9th October 2008

Wax:On @ The Rainbow Warehouse

Wax:On have been have been running successful nights in their hometown of Newcastle, as well as Leeds for sometime now. MixMag were nice enough to award them 2nd best nightclub in Britain in 2006, beaten only by the mighty Fabric (London).

It’s about time then, that they brought some of this magic to Birmingham, and with a huge line up of quality and genuinely “Live” acts booked, there was no doubt that this launch was going to be a big one.

Headling the night were the mighty Late of The Pier, and with recent NME front cover features, are certainly a band in the spotlight at the moment. No surprise also then, that Late of the Pier’s producer, Erol Alkan was in tow to provided Dj support (and who knows, maybe to be fiddling all the EQ’s behind the desk?).

This in its own would surely be enough of a line up to ensure a mob of neo spangled ravers raising the roof all night, raising some dust whilst sporting the most retro of all Nike High Tops. All that’s left to do is chuck in a few a few hardworking resident Dj’s to provide some fill before the main acts? Not likely, as this really was a “presents..” night worthy of the description. In support we had such fine acts as Midnight Juggernauts, Michachu, Simon Bookish and Wax:On residents People Get Real.

In essence the night ran more like a miniature festival, with 4 quality full live acts on the main stage in the warehouse. The stage was covered in a mass of undulating wires, synths, miniKorgs, guitars, drums, odd boxes with many a blinking light, and of course the sort of uber stylish hip ladies and gents (artists) that would make even the most hardened Hoxton resident feel like he’s not making an effort.

I get the feeling the set times were jiggled around a bit for various technical reasons, as Erol Alkans set, which was slipped in just before Late of the Pier graced the stage at a very *yawn isn’t it bedtime?* 2:30am, seemed a little out of place.

The crowd were up for it though, and both Midnight Juggernauts and Micachu were very well received. Late of The Pier were a climatic end to an action packed night, and despite following on from very strong support sets, still managed to set themselves apart and set the crowd alight. Plenty of people knew every single word of every song played and were happy to sing along, which shows a pretty dedicated fanbase.

In the beach garden area of the rainbow warehouse, Bigger than Barry played host throughout the night. I couldn’t quite grasp the style of things out there, as the music seemed to be going for an all round party medley than focusing on any particular style. Nevertheless, the area is always a very welcome break for chilling out and relaxing under the arches, and is a real winning feature of the club.

Wax:On will be back in Birmingham in the new year, next time for something a little more Dj / Nightclub orientated. They’ve made a big splash in Birmingham, and we really can’t wait for the next one!

Words / Photography :: Tom Horton