Found out Four Tet were playing with Mouse on Mars and Max Tundra this past Friday so I signed up to review it for one of the rags I work for. Sorted it and when I read the confirmation email, found two surprises. One, Manitoba was playing as well (I know!) and second, the show started at midnight and ran until 6am. Geez, that’s late. Oh well, I am a rocking kind of gal. So went home for dinner and a disco nap, met my plus 1 at The End (great space) at the highly civilised hour of 23:00, went in, got drinks and prepared to dance the night away. And that is just what we did. I don’t know if it was the late hour, the music or the booze (probably a combination of all three) but everyone in the place was grooving and smiling like fools. Max Tundra slipped us happy pills with his collision of house and esoteric vocals, Mouse on Mars kicked our asses with an astonishing set of poundingly sublime beats (proclaiming they were going to keep spinning until their train the next morning), Four Tet kept us bouncing and guessing as to where Kieran was taking the flow next and Manitoba were, well, superbly Manitoba.
And if 4 stunning hours weren’t enough, MoM, Four Tet and Manitoba then sparked up the DJ love-fest to give it 2 more frigging hours of tip-top mix master general greatness. We emerged after 6am simultaneously exhausted and exalted to greet the first light. There is something really special about London at that time of the morning – its hushed streets, the way the air smells – not of pollution or puke – but of cold stillness. And of course - the sight of some hugely contented faces that just had one amazing night.
God, I love this city.







