Friday the sixth of November, Hospital records returned to Matter for their fifth hotly anticipated event at the venue. Boasting a star-studded main room line up of the drum n bass industry’s finest, including Transit Mafia, Ed Rush, Fabio, Matrix; making his Hospitality at Matter debut and the extraordinary talents of Beardyman (live) were Hospital’s own London Elektricity, High Contrast, Cyantific and Danny Byrd. Vocal support was provided by SPMC, Ruthless, Stamina and Wrec. Room 2 delivered an equally impressive line up with MJ Cole, The Nextmen, floating points, Scientist, and exclusive sets from D Bridge and Breakage, much to my liking!
An hour into the event, the immense 2600 capacity venue was fast filling up with eagerly awaiting Hospital fans, and Matrix was getting the ball rolling with a crowd-pleasing set including productions from Logistics, Sub Focus and London Elektricity. I caught up with him briefly after his set, who when asked what tune he thought gained the best crowd reaction answered, “the crowd were really up for it throughout the set, I really enjoyed playing ‘Big Rush’ by Camo and Krooked vs. Body & Soul, and I think the crowd enjoyed it as much as me!” MC Ruthless was full of praise for the event, this Hospitality being his second at Matter. From an MC point of view he explained that Matter has exceptional sound quality, providing a separate monitor for the MC alone, allowing him to give his best performance.
Next to the stage was Fabio, opening his set with the massive “Run Em Out” by Breakage feat. Roots Manuva, getting a roar of appreciation from the sea of ravers bellow, this was definitely a highlight of the night. By midway through his set, the buzzing atmosphere was intensified by flocks of excitable new arrivals, this was going to be a truly unforgettable night of quality drum n bass, out of this world synchronized light shows and a 2300 strong population of happy punters. Beardyman appeared on stage just as Fabio rolled out, and the crowd were captivated in anticipation at what the next hour was going to entail. MC Stamina drew Fabio’s set to a close and the volumes suddenly dropped, adding to the already intense atmosphere as he gave a warm welcome to the Youtube phenomenon that is Beardyman. A jaw-dropping showcase of some old skool classics such as Alex Reece’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ and more recent productions such as chase n status’s ‘Eastern Jam’ using only his mouth followed!
Meanwhile in room 2, The Nextmen played out a range of seamlessly mixed genres, keeping the less numerous but just as up for it crowd bopping along to Kano and Chase n Status’s ‘against all odds,’ ‘Breathe’ by Prodigy and Mr Oizo’s classic ‘Flat Beat.’ Back to the main stage and London Elektricity had taken over, delivering an uplifting, well crafted set intertwining tunes from the new album from Logistics ‘Crash Bang Wallop,’ which was rinsed by all main stage artists throughout the night. Stamina MC sang along to the drum n bass remix of dido’s ‘Thankyou,’ sending the crowd into frenzied excitement.
High Contrast continued the exceptional standard with an energetic but euphoric set, pulling the latest hospital productions out of the bag along with his own versions of chart topping singles such as Adele’s ‘Hometown Glory’ and Calvin Harris’ ‘Ready For The Weekend.’ Not really to my taste but seemed to send the crowd into a next level of wildness. The huge screens on either side of the stage which displayed the Hospitality logo throughout the other sets, changed to a mixture of visuals of London City and animation of the o2 arena itself. The lyrical genius that is SPMC lived up to expectations as he hosted what was arguably the most lively set of the night in terms of crowd reaction.
Just before Wrec stepped up to the mic, I managed to catch up with him to ask him what he thinks sets Hospitality at Matter aside from other similar club nights.
“Hospitality at Matter is amazing! Matter is probably up there with some of the best venues in the world. The production levels, sound quality and stage set up are always bang on point and the crowd is always up for it! Hospitality always sells out well in advance, so the atmosphere is always great! The line up this time round is fantastic. Hospitality at Matter to me is as close to playing a rave on a space ship as you can get….If that makes any sense at all?!”
As Danny Byrd tore the main room apart with a pacier, more dance floor style set, with tune selections ranging from dubstep anthem ‘Night’ by Benga, and the legendary ‘Power of Ra!’ in room 2. Dbridge provided a more down-tempo, tech vibe, catering for the headz! It was also a sanctuary for the not so hardcore to sit and chill, with appropriately darker lighting, mainly purple and deep blue, perfectly in tune with the deep and eclectic sounds flowing out of the huge speakers dotted around the dance floor. Breakage followed, continuing with a set of a similar mood to that of Dbridge. Finishing the night off in style was Ed Rush, unleashing a tearing, more jump up orientated set, keeping the dedicated ravers skanking til the very end with his own tunes and others from the likes of ktee and Friction. The only down point to the night was rather long and slow moving queue for the cloakroom, however this was only a minor mishap considering the high level of organisation from the Matter staff, I was rarely kept waiting, whether at the entrance, bar or toilet.
Hospitality have once again proven why they deserve a place in London’s most prestigious super club, and why their thousands of followers religiously come back again and again for these unforgettable events!
Review by Lois Hayes
User Comments
Comment by GUEST on 2009-11-16 02:34:52 Nice review :) such a good night!
Last Updated ( Nov 09, 2009 at 06:45 PM )
Heads up!
Quick links
Mambo is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.
Featured 
