With each step towards Fulcrum my clothing slowly started to pulse in time with the bass, which in my mind at least, is normally a good sign.
Getting in was no problem, being in competition with Space put Fulcrum at a disadvantage, and unfortunately it showed. The committed were there, but to be honest the turn out was low, and as a consequence the atmosphere suffered.
Kristoph started to get the Foundry moving, sharp cuts and good vinyl pushing showed through, and the boy was not a disappointment. Before long it fell to the headliner to take to the decks. The heady mix started with hard industrial, before subtly blending through to techno, interspersed with long drones.
Progressive it certainly was, but perhaps a little TOO progressive. Some sections left the crowd hanging for a bassline, which for me ruined the continuity of the set.
As Layo and Bushwacka! moved into the closing hour of their mammoth set, the tracks started speeding up, the crowd started moving and the night started to improve.
About 2am Hybrid seized control. He took possession, and began stamping his own brand of madness onto the floor. Hands were soon in the air as he began to bring it back. A twist of D’n’B started crawling in, starting with the tinkling in the midrange, before rearing its ugly head and by the end of his set we were rinsed, ears and heads pounding.
If someone had dropped another 4/4 there would have been fatalities.
While Foundry had its head in the clouds, Fusion was down on the street. Stoaty, opening with his first set of two, started slowly. Playing to a nearly empty room isn’t easy but he carried it with buckets of style.
When Skinnyman took his position, people started pouring in, and in mere minutes the floor was rammed. Then began a stomping hour set. The room seemed to go with it, and from the looks on those faces it went down very, very well.
With“Smoking Ban” just released, Skinnyman was on top form as he delivered hook, after verse, after hook and the crowd were lapping it up. Stoaty was thrown back into the fray, and kept the pace, before long he was superseded as Seiji began.
Trying to describe what happened next is akin to describing the sky - it just sort of is. I certainly have never heard anything like it, but its mix of electronica and dance - with a hint of reggae - kept the room buoyant and there were nodding heads aplenty. You were never sure which turn it was going to take next, and some of its charm was in the apparent chaos.
To be honest, it probably wasn’t the opening night the TTC boys wanted, although that’s not to say it was below par. It certainly set a standard for progressive house in the future.
People went in expecting Tuesday Club, Fulcrum however is a very different animal - and one that you should not turn your back on.
By John Parry.
