On arrival, it became obvious - a huge DJ stage in the foyer of the venue, staffed by Alex Zane, XFM's main pretty boy DJ. Unfortunately, this stage seemed to just get in the way, and stop people moving around the venue very easily at all - most annoying. I found myself wishing for a huge bar in the foyer, instead of a DJ.
As an indie disco, it all worked OK, even though there was a little too much repetition of music between DJs, and a bit too much Guns N' Roses being played - you just got the feeling that the DJs were trying a little too hard to appear cool.
We Are Scientists came onto the main stage at around 12:30, and ripped through most of their album. Often launching straight from one song into another with no gaps, the energy and intensity of their set was great. And, given that the venue was "free flow" for the night, the main hall was not too packed at all. This in fact slightly dampened the gig atmosphere, as it was possible to actually watch the band, without being in the middle of a sweaty mass of people like a normal gig. Still, you can't have it all!
After their excellent set, the DJs resumed. Having 6 different music points in Brixton Academy made the venue quite difficult to move around, as there were crowds of people forming in unhelpful places. As an indie disco, this was far too big for my liking, and rather too well-lit - there were proper lights on in much of the venue, that is not what you expect! I have been to XFM events before where the event itself has been not as good as it could have been, mainly because XFM overdid things on the self promotion front. I suspect that XFM runs some of these events more to give its DJs another chance to show off, and indulge their own vanity - rather than just to put on a great gig or club night. That is a shame, because they have the clout to pull in great artists, but just seem to not get it quite right.
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