Filthy Dukes @ White Noise

20th November, 10pm-3am at The Junction. £6 advance.

[rating:3/5]

The Junction’s new White Noise night could be a strong response to students seeking a credible Saturday night’s clubbing in a town devoid of a proper weekend dance. I’ll admit that I wasn’t overly impressed with the Headliners- Synthpop duo Filthy Dukes- but the local DJs mixed the slightly left-of-field with the well thumbed records to the appreciation of the assembled crowd.

David Venn

Arriving at midnight I did expect the venue to be fuller than it was- the punters reached their peak at about 1am at about 200 in a room that could comfortably fit three times that number, but what they lacked in quantity they made up in quality. Very few people were leaning against the walls, and the bar area was never congested – nearly everyone was grouped around the DJ booth dancing, and the club never seemed uncomfortably empty.

Filthy Dukes were pretty below par. For a band with such an impressive range of remixes and collaborators they played a very bland set with no real climax.  Their glitchy retro dance music didn’t fit well with the electro, grime and DnB played out by  David Venn and “Penny for the DJ”. David Venn in particular played a great set, keeping the spirits up well past 2. For many students, the night will seem overpriced- far College ents may be shorter, but they often feature bigger names and don’t charge pub prices for pints. If the door price or the drinks were cheaper, maybe the long hike along Hills Road could be viable as a prelude to post-formal rave.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rDc5O9hwqs

Fenech Soler – Stop and Stare (Penny For The DJ bootleg)

The Junction has great potential  as a fantastic club venue (and does put on some other popular nights) – It has by far the best soundsystem in cambridge, the decor is good looking (in a minimal sort of way), and the light show was fantastic. It’s a shame that the headline DJs were below par, but the local talent’s dub and electro went down well with an enthusiastic crowd.

Did you attend White Noise? Was it any good? Were the headliners distinctly lacking in panache? Leave your comments below…