- Although I rarely embrace it to the fullest, I can't help but admire the sense of humour that Halloween brings out in people. Helped by its enthusiastic student population, Bristol rarely disappoints when it comes to celebrating the festivity, and Just Jack’s Freak Boutique at Motion Skatepark was, on paper, one of the best offerings of the weekend.
The lineup was heavyweight, even by Just Jack’s standards. They've gradually risen through the UK's house and techno ranks over the past seven years, but this felt like a landmark event. I recall an interview with Tom Rio, one of Just Jack’s founders, where he made no secret that Ricardo Villalobos was his dream booking. Not hugely surprising perhaps, but there was a sense on Halloween that after having knocked on the door for years, Just Jack had finally fulfilled a lifelong ambition.
Their spiritual home, Motion Skatepark, is a unique venue, and can be a spectacular space for large-scale events like this. In keeping with the name of the night, the adornments were seriously freaky. (A gigantic pair of eyes followed my every move from above the stage in the main room.) The atmosphere was intense, made so by the heavy use of smoke machines and the many wonderfully bizarre costumes on display. And credit to the organisers, despite the event selling out weeks in advance, it never felt overcrowded.
Musically, all three spaces of the sprawling site had something interesting to offer. Jane Fitz, Amir Alexander and Kyle Hall occupied the more peripheral rooms, but their offerings were anything but secondary. Hall's rich and expressive selections were difficult to pull away from in the Warehouse, while Jane Fitz brought a touch of dubby finesse to the Tunnel. But it was the main room that was the most exciting, with Sonja Moonear and Villalobos booked from 2 AM through close.
The first-rate soundsystem in the main room deserves recognition. Flooding the dance floor, it delivered a near perfect balance of delicate high frequencies and thumping low-end. Moonear's subtle and loopy transitions set the tone, with Anton Zap's "Crucifix Lane" among the highlights from her two-hour turn.
As charismatic as ever behind the decks, Villalobos stylistically picked up where Moonear left off. His early cuts were on the trippy and obscure side, hitting that psychedic sweet spot that he's so known for. It was in his last hour or two that he began making some crowd-pleasing concessions, bridging the two personalities of his set with his own remix of Shackleton's "Blood On My Hands."
Then came an orgy of Villalobos classics. He began with the recently reissued "Dexter," shortly followed by "Lugom-ix" and eventually closing with the blissfully hypnotic "808 The Bassqueen." Sure, bits of it felt self-indulgent or even a tad cheesy, but I think everyone in there will agree it was enormously satisfying.