James Holden

27 Jun 2004

6pm, Saturday. Tired out from an afternoon's hard dancing in the mud, I'm wondering whether to bother with the sticky, slithery trail up to the Glade to catch James Holden, a DJ new to me. After ten minutes, I'm so glad I did.

He's had huge success as a producer, and now he's making a big name for himself as a DJ, too. The Glade is filled with those already in the know - they are an informed, responsive crowd, and ten minutes into the set everyone is in a frenzy of worship. James Holden's sound is Progressive/Deep House, very melodic, and most of all very, very passionate. There should be a genre called Passionate House. Perhaps he's invented one. Very soon we all united by the wonderful feeling of Life is House and the Rest is Just Details.

He's young, and he's the most enthusiastic DJ I've ever seen. He's moving as much as we are. And he's got a great rapport with the crowd - lots of eye-contact, and a big grin when he knows something extra-wonderful is about to hit. We all love him for it. It does help that he's absolutely gorgeous, if you like the thin, pale, floppy-haired aesthetic type (and I do). He looks like a fresh-faced teenage Alice Cooper crossed with a Pre-Raphaelite angel (am I allowed to review the loveliness of DJs?).

A little while into this blissfest, and the next band (The Egg) start to set up. They somehow manage to sound-check. Then they hang around the edges, as we crowd closer and closer to the front, and get happier and happier ... and the mere short hour that our beloved is supposed to be playing is up. But he goes on. Some members of The Egg come and do a bit more sound-checking in a rather pointed way... and retire to the sides of the stage again. And we continue, as someone once said. Eventually a guy from The Egg comes and says something or other into his mic, and points to it and himself, and then to his watch. And lots of people scream "Just one more! Just one more!"

And this happens several times.
And The Egg are rather late on.

Nemone Thornes

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