Nightlife

Coming back to Cambridge for Easter term is always a strange experience. Libraries are full and bars are empty, and there is a pitiful look in people’s eyes as they traipse back and forth with their books and folders, oblivious to everything outside their own personal suffering.

It is thus easy to forget that we still have at least a month to go before the real exam period gets underway, and indeed events in town don’t really wind down completely until mid-May. So, at the risk of being too ‘fun’, here is a pick of the best evening entertainment that is coming your way in the next couple of weeks.

Remember – all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…

An infamous brand now well established in the Cambridge clubbing scene, bearing a name that’s almost synonymous with raving itself, RUDIMENTAL has consistently showcased some of the best DJ talent around, and indeed the booking for its tenth instalment is certainly worthy of that accolade.

Founder of the Numbers record label, responsible for nurturing the likes of Hudson Mohawke, Jessie Ware and Jamie XX, and host of a monthly show as part of BBC Radio 1’s ‘In New DJs We Trust’ series, Glaswegian master-selector JACKMASTER is lined-up to play this Thursday 2^nd May. His sets are characterised by their unmatched eclecticism, so expect everything from retro disco floor-fillers and hip hop bangers to cutting-edge house and deep dark techno. Excited doesn’t cover it…

This Bank Holiday weekend on Sunday 5^th May, C.R.E.E.M. have none other than urban legends SO SOLID CREW making an appearance in Cambridge. Famed for their blend of garage, grime and hip-hop (and of course a certain song involving the number 21…), two of the crew’s stars Lisa Maffia and Romeo will be performing live on the Fez stage. Joined on the bill by resident C.R.E.E.M. DJs, and accompanied at the bar by dangerously-priced £2 Jager-bombs, expect a night of pure Old Skool vibes and a heated party atmosphere. Now if that isn’t something to top off C-Sunday, then I don’t know what is…

The same promotions team are also organising an all-day all-night festival spread across three different venues on May 16^th, with a top-class headliner in deep house prodigy HUXLEY (the #NoCheese mantra that is plastered across Facebook being strictly upheld). Starting with a free barbecue at The Fountain, followed by an extended ‘Happy Hour’ at bar Ta Bouche, and finishing up in Fez opposite for the headline act, this promises to be an interesting affair with a diverse collection of music on display. With various DJs, artists and drinks deals scattered along the route, £10 for an advanced ticket seems a bargain. Oh, and free ice lollies are always a clincher.

After hosting none other than Drum ‘n’ Bass veteran SHY FX for an incredible night of dance-floor madness at last week’s Plastique, the Upfront Parties crowd are certainly on a high. To follow this in true style, their leading brand and pride-and-joy, the bass-music bonanza that is White Noise, presents GORGON CITY on 11^th May at ARU Academy.

Consisting of producers FOAMO (you may remember him from the dubstep era…) and RACK N RUIN, the duo are making waves in the electronic music scene, with their track ‘Real’ (feat. Yasmin) snatching the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show Record of the Week recently and reaching number 10 in the UK Dance Singles chart. After this shift in venue, the night will be back at its rightful home, The Junction, on 1^st June for more bass and chemical-fuelled antics.

Those of you who haven’t ventured beyond the Bubble that is Cambridge town centre to satisfy those hedonistic party-cravings as of yet, this will be well worth a visit. It certainly blows Cindies clean out of the water, anyway. Then again, that’s not particularly difficult…