Andrew Weatherall
As Andrew Weatherall wows the 303 crowd with a phenomenal seven-hour set, Getintothis’ Ste Knight joins the journey
As a dance music fan, there is always something humbling about watching a true legend perform a DJ set. Saturday was one of those occasions, as dance music royalty Andrew Weatherall rocked up to 303 to play a full 7 hour set in front of a packed-out crowd at the Williamson Tunnels venue, that 303 have made their spiritual home.
If you don’t know any of Andrew‘s solo work (quite why you wouldn’t is beyond us – he’s a prolific solo artist and remixer) then you should be familiar with some of his collaborative projects such as Sabres of Paradise, Two Lone Swordsmen (with Keith Tenniswood AKA Radioactive Man) or The Asphodells.
Weatherall is a true music lover’s DJ, his passion for and knowledge of dance music is, arguably, unsurpassed. Perhaps the only other DJ/producer to come close would be Laurent Garnier, but even that could be pushing it.
This wealth of knowledge was hugely apparent, as Weatherall crammed as much into his seven hours as possible. What the crowd witnessed was a truly educational musical journey which was as danceable as it was insightful, and covered the whole gamut of dance music.
Weatherall‘s no-less-than epic set was just that, an epic, and without wanting to rely too much hyperbole, could be likened to the musical equivalent of Milton‘s Paradise Lost or Homer‘s Iliad. His performance was mesmerising, as he drew the crowd into his techno-tunnel and spat us all out at the other end literally only when we saw the lights at 4am.
Check our interview with “aggressive mixer” techno DJ Rebekah
The set started off at a reserved pace, which started warming the crowd up nicely. The tunnels were rammed from the off, but there was somehow still enough space to get your jam on in this brick Tardis. Weatherall hopped between musical styles with ease, dropping house, disco and techno all into the melting pot to create a divine sonic soup.
Tracks such as Robolledo‘s remix of Javiera Mena‘s Hasta La Verdad had arms raised in supplication, whilst Massimiliano Pagliara‘s swirling electro-disco classic Sometimes at Night had the crowd heads-down giving it the grind. Finishing his set with KiNK‘s bleepy house bounder Diversion whipped the crowd up into one final frenzy before the lights went on.
Sorry, but if you think indie snoozefest Coldplay or Noel-literally hates everything-Gallagher deserve to be receiving fucking God-Like Genius awards then you can jog on, my friend, because they don’t come close to The Guv’nor in any way, shape or form.
Weatherall‘s set was inspiring. Anyone who can drop Bird of Paradise’s Baal into a mix and have the crowd going apeshit is a master of his craft. He held us in his hands and squeezed gently until our dance-juices ran dry.
As always the 303 crew had outdone themselves bringing Andrew to Liverpool for a full seven-hour set. Their programming is always top notch, and we’re looking forward to the treats they’ve got coming up in the next few months, including Daniel Avery, Luke Slater, Dave Clarke and Speedy J.
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