- April 8 saw Belgian DJ and producer Marco Bailey make his first appearance in Ireland since last year's Global Gathering, this time at a party organised by new promoters Apocalypse Now. Since Musiklab has shifted venues, the Forum in Waterford has been on virtual techno hiatus and tonight Apocalypse Now were hoping to launch themselves with a bang.
Thirty minutes after the opening time of 11 p.m, still punters hadn't been allowed to enter the venue as staging delays and last minute arrangements held up the start. By the time people eventually got inside, the sounds of 'Ain't Goin' to Goa' from Alabama 3 by a less than fitting warm-up DJ had many baffled and a little peeved. The promoters were also obviously having trouble getting tonight's main guest down to the venue on time. Anxious to see Bailey, the crowd made their frustrations heard, heightening the tension in the room. Many wondered if the night was ever going to get underway.
Marco Bailey arrived eventually to cheers of relief and quickly got down to soothing the audience with a barrage of effects. The late kick-off meant he had his work cut out for him trying to build his set but the pulsating 'Kickschool' by Thomas Schumacher managed to get the crowd onto the dancefloor.
Injected energy early on with his own track 'Bollocks', Bailey changed tack an hour in with a string of abrasive and jerky movers, a sound which I've never heard from him before. It was a move to avoid predictability but it wasn't until he notched up the tempo with Beyer's excellent 'A Walking Contradiction', Joris Voorn's 'MPX309', the rolling congos of Tom Hade's 'Rock the Box' and Hade's other collaborations with Bailey that the Belgian really engaged with the floor. At one point a big spinback led into a Nitzer Ebb cut - nice!
The tough, melodic and pummelling techno of Redhead's 'Time for a Change' proved that Bailey wasn't ready to give into inertia but perhaps his schedule may have been affecting his performance. DJing can be demanding and he appeared a little jaded - which is perhaps no surprise since he had just flown over from Estonia where a bomb scare had delayed his gig by over two hours.
Finishing just before time in a whirlwind of melodic acappellas and huge rhythm builds, tonight's set was not nearly as inspiring or varied as Bailey's recent 'Positive Disorder' mix CD had promised. With the late start, the sub-par soundsystem and distractions such as the group of girls invaded the DJ booth wanting autographs, only one or two stretches of melodic techno hinted at full capacity. Bailey just never shifted into overdrive and ignited the room as he did at Global Gathering 2005.
Though most punters at the Forum remained on the floor throughout the evening, for a guest of this stature numbers were low and the emptiness in the huge venue was noticeable. All elements need to be just right for an event to work here and truth be told tonight was only a case of 'nearly there' for Apocalypse Now hosting their first international.
Special thanks to Roger and Stiijn, the Forum staff and Elliot at Safehouse Management.