Elegance @ Moso Moso Thai Restaurant, Oxford Road, Manchester. Saturday 29th September 2007
Review - T 2 Bad
What a difference a month can make!!
On arriving at 1.30am, I was met by 3 friends who were leaving!!! They asked me why I was turning up so late so I asked them why they were leaving so early. They went on to explain that the night wasn’t up to much!! They said it wasn’t that full, there was little or no atmosphere and that the music wasn’t up to much either, so I might as well forget it!!! Now being the inquisitive sort and a glutton for punishment, I decided to see for myself. On negotiating a pathway through the many smokers who were stood freezing outside the entrance (is the no smoking in licenced premises law a hindrance or a help? Answers by email please!), I went to walk upstairs to where the entrance fee is usually paid, but I was asked by an elderly gentleman if I’d already been in. I said no, he replied well seeing as it’s this late I’ll only charge you a fiver which was very decent of him. He looked really stressed the poor soul, he had that unmistakable pissed-off “Promoters Look” about him, one which I’d worn on more than one occasion over the last 26 years or so!!! I really felt for him.
I paid the fee and proceeded upstairs and had a quick peak in the Soul room…….I could see what my friends were saying. There wasn’t exactly tumbleweed rolling across the floor, but this arena was sparsely populated with only about 60 or so revellers occupying it. I then headed into the main room where I could hear the unmistakable tinny tones of Northern Soul beating out. Again this room was sparsely populated with approximately 100 people in a quite large arena in attendance. There were around 20 hardcore Northern Soul-Heads strutting their funky stuff on the dance floor who seemed determined to get their moneys-worth from the evening which I found admirable!!
I stayed in this arena for 20 minutes or so and spoke with a couple of revellers who were saying that what I could see was essentially the pattern of the whole night so far!!! I then proceeded to the more intimate Soul arena. Because of the relatively small size of this room I was more comfortable being in here. I spoke with a few friends who were there and they said the same, that the night wasn’t up to much and the highlight of the evening was definitely Mike Stephens set which I had just missed.
People were trying to make the most of it, but the two DJ’s that I listened to in the Soul room were making it feel as if I was trudging through treacle because of their up-and-down music selection!! Again there were people trying to make the most of the night, but around 4.30am there were that many people saying “see ya” to me that I thought to myself that it was best to follow them. Looking back, I’m glad that I went if only just to witness what a difference a month could make as the previous event 4 weeks earlier had a few more people and the atmosphere was definitely better.
Soul Control Verdict:
On the bright side, the promoters have added Richard Searling to their January offering and I can only hope that he brings his faithful following with him as I don’t feel that any promotion could stand too many more nights like this one.
Soul Control Rating:
