Welcome to the Warehouse @ Store Street, Manchester, 27 Sep

It’s been a while since the grubby caverns underneath Piccadilly train station played host to a sweltering glob of party people. Two years, in fact – and a lot has changed in that time

Review by Jack Burns | 16 Oct 2014

Before the move out to Stretford, The Warehouse Project seemed to have the formula all worked out. Find an expansive, sprawling industrial space; fill it with safe-bet clubbing brands like Chibuku, Cocoon, Hospitality and Annie Mac… and wait for the tickets to fly out. The venue, the arches beneath Piccadilly station, was such a success that the team – owing to their nomadic manifesto – felt comfortable enough to up sticks to a bigger setting, Victoria Warehouse in the shadow of a new-era Old Trafford. A few years down the line and the once-seedy charm of Store Street morphed into full-on one-way-system clubbing, rumours of monopolising artist embargoes and, sadly, the steady capitulation of WHP’s signature intimacy.

So, now we’re back at 'the spiritual home,' Moyes has gone, and the future is a damn sight more promising. Tonight’s opening venture through the curtains is a 12-hour slog, which gets going with a formidable set from Leon Vynehall in Room 1. The Brighton-based producer rifles through a few choice picks from his own catalogue – Be Brave, Clench Fists and Butterflies stand out, as do the sounds of Tito Wun, Oni Ayhun and Mr. G.

Meanwhile, the beard of Amsterdam favourite Mr. Ties is bobbing around in Room 2. We catch the last hour or so of his set, which fluctuates from disco to techno – the new Traumprinz is in there somewhere – then back to disco. Next up, Subculture’s own Harri & Domenic go hard on the synths with barely a vocal to be heard – Blake Baxter’s 303-trip Our Luv is a highlight – while Tale of Us go the other way and make the most of their bland Caribou remix by letting it spin for about ten minutes. Unfortunately, it probably won’t be the last time this is heard pumping out of the main room.

A necessary trip back to Room 2 follows to catch the tardy tag team of Ben UFO & Pearson Sound, who had the misfortune of getting delayed on their flight from France. They make up for lost time by battering the system with Midland’s Afro-inspired single Safi and Ron Hardy’s edit of Life’s a Jungle. The lights come up and illuminate the twisted figures of what used to be upstanding citizens of Manchester. They clap in acknowledgement of a great set, a solid night, but more so in favour of the right decision to return WHP to its old stomping ground.