We started off our hell-amazing first night at ADE with the brilliant Róisín Murphy. Best known in the US as half of the duo, Moloko. However, she’s had a thriving dance career overseas. Her videos and albums are creative, melodic, and incredibly witty. We couldn’t wait to finally see her live!
She burst onto stage to a packed crowd at Amsterdam’s Paradiso Theater. She practically bounced off the walls, and she exuded a raw energy that would slap you in the face from across the room. Never stagnant on stage, she hopped around furiously, and was constantly rotating pieces on an ever-evolving outfit change. The costumes were accompanied by whimsical visuals throughout, from queens and club kids to psychedelica, towering over the 4 piece band. Of course, she sang “Sing it Back,” “Overpowered,” and “You Know Me Better” and we were appeased.
If she isn’t the sexiest lady beast alive…
Next, we had a date with the much anticipated Animal Language Records, LouLou Records, and BunnyTiger showcase. We dropped by earlier in the evening to catch a few dozen bouncing bodies. We could only stay for a bit at the beginning, but even though seeing a legend right before, it was like being grabbed by a giant aural hug. We had to run off to In Trance We Trust for a bit, but were excited to go back.
We made it back a couple hours later to a completely packed club. Not a body was still, and people were passing around blow up aliens.
De Club Up is an interesting boutique venue. Despite low ceilings and even lower lighting, and a tiered floor that reminded us as story time as a child (minus the drinking and flashing lights), it still had a vibe that was bursting with happiness. The highlights of the night were with Moonbootica, and label bosses Mason (Animal Language) and Loulou Players (LouLou Records). No gimmicks for this show, but it simply didn’t need it.
We did make it out to Westerpark to check out In Trance We Trust. Paul Oakenfold has come back from the poppier stuff he was hanging out with for a bit, and we got a solid taste of it last time we saw him overseas.We arrived to see him rip up the dancefloor of a well warmed up crowd. However, our crew was set on exploring this year, so we spent most of our night wandering from room to room.
We’ve been to Westerunie more than once. It’s a diverse venue, but normally we stood firmly parked in the main room. This year, we were set to roam, and managed to find several areas that we’d simply never visited before. This is how you program a large multi room event. It was FUN to wander, but not so packed that you couldn’t tie your shoe. We swear, we only remember seeing 2 rooms in the past, but there were 4 rooms that each were more pumped than the next. Despite Oakey completely commanding the main room, we had our best time of the night watching Swedish duo Ticon in one of the back rooms.
Eventually, we left the last party, the Animal Language/Loulou Records/Bunny Tiger showcase, right as Kolombo was halfway through his set. This was day 1, and we were in for a marathon, not a race.
Journalist/blogger since 2009 and music lover since 1980. Bex now travels the world and writes and takes photos of dance events, creates art in various media, sings quietly to her cat in the shower, and occasionally builds something that tends to involve a blowtorch. She can usually be seen hiding behind some sort of camera rig.
