As expected, the Brighton seafront was blowing its usual hearty gale as I desperately clung onto my handbag and attempted to maintain my reasonably tidy barnett. Messy hair wasn’t really an issue as I battled my way towards the warming waves being emitted from the entrance to one of Brighton’s finest musical establishments, Digital……..
Knocking through the arches at around 23:45 I was suprised to see the dancefloor still awaiting legs-a-plenty for the mighty 2ManyDjs to collect upon Digital’s prestigious high-top DJ booth. What’s so nice about Digital is its intimate setting- encouraging people to dance, make out, take Instagram pics and generally shout nice things into each others ears; it’s definitely a cosy feeling that offers newcomers and regulars a consistently great vibe.
With the resident BlahBlahBlah DJs holding the forte whilst groups of electro heads began swirling around the Digital mosh pit like a bunch of hungry sharks, I rapidly necked a can of Red Stripe and crushed my can in a Hulk-esque fashion; this meant I was now ready to party. Despite my pumps already being sodden with various beers and spirits I was not to be deterred from fighting my way to the front of the heaving pack; battling through the masses of gaudy vintage silk shirts, denim shorts and ribbons of pointy jewellery would thus result in arriving mere centimetres away from the Soulwax brothers and ultimately my all-time DJing heroes …That’s another thing I love about Digital, if you raise your camera high enough- or even get your mate to sling you on their shoulders, there you’ll be, face to face with the DJ of your dreams…..
Opening the set with Chemical Brothers ‘Hey Boy, Hey Girl’ replacing the synonymous “Superstar DJs” with “2ManyDjs… Heeeere we go!” the duo totally slammed the crowd into a ruthless frenzy, hands in the air like puppets on a string, it was at this moment I knew, the moment my brain connected with my lips and shouted for all to hear: “TONIGHT IS GOING TO BE INSANE.”
Dropping classic set pleasers such as MGMT ‘Kids’ that everyone “Do,Do,Do,Do,Do,Do,Doooo’s” along to, the bad-ass ‘Bad Boys For Life’ by P Diddy, and to my auditory pleasure Erol Alkan’s Lemonade, the crowd went from sing-a-long, to getting their ‘Ganstaaar’ Owwn to straight up head down grooving.
Without allowing a flicker of distraction from the crowd (even with the persistent addition of girls on shoulders, spangled hands climbing over the booth and wide set grinning faces) the Dewaele brothers joined forces to work their magic recipe on the various dial’s and switch’s before them, smirking as onlookers screamed the wrong lyrics to some of their best known remixes.
Constantly smiling, these boys totally delivered. It was the third time I had seen 2ManyDjs in 2012 and tonight only made me more ecstatic about seeing them and Soulwax at various festivals this summer.
Not wanting to leave the safety and comfort of the moistened black walls, my ears came out imprinted with a pleasingly ringing reminder of one incredible evening.
Digital & One Inch Badge, 2manyDJs & Blah Blah Blah DJs
Digital, Brighton Thursday May 3rd 2012
Words by Thea Wise ‘The Vintage Scribbler’
Photo by Nima Cyrus Elm