweaking just doesn't seem to have quite the same energy to it. if Ajax is the king of mixing music though, then mstrkrft are surely the kings of making the stuff in the first place. The odd treat from the (finally released) upcoming record goes down like a storm and mixes seamlessly into a cacophony of blown bass speakers and reverberating electronic pulses, throw in some remixes they've done, some they probably haven't and a whole heap of knob-twiddling and the throngs are definitely swaying, and at times fucking freaking out. It probably got even more amazing as the night went on, but alas public transport calls and i have to say my goodbyes come 1am.

So thanks to all at modular for throwing such a fantastically enjoyable and reasonably priced soiree. I know the next time there's a secret gig (cough cough... this friday at Bush Hall for all you New pony club fans...) i'll be keeping schtum to ensure i definitely get in...

Sean-tohellwith