Since the early 90s, Shindig has brought Europe’s finest selectors to North East England. A somewhat desolate warehouse in Byker, Newcastle, has played host to the Viva Warriors, Derrick Carter, Tale of Us and Eric Prydz within the past twelve months. None of this would’ve been remotely possibly without an excellent cast of promoters and organisers, who’ve endeavoured to turn Shindig into a clubbing brand as renowned as any in the UK’s more established clubbing hotspots.
It was yet another enormous coup to have Joris Voorn & Anja Schneider descend on Hoults Yard for Shindig’s first warehouse party of 2015 and I was eager to see what Joris’ set would offer up. With some of his most notable releases, particularly those from 'Nobody Knows', carrying a light, melodic vibe, I had my doubts as to how this would sit with a warehouse full to the brim with notoriously hedonistic Geordies, but it wasn’t long before my doubts were cast away.
On warm up duties was Pete Bartram. His selection of fine tech-house accompanying the sound of the warehouse’s doors being cast open, with records from his label 22 Digit Records adding sway to the constant stream of people filtering toward his stage. As the crowd mingled, chatted and took their places, there was a notable shift in atmosphere as soon as Anja Schneider jumped on the decks. The intensity ratcheted up; eyes and ears fixed front and centre.
Schneider was fantastic on her Newcastle debut. Taking no time to grow into her set, within minutes she had a now capacity warehouse grooving to a perfect blend of hi-hats and bass drops. She’s a performer with a burgeoning reputation; her reading of the crowd was impeccable. Nobody would be the least bit surprised to see her return to Newcastle in the near future and to the naked eye she seemed to be having as much fun as anyone else in the room.
Joris Voorn took centre stage at 2am, guiding the Shindig crowd home with one of the finest performances I have seen in my 21 years. If that sounds hyperbolic - it isn’t.
Records of his own sounded perfectly at home in the warehouse, the warm, bassy embrace of A House sounding bigger and better than ever. The undoubted highlight of the night came with the opening strains of Groove Armada’s Superstylin’ and an entire warehouse beaming with joy as the classic dropped and filled every inch of Hoults Yard. Saying this is not intended as a slant on any of Voorn’s own records he played; Superstylin’ just served to encapsulate all that was brilliant about the performance: a DJ giving the crowd exactly what they wanted.
We were treated to a quite excellent encore, too. This time a genuine one, not of the kind whereby a band leaves the stage without having played their biggest hit, only to inevitably return forty seconds later to nobody’s surprise. Joris hopped up on stage one more time, as demanded, to deliver a version of Bronski Beat’s Small Town Boy to the 300 or so that remained. A synth-pop clubclassique that rounded off what was another Shindig to remember.
WORDS | Jonathan Coll PHOTOGRAPHY | Jonny Wilson
