- You know you're onto something good when you've got Levon Vincent, Delano Smith and Moodymann all on the same bill. Such was the case with Manchester promoters Music Is Love, who enlisted the services of the aforementioned trio for an event at Sankeys that made for a welcome and refreshing change of pace.
Promoter and DJ Oli Furness started the night in Room Two, and proved particularly adept at setting the wheels in motion. Vincent's set was a frantic rollercoaster that rarely paused for breath, full of house and techno obscurities as well as a number of his own, always well-received productions.
With Moodymann on at the same time as Vincent, clashes were something of an inevitability, although thankfully the easy access between the two rooms and the high energy in both made for an almost seamless transition. Indeed, Kenny Dixon Jr. really seemed to be in the mood to party as he unleashed a medley of funk, soul, disco and house on an especially receptive crowd. Constantly bellowing over the mic and handing out cups of Grey Goose to onlookers, it was the sort of scene only a DJ like Moody could conjure up. I've caught KDJ on a number of occasions, but this might have been my most gripping experience of his talents to date.
Back in the Spectrum room, another Detroit veteran, Delano Smith, kept the night wonderfully ticking over with a blend of inexplicably tough tech house cuts. Vincent and Smith played for just two hours each, and it undoubtedly would have been nice to see them truly find their feet with longer sets. But that's a small gripe on what was otherwise a splendid night of music.