Saturday Night At Twist, 26 July 2008

Saturday Night At Twist, 26 July 2008

04 August, 2008
by: LadyAsbo

If it ain't broke don't fix it, as the saying goes. But rules are clearly meant to be broken in the case of Twist, who have successfully turned their traditional Sunday morning after-hours slot into a prime-time Saturday night session. 2007 saw the first outing of the snappily named SNAT (Saturday Night at Twist). Coupled with day-time events run by the brand, such as Hard Nation v Frantic at The End and Justin Bourne's tear-inducing final set at Hard House History, it shows that London's number one after-hours needn't stick to its morning-glory position to excite hard NRG lovers.

It's fair to say that Twist has been through some taxing times with regard to venue changes this year. To be frank, having to leave Crash for Hidden did not go down well with Twist's fiercely loyal fans. This minor blip has been ironed out, however, and all is forgiven thanks to new Vauxhall venue The Colosseum. The sunken dance floor means you feel up close and personal with the DJs, whilst a raised seating area proves useful in the breather department. It's nice to see friendly door staff doing their bit for clubber relations too.

With Twist, in exchange for your hard earned disco dollars you know you're getting a fair exchange: rock-solid DJs and a damn fine party. This beach-themed effort is a case in point. From 10pm until daft o'clock the dance-floor is busy; no mean feat considering it's Global Gathering weekend.

Steve Maynard soon has the crowd shake-shaking and jig-jigging to his trusty blend of thoroughly funky filth. Next on deck duty, Brighton based Superfast Oz delivers a pacey set featuring lots of his quirky productions. Notably, his take on the Ting Ting's 'That's Not My Name' commands a few whoops and cheers. Twist favourite Tim Shaw DNG – also Red Management's latest signing – takes on the 2am slot, serving up a razor sharp performance showcasing his unique 'maximal house' sound. Next, hard house pioneer, prolific producer and ex-Trade resident Pete Wardman adopts a straight-talking, no holds barred hour of quality classics.

By 4am it's time for things to get that little bit nastier as resident Paul Batten unleashes a trademark high-octane performance packing more meat than an abattoir. The 'Battenator' uses and abuses the floor with high-NRG beasts such as Adam M's remix of Diddy's 'Give Me Love' and his own girdle-grabbing masterpiece 'Sloppy Jaloppy'. That leaves us ready to take on the challenge of a Tom Basquil closer. A close contender for the 'king of grott' title, Basquil employs rabble-rousing tunes such as Karim and Farrell's 'Sharona', a few classics and seamless mixing – all to fire-cracking results.

Twist has been contributing to the capital's carnage since 2002, and part of that success is definitely attributable to the core of premiership residents who delight clubbers with varied styles yet consistent quality. Voted best club by Harderfaster three years in a row, if you like your tunes titanium-hard then perhaps you should consider letting a little Twist magic into your life. With a big bank holiday morning after-party, Going Back to Our Roots, planned for 25 August 2008, there's plenty of life left in the old dog yet!

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LadyAsbo