- Just Jack has built a reputation in Bristol by consistently supplying its hometown with cutting-edge in house and techno. Landing heavyweights like Levon Vincent isn't unusual for them, but as one of the most widely admired artists in the game, this was definitely a booking that promised big things.
Vincent's gritty and unpretentious sound is perfect for the Bristolian palate. The setting of the party was well matched too: The Old Coroner's Court is a dilapidated period building, with outside portaloos, graffiti-clad walls and an entire bar dedicated to laughing gas. The music rumbled through Funktion One speakers in two main rooms on the ground floor. The acoustics were good, the layout relatively simple and the size just right for the high turnout. The only issue was the single bar, which inevitably struggled to cope with the thirsty crowd.
Portable's live performance from around 2 AM set the tone nicely, if not memorably. Combining the artist's quirky and experimental style of house with his distinctive vocals, the set had a lot of potential, but his voice was lost in the mix, and the soundsystem didn't capture the finer details of his music. It did, however, manage to sustain anticipation for what was to follow.
By 3 AM Levon Vincent was up. You could feel the excitement swelling as he was warmly greeted with chants of his name from the packed room. He wasted no time getting down and dirty with one of his stomping but carefully considered, vinyl-heavy sets. What impressed me most about Vincent's style in the mix was his ability to stitch together so many tracks without burning out. There were few breakdowns, but when he dropped one of his most recognisable anthems, "Man or Mistress," near the end, you could tell from the crowd's feverish reaction that nobody was complaining.