Yes, it was nice of the sun to come out and play, but the sun is not the natural bedmate of the DJ; there’s a reason why nightclubs are a) dark, and b) typically at night. The prospect of slapping on the Factor 30 and boogie-ing to deep house isn’t quite normal but it was damn well exciting.
Disciples are far from your run-of-the-mill house act. The London-based trio bring pop and electro intelligence to the fore, as the deployment of smash hit ‘They Don’t Know’ midway through the set illustrates. The crowd laps it up with an enthusiasm only matched by the group themselves; the liberal use of a selfie stick to capture the event for posterity betrays the fun they’re having on stage.
A slot originally billed as ‘Special Guest’ turned out to be Mark Knight - a two minute refrain of “Mark Knight is in da house!” booming from speakers informed anyone who may have been unaware. A decade of experience shone through as he used techno and house grooves sparingly, scattering summery vibes through his set instead. The latecomers wasted no time in getting into the action, thought the fact that Fatboy Slim was co-ordinating a bloody proposal in the Hot Press Speakeasy proved a bit of a distraction for some.
For Tei Shi, the sun was the main distraction; it’s hard to draw a crowd into a tent on a fine evening. Valiantly, they won over the crowd, in no small part due to the vocal prowess of Valerie Teicher. An impressive set might have been even better had they found a more forgiving slot.
There was no stealing the spotlight, though, from the evening’s main draw. Though the camera-shy Nicholas Jaar was going slow and low at the Undergrowth Stage, it was high time for the iconic Norman Cook to prove why he remains one of the hottest tickets in dance. Immediately, the set found its rhythm; Marvin Gaye making an early appearance in a performance where the energy was only matched by the expanse. Some of the biggest moments were reserved for the back catalogue. A cleverly slowed version of ‘Praise You’, for instance, caused enough excitement for a picnic table to be shattered by people clambering to witness the wittiness. It was barely dark when the show came to a conclusion, but the sight of the sweaty, sore-footed faithful filtering out suggested it was probably just as well; there was a long weekend ahead - and that's just thinking of Friday night's after parties through out the city, let alone Saturday & Sunday!