Tom Middleton, Layo & Bushwacka!, XFM Weekender, Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh, July 29
The crowd were more interested in beer than beats by this point
| 13 Sep 2006
XFM's Weekender was hyped to be an indie-dance party to rock Edinburgh's Ocean Terminal to the ground, but due to pricey tickets only a small but intimate crowd arrived. The VIP room was abandoned on the night, with staff opting to focus on the main arena. Unfortunately the sound system was less than impressive for such a large area. El Presidente kicked off the evening with a blistering DJ set, from sublime rock to bizarre breakbeat, all pumped out live on XFM radio. The crowd lapped up the quirkiness of their band/DJ overlap.
XFM's Mash and McSleazy took over with some cheeky house classics from the likes of Roger Sanchez and Mylo, mixed up with Franz Ferdinand and The Fratellis. This worked well but the crowd were more interested in beer than beats by this point, as the dancefloor emptied. As the witching hour approached, Tom Middleton was lurking about backstage preparing his set and signing autographs. He had a few words to say about the night before starting his set: "I think XFM are doing a very brave thing having a night with a mixture of these types of music, and the venue is superb." Onstage he launched into an eclectic blend of all things electro, dropping in such numbers as Thomas Anderson's Washing Up and a kicking bootleg of INXS's Suicide Blonde. Blow-up XFM beach balls filled the dance floor, and the party started kicking into full swing with a number of smokers shying away from the balcony and back into the main room. As he handed over the reigns to Layo & Bushwacka! things were getting hot and sweaty. They quickly moved the music into a more tribal sound, with lots of percussion and heavy bass lines kicking into a spectacular light and video show. Everyone got into the low swing beat as the night came to a close, and the final tune was, you guessed it, a dirty breaks version of Love Story. Despite some cracking performances this was a strangely unfulfilling night, perhaps due in part to the low attendance. Drop the door price, and you're onto a winner. [Barry Hunt]
XFM's Mash and McSleazy took over with some cheeky house classics from the likes of Roger Sanchez and Mylo, mixed up with Franz Ferdinand and The Fratellis. This worked well but the crowd were more interested in beer than beats by this point, as the dancefloor emptied. As the witching hour approached, Tom Middleton was lurking about backstage preparing his set and signing autographs. He had a few words to say about the night before starting his set: "I think XFM are doing a very brave thing having a night with a mixture of these types of music, and the venue is superb." Onstage he launched into an eclectic blend of all things electro, dropping in such numbers as Thomas Anderson's Washing Up and a kicking bootleg of INXS's Suicide Blonde. Blow-up XFM beach balls filled the dance floor, and the party started kicking into full swing with a number of smokers shying away from the balcony and back into the main room. As he handed over the reigns to Layo & Bushwacka! things were getting hot and sweaty. They quickly moved the music into a more tribal sound, with lots of percussion and heavy bass lines kicking into a spectacular light and video show. Everyone got into the low swing beat as the night came to a close, and the final tune was, you guessed it, a dirty breaks version of Love Story. Despite some cracking performances this was a strangely unfulfilling night, perhaps due in part to the low attendance. Drop the door price, and you're onto a winner. [Barry Hunt]