If there's any single piece of evidence that acts as a succinct description of the self-imposed facelift Home:London has undergone this year, it is perhaps this New Year's Eve line-up. Whereas last year saw the new millennium ushered in with the bombastic trance sounds of then resident Paul Oakenfold, the dawning of 2001 sees sounds of a much cooler creed serenading the central London punters.
Indeed, tonight sees the open-minded booking policy that served the club so well in Ibiza this year coming to full fruition, with only the classy presence of The Chemical Brothers to represent the big guns. Danny Howells, for instance, newly recruited to the residents team after a lengthy stint at John Digweed's Bedrock nights, shows exactly why 2001 will see him become even hotter property. His fluid progressive house mix shows perhaps a cheekier tendency to slip some housier grooves into the mix than his former mentor, and his ability to read a crowd means that tonight's attendees are pumped up to suitably adrenalised levels to appreciate the gleaming jewel in tonight's line-up - the genre shifting Chemical Brothers.
Having made sporadic DJing appearances at both Bugged Out! and their own Glint affairs over the last few months, tonight sees the pair at their party-starting best. Old Chemicals DJ staples from the likes of The Micronauts and Serotonin Project are wheeled out to thinly disguised glee, while new tracks like the clattering, tribal sledgehammer of 'It Came From Africa' and the self-descriptive 'Balearic Techno' are already greeted like familiar friends. It's a not so well kept secret that the pair's mixing abilities have improved immeasurably since the infamously chaotic Heavenly Social days, and the ever peaking, progressive tinged firebomb of hearing them play on a sound system as solid as this can never disappoint. Let's face it, there are plenty of worse ways to spend the first hour of 2001 than throwing yourself around like a fool to Rowlands and Simon's amyl-tastic, acid fuelled beat explosion. To be utterly frank, when old favourites like 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl' are teased into the mix, NMEDANCE.COM really can't think of anywhere else it would rather be.
Elsewhere, London's ligging set get stuck into Jonathan Sa Trinxa's inimitable Balearic grooves, swooning as he cues up the shockingly apt 'French Kiss' while the Viewbar shows off Big Ben's midnight chimes in all their glory. Then there are the spectacular fireworks over the Thames, as Britain's capital city, in a rare show of national pride, demonstrates that it can beat Paris and Sydney's efforts hands down. Or rather, it doesn't, as legal wranglings mean that Londoners have to make do with a couple of bangers in the East End, with the official statement from the city's authorities urging party goers to stay at Home. A seemingly strange request, perhaps, but everyone here is more than happy to adhere to, especially when Jacques Lu Cont's serving up an electro-fried mix of cool-free party tunes and house music so funky that it hurts.
Perhaps most importantly of all, Steve Lawler arrives on the main floor to begin the New Year in the only way he knows how. For a man who has defined Home:London's 2000, it is only right that his deep, dark progressive grooves should see the club rockin' into 2001. See ya next year!
John Hall
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