Rong declare themselves ‘the home of trance in Manchester’ – and if their line-up at Venus last night was anything to go by, they might be right.
But it’s not like they’re facing stiff competition, what with Warehouse Project in hibernation and Sankeys sloping off to Ibiza.
Shipping in Egypt’s biggest musical exports Aly & Fila, as well as playing host to rising star and Manchester staple Jordan Suckley and psy-trance whizz Neelix, was sure to bring the trance fans from afar.
However it didn’t boast the numbers that you would have thought a post-Sankeys era Manchester club scene might entail, and certainly not for Aly & Fila’s North West debut. The room was busy, but it wasn’t full.
No worries, more room for us then.
Aly & Fila’s Fida took to the decks with a grin and immediately set about plying A&F’s unique brand of uplifting trance. The duo have a real knack for hitting that sweet spot between euphoria-inducing, hands in the air stuff and bloodpumping 140bpm power surges.
Favourites such as OceanLab’s Satellite kept the dancefloor moving and yes, glowsticks were around – but no, not me.
As MM predicted in our preview, it was Paul van Dyk’s I Don’t Deserve You that was the centerpiece of their set, and it proved a peak for sure.
However, if you were expecting classics from their back catalogue such as Perfect Love then you were set for disappointment – their epic vocal trance tracks were nowhere to be seen.
Even We Control The Sunlight didn’t get a look in. Perhaps they’re bored of playing it, but to miss out the track voted number one on Armin’s A State of Trance radio show seemed a strange decision.
Arguably they also missed a trick not playing their remix of Gareth Emery’s Concrete Angel in the home town of Garuda.
But whatever gripes anyone had over what they did and didn’t play, there was no room for complaint when their masterpiece ‘Lost Language’ took the club by the throat and didn’t let up for five minutes. It’s an all consuming epic that demands your attention and is still as strong today as it was in 2008.
The crowd were also treated to a sneak preview of their forthcoming album Quiet Storm, the follow-up to their exhilarating 2010 debut Rising Sun. First Sun’s ephemeral hooks suggest fans won’t be disappointed with their sophomore effort, and promises a soaring, progressive outing.
Aly & Fila only enjoyed an hour and fifteen minute set – a lot shorter than their flight over from Cairo was and I’m sure the crowd would have ‘put up’ with them a lot longer – but it was a treat to see some of the world’s finest trance up in the North West.
Let’s hope Rong have more in store for the rest of 2013.
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