It had been a long time since I’d been to a drum n bass night so I was rather excited about the prospect of checking out ‘Half-Breed’ yet another entrant in long list of nights trying to break into the Manchester d n b scene. It had been so long in fact that I’d almost forgotten the reason why I’d stopped going to them in the first place, that is the whole attitude thing that half the people seem to bring with them. I needn’t have worried though the atmosphere was fantastic - its not often you go to a drum n bass night and see so many people smiling. It’s hard to do the crowd justice, its s a real tribute to them considering that the place never really got much more than half full.
The Zoo is a great venue and boasts prices that are affordable to students too. It’s basically just a big open space, all very industrial looking hence its former name ‘The Hanger’; perfect for some dark, grimy, bass heavy drum n bass. Sadly that’s not what we got. To me both Mickey Finn and the Electrosluts are the sort of names I see on fliers all the time but fail to get excited about. Unfortunately they lived up to my expectations. I mean they played some good tunes and I can’t really fault them on anything in particular its just that they didn’t really do anything to get excited about. The WaybackWhen DJs were however superb as always and it’s a shame they played such a short set. It’s easier to see why they are appearing at an ever expanding range of nights and their take over of Manchester continues.
Despite its problems it would be a little early to write of Half-Breed yet. If it succeeds in attracting a similar crowd in the future, though obviously in larger numbers, it make just make it; atmosphere counts for a lot. It’s also the only d n b night I’ve ever been to in Manchester without a single pair of adidas trousers protruding from socks, and accompanying Rebock classics, in sight. For this reason alone I hope there’s we’ve yet to see the best of Half-Breed.
Date: Friday March 17th
Time: 10pm-4am
Tickets: £7adv, £9 on the door/£8 NUS
Venue: The Zoo
Words By: By Joe Kent
