Photo: Colin Friend
Jade Jagger's Jezebel party in the Arctic Disco began with little expectation but ended as the highlight so far. 300 revellers took the huge ski lift 6000 feet up the mountain to party in an Igloo for three hours. The news that alcohol affected you 50% more at a high altitude than on the ground drew cheers as we climbed the last few feet by foot.
Jezebel is a collaboration between Jagger and DJ Dan Williams (DRW) who took to the decks after an hour and a half of Spangle's budget electro. The igloo itself was something to behold with three bars inside and decorated with huge ice carvings. Although, sat down, there was a bit of a downpour as it started to melt. DRW announced his arrival with an acapella version of A Tribe Called Quests Can u kick it? that smashing in a 4x4 bassline, it worked very well. Playing to a main room of maybe 100 people the set had to be geared towards that size so disco sat alongside some classic house tunes. Cheesy anywhere else, 'Get Up and Dance' was actually his biggest tune. The warm German drink Glühwein probably had a lot to do with this though.
Vitalic's much anticipated set in the Racket Club didn't disappoint though the crowd was smaller than expected for a festival. With all nine venues now open, the 4500 Snowbombers had spread out across Mayrhofen's main street. Bar an interlude that sounded worryingly like Darude's 'Sandstorm' he didn't drop the pace for an hour. Unrelenting, his layered beats spawned much of latest LP 'Flashmob' with 'Chicken Lady' and 'One Above One' delighting the throng. Adam Beyer followed with his Swedish brand of techno. His dark and moody beats were a bit of a mismatch to Vitalic though.
Over in Schlussel James Zabiela followed Nic Fanciulli with his usual ambidextrous aural assault of house tech and breaks. The club's name means key but the feel is more akin to that of a Walkabout bar! All wood and very brightly lit, Schlussel is the least apt of venues but that didnt stop the willing crowd getting very involved.
Tonight sees the arrival of guitars to the mix with Editors and Doves adding their anthemic wares to the selected artists and DJs.
