- matter and I did not get off to the best of starts. After waiting for close to an hour for one of the club's much touted river ferries to arrive and whisk us to the newly-opened superclub, we gave up and ended up getting a bus, which took the best part of another hour. The result? By the time we'd negotiated our way around the O2 Dome, along a rather bleak and unlovely path by the river, it was nearly 3 AM.
Another blow came after getting into the club: It wasn't the fantastically over-priced drinks—although they were wince-inducingly expensive. No, it was the fact we stepped into Room 2 at precisely the moment that Rex The Dog was leaving the stage. OK, so we were late in arriving, but what club puts one of its headliners on before 2:30 AM? Judging from the happy faces of everyone else in the room, we'd managed to miss a cracking performance, which only served to make the bizarre scheduling even more galling.
Trying to put a brave face on our disappointment, we headed downstairs to see if the ever-reliable James Zabiela could perk us up with some of his inimitable brand of technical wizardry and tech-house genius.
Unfortunately, he didn't.
Now, it might have been that by this point I was already so angry that even a set from God himself, with Jesus doing amazing breakdancing on the stage, would have failed to get me going. But I don't think it was that. Zabiela is undeniably an incredibly gifted DJ, and every time I've seen him before I've had an amazing time. Tonight, though, something was wrong. It might have been matter's BodyKinetic dance floor that was spoiling the music. When combined with the rest of the club's soundsytem, the nuances of James' set seemed to get lost in an assault of bass. It was all a bit too heavy to appreciate any skill in the mixing, which is, after all, what Zabiela is all about. Alternatively, it might have had something to do with the crowd, which never really seemed to "get" Zabiela's sound or point. The dance floor was nowhere near packed, and many looked a bit bemused by the whole affair.
Indeed, chatting to some of the other clubbers out, it became really clear that most people were here because it was matter and not because they had any overwhelming affection for the DJs playing. That's a problem that the club's going to have to face—its location on the outskirts of London and its reputation mean that it's bound to attract a huge amount of tourist clubbers.
By the time Meat Katie took to the decks at 4:30, the crowd was visibly thinning. Which was a bit of a shame really, because MK proceeded to play exactly the sort of set matter had needed all night. Tough enough to dominate the room and yet light enough not to be overwhelmed by the soundsystem, with enough recognisable tunes to keep people interested. In fact, it was a testament to Meat's skill that, despite being tired and angry, we stuck it out until the club's close and wandered off home with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, the night was a bit of a disaster—with a crowd that didn't care and a slightly unpleasant atmosphere. On the other hand, it's obvious matter has the potential to host some truly spectacular nights. Figuring out how to get a crowd out to its far-flung location that's clued-in to the music will be a good start.