Live Review

Zane Lowe + Arctic Monkeys – MMU student union

• 30th Nov 2007

The eagerly anticipated DJ set by Zane Lowe had been the talk of the student community over the past weeks. With tickets selling as quickly as the 99p drinks at the bar and the promise of a special guest set by a certain ‘Monkey’, the student union of Manchester Met couldn’t fail. Bursting at the seams with punters eager to get on the dance floor , who were soon shaking their ‘skinny-jeaned’ derrieres to everyone’s favourite antipodean radio DJ. Coming across like the cool big brother everyone wishes they had, Zane Lowe proceeded to raise the roof and whip the assembled masses into a frenzy of sound, colour and reasonably priced alcohol.

Another student favourite was on hand to deflect the torrents of unadulterated adulation flowing towards the DJ booth. Mr Matthew Helders of Arctic Monkeys fame, perhaps these days more used to the vast audiences of Old Trafford cricket ground than a bunch of enthusiastic students crammed like sardines into a student union, lent a hand with a warm up set before the man himself stepped up to the plate.

With music of such a high quality, Zane Lowe’s brief residency at MMU was without a doubt a huge success. Opting for a more mainstream set over the leftfield, underground madness of his radio show, Zane dropped up-tempo mixes of student favourites such as Klaxons, Beastie Boys and Queens of the Stone Age…Legendary! A flawless set, rock bottom drinks prices and the atmosphere provided by hundreds of likeminded individuals going mental to the music meant that, for a few blood-pumping hours, this dancefloor belonged to Zane Lowe. A great night for the Union, an even better night for those in attendance and a justified celebration for Zane, this night was a definite hit for all parties. Thumbs up…

Photo by Suzie Yorke