- New Years Day. Leftover takeaway bits, fuzzy regrets from the night before and a throbbing head unable to withstand banal conversation, never mind the thud of a bass bin. The first evening of the New Year struggles into its final hours, and your bed looks somehow more inviting than any of the previous uncountable nights you've given in early to its slumber seductions. But in Manchester, with a Store Street venue having not so long ago been in rumoured jeopardy as a result of external development projects, and the club seemingly living on borrowed time until financial restrictions reinitiate halted hotel construction plans... Well, the sense of farewell hung heavier in the air on January 1, 2011 than previous Warehouse Project end-of-season closing parties.
The girls ran the show at first, as Cassy graced the huge main room, with a set that perfectly harnessed the night's growing vigour. At the same time an equally packed out second room bounced, sang along and reminisced over a few of 2010's best tracks to a vocal Heidi set. The stage, raised this season, gave the whole room a perfect view of the Radio 1 host's unwavering energy.
Photo credit: Nik Torrens
Stepping back through lines of condensation, the main room rang to the sounds of Chicago house original Derrick Carter. The Classic boss was seemingly there to show the kids how it's really done, but a remix of Maroon 5 split the crowd with some happy to hear a song they knew, many too drunk to resist singing along and others heading back to the sweaty confines of the back room.
Jesse Rose hasn't garnered much of a reputation amongst house purists over the last few years, many seeing him fitting more comfortably within an electro-oriented roster. His set like the previous selection from Derrick Carter, though divisive, animated most and his energy at least intrigued the rest. The main room, meanwhile, broke into a sweat one final time as Dubfire closed the night. The aesthetically tweaked front room, blustering its LED grandeur, cut a sinister silhouette of Dubfire's minute frame in front of a manic sea of flailing bodies.
Photo credit: Nik Torrens
The anti-Warehouse Project crowd has grown steadily over the last few years, and the series is understandably suffering from its own success. The club has been vaguely diluted; increasingly attracting the curious-minded who might not necessarily add much to the atmosphere. Be this the beginning of the end for the Store Street venue or not, though, The Warehouse Project has continually given the city's smaller and bourgeoning nights a platform to build upon, as well as raising the profile of a city that was once house music's leading light outside of the US. Maybe it doesn't quite carry the same sense of occasion as the early days, but the added sense of urgency in the air on New Years Day showed that Manchester would sadly miss—and be a little less unique—without The Warehouse Project.