- To say that Newcastle is starved for quality nights is a huge understatement. Amid the endless driftwood of bars and clubs catering only for those with the cheesiest musical inclination there's not much left to pick at apart from the industrial juggernaut Digital, intimate China-town hideout Cosmic Ballroom and the dub-cave of World Headquarters. With few nights offering the kind of forward-thinking music policy found in abundance in other major cities, it could be forgiven for saying that the spirit of house and techno seems to have jumped ship here in the Northeast.
But dig a little deeper and there's a small gem of a night that's slowly been making ever-larger waves in the local underground scene. That night is Jaunt>. Dreamt up by a troupe of local friends who were disillusioned with the stale weekend offerings in this small northern city, the night has been host to some of the best up-and-coming DJs including Robert Dietz, Sascha Dive, Solomun, Damien Schwartz and Miss Fitz.
One-and-a-half years and a string of mouth-watering bookings later, and I'm tearing around the Cosmic Ballroom to the rolling and bumping chunks of house being bowled at me by Cocoon's adopted brother, Chris Tietjen, a fine DJ to see off this vivacious night for its second summer residency in Ibiza. From the crystallised leads of Polder's "December" to Nick Curly's percussive romp "Stuntman," the endless stream of scintillating tracks being showcased here was enough to send even the most hardened club-head a little dizzy. However, the highlight of the evening had to be Spencer Parker's "Yogoto," a relentless nine-minute piano-driven party piece by one of the UK's finest producers.
Witnessing Tietjen's vinyl-based wizardry was a great pleasure, but it's also nice to note that even in the presence of a globe-hopping star, the Jaunt residents could still pull out all the stops. I was disappointed to have missed Richard Rowell, who I heard had launched things fairly deep, however I did catch the impressive Blackhall & Bookless whose feast of bass-laden tech-house was only tainted by the cheesy vocal cut they chose to end their set with.
All in all this was a storming night, and a well-earned victory for a crew that may have bolstered the faith that this city can restore the stellar clubbing reputation it once had.