JUST JACK ‘BACK TO JACK’ w/ OMAR S + JAY SHEPHEARD
Old Coroner’s Court, Bristol | March 2nd
2013 has marked a new direction for Just Jack. Having already brought Dixon to Bristol for a stunning showing in January, this event at the infrequently used Old Coroner’s Court further marked a transition from the Crosstown Rebels breed to the likes of Omar S and Jay Shepheard – two acts that didn’t even appear on RA’s Top DJs of 2012.
Shepheard played a great welcoming selection of carefree, hedonistic music reflecting the quality of output on his latest album, and complementing the support given beforehand from Bristol’s Shanti Celeste and Alex Golesworthy. She laid down a series of fierce house and disco numbers, including Desire West’s BOTF, seamlessly raising energy levels. Taking the stage after Shepheard, Dustin mixed a carefully selected assortment of vinyl records and CDs in impressive fashion, providing just what was needed from 4.30 through until the early hours.
Moving towards the headliner, Dan Wild created a platform from which Omar S could springboard. The main room’s transformation and remarkable visual and projection system forged an impressive space to walk into, rivalling Alfresco Disco’s adoption of the same building two years before.
Omar S, taking to the ones and twos, didn’t springboard as such, but played an endearing and considered first half hour, moving thereafter more aggressively into a myriad of classics and unturned dubs of late eighties and early nineties house and techno. All the while he maintained a space for each of his records to breathe and develop, mixing an adequate number of his own cuts into the likes of Robert Owens, Jomanda and, incredibly, Joey Beltram’s Energy Flash. With a heady selection and a wall of heat and sweat that hit you upon entering the main room, part of the roof even fell down in a shower of plaster. By Omar’s sentimental ending, bringing things back into the fold with Roy Davis Jr.’s All I Do, he had most certainly delivered as a headliner.
It was a genuine joy to see a DJ of Omar S’s stature in Bristol. Despite the previous efforts of promoters, it was only Just Jack who could have made the event happen in the unique way it did, creating a truly worthwhile place to spend a Saturday night.
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Words: Gareth Thomas
Photos: Here and Now
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