Friday 05/06/09 The Insomniacs Ball @ Corsica Studios, London

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“A surging night of passion and ruin” promises the flyer for London’s Insomniacs Ball, still operating south of the river, this live club night now resides at Corsica Studios. As people trickle in, those who are in for the long haul from start-to-finish in tonight’s all-nighter are compensated for their early arrival with a promising performance from Brooklyn’s Bear Hands. Likened to recent tour-mates Passion Pit and Brooklyn neighbours MGMT, the light, unassuming and catchy offerings from this quartet could also float back and forth between Stephen Malkmus and Biffy Clyro (during their Infinity Land era). Thanking the onlookers, front man Dylan Rau appears the most approachable person in the room as he sings What A Drag, a surprising early high that’s not matched until later in the night.
 
With masks covering half their faces, the members of Wave Machines manage to keep cheery expressions for the entire duration of their set, and keep weariness at bay. Starting slowly, this northern quartet soon bring forth a disco with the aid of glockenspiels, keyboard melodies and high-pitched vocals that scale heights usually braved only by the likes of Prince and The Bee Gees. Keep The Lights On and Carry Me Back Home break out of indie-rock moulds with tropical tones, whereas last song Punk Spirit is back to basics and devoid of previous decorations with singer Tim Bruzon crying “Where’s my punk spirit?”

It’s not even half way through the night but the crowd has expanded somewhat, with people holding discussions in the hallways while deciding between rooms: the main room with live acts and the second room where all manner of tunes can be heard from, M.I.A, to The Horrors, Foals and Destiny’s Child (bizarrely), at various times in the night from the guest DJs who include, Loud and Quiet, Plugs and The Cock and Bull Kid.

With five years' experience Infadels are no strangers to their local music scene and they demonstrate relentless efforts, playing with excitement and enthusiasm as though they were headlining an arena show and each audience member had footed £45 to see them play. Though synths and beats run constant through their tunes like a healthy heartbeat, their electronic rock takes many forms coming across like a Kasabian remix in one song, or a reshuffle of Primal Scream’s Country Girl in the next. The sounds are all collected together under the identifiable but multifaceted Infadels banner, making it hard to pin them down. As the audience dilutes it’s clear they can’t please everyone despite their much noted efforts to entertain, but in final song a cover of Eurythmic’s Sweet Dreams they depart with a sing-a-long - an easy glory, some might say.

Using the synth sounds as a starting point, Bloody Awful Poetry DJs take to the decks and run back to the 80s with songs from the likes of Blondie, and The Vapours, among others, before next act, Everything Everything take to the stage and sweep the music in a totally different direction.

While other acts that Everything Everything share the stage with tonight have used other instruments or electronics that produce complicated depths in their sound, this Manchester four-piece use their collective voice: building songs all around it. Photoshop Handsome is bubbly and vocals-a-plenty, as the singing shoots off sporadically then back in unison for harmonies, with the drums jumping in behind. They peak with Suffragette Suffragette and further choral explorations in last song, Weights.

With electronic drums, synths, keys and two saxophonists, Chik Budo provide songs to get lost in. The local act have swarming melodies and beats reminiscent of early 90s dance numbers - sounds that are hard to escape. It’s overwhelming and stimulating, though occasionally borders tiring at times, but what better way to lead up to the DJ set from Francis Dance of Late of the Pier fame? Who begins the last phase of the night with a bit of mood music, Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds.

Though the promise of “passion” was evident in the live efforts from bands and DJs’ sets tonight, it can only be presumed that the “ruin” factor will kick in later, as dawn turns to day and the tolls of partying without sleep lurk an hour or so away.