Crystal Distortion, Synthetic, The Bongo Club, 5 Apr

This is a well-timed booking for the start of the Easter weekend, ensuring the Bongo Club's floors are soon creaking with the expanse of punters. Support sets from the simultaneously jiving Graeme Marshall and DJ Physicist set the stage for just about any act, serving their techno sunny side up, tribalistic, and funky with a side of stutter; progressively delving into darker shades as hours tick away. It has to be said that Synthetic's residents are always spot on in capturing the right atmosphere and revving up the crowd. Distortion rolls onto the decks around 1am, infusing the set with some 'Lahndahn' attitude - not much has changed in his style in recent years, continuing on a successful heavy-edged plateau, peppered with blaring early 90s acid. Steering through ghettotek into hardtek, Distortion ends up in an offbeat field of cows mooing, spectacularly managing to delight the dancers. If you aren't sweating profusely by the end and shaking off a bad case of the jogger's knees, you can only have been standing outside all night. [Alex Burden]