- Bigfoot's Tea Party have put on nights in Glasgow for over four years now, and they've never stayed in the same place for long. Moving between Sub Club and a number of more unconventional venues (including a pub and an Indian restaurant), their nomadic nature is very much part of their identity—and that's before mentioning the events they've put on in Aberdeen and, more recently, Edinburgh.
Their latest all-day affair at the Curryoke Club, a karaoke restaurant on the banks of the River Clyde, began with a barbecue and a lengthy warm-up set of bouncy acid house in the restaurant's concrete courtyard. Alejandro Paz started with Kenny Jammin Jason and Fast Eddie Smith's luminous Chicago classic "Can U Dance," which proved a pretty good indicator of what would follow. Melding hot-headed Chicago tracks with a medley of Cómeme records, there were few surprises in the Chilean's two-hour set, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable. In fact, Paz's visible enthusiasm and energy, coupled with his relentlessly tight and aggressive selections, made for one of the most fun sets I've heard all year. His live vocals on "Duro" and "New Guy In Town" gave another outlet for his refreshingly expressive stage presence. A friend told me that I'd missed him bounding from the booth to dance with the crowd. Judging from how much he was enjoying himself, I wasn't all that surprised.
When Paz's set ended, we were ushered into the restaurant where resident Chris Kelly and Delta Funktionen were to see out the rest of the evening. As people broke off from the dancefloor to smoke in the marquee and drink at the bar, it felt like some momentum had been lost as technicians raced to transfer the party indoors. Having said that, the move inside did also allow for a resetting of the tempo, and as darkness began to creep in, the music followed suit.
Kelly's tough-but-not-obtrusive set of shadowy house and techno coaxed people away from their beers and cigarettes as we counted down to Delta Funktionen's 10 PM slot, by which time the crowd had noticeably thinned out. An early snippet of Paranoid London's "Paris Dub 1" was one of the Dutchman's few recognisable selections, and though the song has lost some of its power through overexposure of late, it sounded revitalised in his hands. Those who remained for the closing two hours were treated to a masterclass in focused, heads-down club music that traversed the porous line between house and techno. I hadn't been sure how BFTP would reconcile DJs as different as Paz and Delta Funktionen, but the quality of the music was such that they never seemed out of place. For a venue more accustomed to hosting ABBA sing-a-longs, that's saying something.