APE's 4th Birthday at Warehouse Project proves to be a dissappointment

Taking my time to wander towards the main stage of the Warehouse Project, I became aware of some seriously good reggae songs being played. Curious, I fought my way to the front to be greeted by legend David Rodigan running out from behind his decks in a fit of irrepressible excitement. This guy clearly loves what he does, and has loved it since his very early years. He is now fifty eight years old, and I'm not exaggerating when I say he displayed more passion and energy for his music than anyone else I saw that night.

Running to the very tip of the stage and jumping around like he was avoiding incoming artillery, the radio academy award winning DJ would occasionally take pause to tell the crowd about the songs he was playing. One he seemed particularly proud of was a vinyl that was apparently delivered by hand from Jamaica, 'in a time', he made sure to mention, 'before email'. Then, as each song waned, he would turn, revealing his glorious bald crown, and run back behind his decks to select another amazing song from his rich and long musical past.

This was the second time I'd seen The Bug, and I was excited. Unfortunately there wasn't a huge difference between the two sets, despite the fact that they were a year apart. A few new tunes made an appearance but the highlights, 'Jah War' being one, remained unchanged. One song he played that should have been something of a pickup was 2562's 'Techno Dread'. In it, a huge finely crafted bass rises and falls, and yet nothing near the clarity of how it should sound made it through the crowd. The Warehouse Project could really benefit from some more stacks of speakers further back. The comparatively tiny ones hanging from the ceiling just don't do the job where attention to detail is required.

Roni Size, a legend in the Jungle/DnB scene, came on to roars of delight. Not particularly well clued up on his music (nor Jungle music in general), I thought I'd stick around and see what the fuss was about. Despite my gaps of knowledge, I was surprised to find I really enjoyed it. Sometimes jazzy, sometimes soulful his brand of music suits the environment well and was probably more deserving of the umbrella term 'dance music' than anything that was on before him that night.

People shouldn't have to be put off seeing him if, like me, they're not overly familiar. This was one of those sets where you never realise how much of it you actually know until you're there and nearly every track sets your recognition sparking; something which in itself is superficially enjoyable. During one of these tracks I turned to someone next to me and asked if he knew the name of it. The response I got from him was one of genuine anger that I was so ignorant, "you're lucky it was me you asked..." he said, implying that if it had been anyone else I would have been in danger of fisty cuffs, which at 140 plus BPM would have been extremely painful.

With my preconceptions of the crowd as cliquey confirmed, and any feeling I had of welcome gone, I hoped the crowd would take what was next a little less seriously.

Another legend made an appearance for the last set I saw on the night. Congo Natty aka Rebel MC, one time eighties pop star turned jungle producer. Congo's music was extremely fun, his tunes often starting out in a vocal lead reggae style, only to be lathered with a big jungle beat. Live, this included lots and lots of 'Toasting', (MC-ing).

Actually, it was the vocals that ruined it for me. While necessary and good for some tracks, the vocalists seemed to dominate the set. There were a few times when the music stopped altogether, leaving Top Cat and Tenor Fly's singing/speaking as the focus. This indulgence, including various pop songs, went on for too long and wasn't particularly enjoyable while it was happening. The continuity and my interest in the set suffered as a result.

This Warehouse project was a disappointment when held in contrast to previous weeks. I left feeling that after David Rodigan (surely the highlight) I should have gone and seen the likes of DJ Krush in the second room.

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