Railway Rockout

09/07/07

One-hundred-and-thirty years after it began life as a provincial railway station, Manchester Central is doing the locomotion once again.

These days, it's usually a venue for caravan and motor-home shows, bridal fairs, and conferences for the international aerosol industry, but tonight the graceful wrought-iron and glass curves of the aircraft hangar-sized building resonate with the pulse of bass-heavy big-room dancing music from some of the heaviest names in the business.

An enormous state-of-the-art video screen takes up the far end of the cavernous interior, beneath which DJs such as Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Laurent Garnier, Sasha and Carl Cox play techno and house music all night long for thousands of appreciative Manchester party-people.

But despite the stellar bill, for 27-year-old Jill, who hails from Newfoundland and now works in financial PR in Manchester, there's only one real superstar DJ on the bill:

“Fatboy Slim isn't like a favourite DJ of mine,” she says, “but it was just nice to see somebody who's been so incredibly successful, globally, who's made a considerable amount of money, but still comes back to do these shows with so much vigour and enthusiasm, I don't want to say passion, cos that seems a bit tacky, but it truly seemed like he was having a lot of fun.

“He seemed to be enjoying it as much as everyone else in the crowd. It felt like a proper underground night.”

A seasoned clubber, Jill went to both the Friday and Saturday Industrial Resolution events and simply had a ball.

“The mix of people was a bit like Sankey's used to be on a Friday night, the old Redlight. It seems like everyone is really and truly into clubbing, rather than that idea of 'I'm going out in my Top Shop top and I'm going to put my sunglasses on' - although I've actually done that myself.

“It just seemed more genuine.”

Jill hasn't been to many MIF events:

“I know it's really bad but I just haven't had the time. I mean, I couldn't care less about Kanye West or PJ Harvey, I don't care for the music, but with something like this it's different. Most of the scene is in smaller clubs now and you don't often get the opportunity to go out clubbing with thousands of other people in such a huge venue. It's kinda cool.

“I think the festival might have been a too highbrow in places for some. But at the same time, the range of events is pretty good. You need contemporary art, you need a few commercial artists as well, and I think they've done an excellent job. So hats off to them.”

So what's your favourite thing about Manchester?

“That's a tough one,” says Jill. “I love the people here, but the city as a whole, it's so vibrant. It has so much character and life to it, and you don't always get that in really big cities. It still has that feeling of being, y'know, a proper northern city but it still offers modern amenities that you get elsewhere. It's kinda preserved its heritage and its character.

“That's one of the main things I really like about it.”