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Away from the excess of Liverpool’s city centre crowds in their races’ glad rags lay the Baltic Triangle.
A different type of reveller adorned the relaunch of The Garage, with none other than Greg Wilson, of Fabric and Ministry of Sound fame, presiding over proceedings.
Walking around the Baltic area at night with its old warehouses and seemingly empty streets engendered trepidation not unlike the suspense in a horror movie, as if at any point the waking dead could attack you.
The Garage, recently refurbished, with new, private booths, a state of the art sound-system and a strident light show, offered a different sort of night out to its more established arthouse neighbours on Greenland Street, Constellations and Camp and Furnace.
It somehow felt more old skool, like a sweatier, says what it does on the tin, sort of club not least because Greg Wilson played to great acclaim back in 83 at the legendary Hacienda.
Offering the first 300 tickets for free, this good will gesture harked back to a simpler time, the DIY ethos of the late 80’s and early 90’s with illegal, free raves being part of the course.
Greg Wilson said: ‘I like playing to the Freeze crowd. They follow me round – to the Bombed Out church, Williamson Tunnels and the last time I played at The Garage, in December. It’s a lively underground sort of crowd.’
Freeze, a Liverpool-based promoter, has been around for 11 years and is responsible for some of the most exciting club nights in the city.
Leeds DJ Ralph Lawson of 20/20 Vision Recordings warmed up the crowd with bouncy acid house, cranking the volume up while partygoers got lost in the beats.
Later on, Greg Wilson delighted the crowd with warm, fuzzy disco tracks such as The Reynolds, ‘Don’t You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet to Come’ creating a feel-good love-in it was impossible to escape from.
In this euphoric atmosphere, Greg Wilson ramped up the nostalgia factor with old skool tracks such as Sweet Tooth T’s ‘Cowboys and Gangsters/Deputy of Love’ to the crowd’s absolute rapture.
With its newly restored mezzanine floor with private booths, The Garage, looks forward to hosting other popular events such as this coming week’s Cream Classics After Party.