WHP: HEIDI PRESENTS THE JACKATHON
Victoria Warehouse, Manchester | December 14
The roster of acts on offer at the Jackathon – Heidi’s pumping house showcase – left nothing to chance. The bill was stacked with names that bring frenetic moves and party vibes everywhere they go. So it was no surprise that Azari & III’s rapturously triumphant final UK show was only the cherry on top of a remarkable night.
Upon arrival Catz ‘N Dogz were found warming those present in Room 1 to a pleasantly cosy temperature; the perfect prequel to the sweaty heat of heaving late night crowds. They were like a glass of mulled wine on Christmas Day: gently warming, easing, comforting, but triggering a series of events that ends with the burning heat of post-dinner tequila shots and a period passed out by the fireplace.
Canadian 80s-house revivalists and all-round divas Azari & III came onstage next. Having recently announced their split in customarily expressive fashion, Alixander III telling fans that the group is but “a momentary blip in time, now forever imprinted on the Universe”, it came to pass that the final curtain would fall on the special guests that evening in Manchester. Ratcheting up the thermostat, vocalists Starving Yet Full and Fritz Helder thrusted, jacked and vogued their way through the performance. Rolling through classics like Reckless With Your Love and Manic it became clear that this group will be truly missed. Yet it was made all the more memorable as Crack found itself trying to keep up in a dance-off with a drenched, topless Fritz Helder who had jumped down to party with the crowd for the very last time. As the slot slid to a close the music built with glitching intensity to an electric tension that could seemingly be broken with only one thing: Hungry For The Power. But as the clock struck half-past the music faded to filler as Alixander III helplessly held his hands in the air bemused. And in that moment the group ceased to exist; the fans left wanting more, but denied forever.
Over in the smoky, atmospheric Room 2, Jackmaster impressed with a frantically jumping set that turned the revellers into a swirl of euphoric, dizzy-eyed dance that didn’t let up until he left the stage. The energy couldn’t help but spill over as Dusky took a turn at the decks, the duo doing a solid job of stoking the crowd’s passions with a slew of deep house favourites. Sprinkling the set with their own choice cuts like Nobody Else and Flo Jam elicited the most enthusiastic bouncing from the bros with topknots and they managed to keep up a strong yet accessible vibe.
To catch a piece of many of the biggest names, flitting between rooms was a necessity of the Warehouse Project’s current gargantuan set up. But stumbling around finding Kerri Chandler doing a stellar job one minute to Magda working it the next is no problem. The combination of Heidi and then Huxley drew to a close a night that cemented why the Warehouse Project has rightly received so many accolades this series. It was no surprise the masses pouring out of Victoria Warehouse were left looking so dishevelled yet satisfied.
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Words: Aaron Z. Willson
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