Circus | We Are FSTVL | Love Saves The Day | Electric Frog Bank Holiday Weekender | Feel My Bicep
*Circus, Liverpool*
Still giddy on birthday cake after celebrating 10 years last September, Circus heads to Ibiza in June for a residency at new club Bomba. This weekend, however, it's back to the original big top in Liverpool's former Masque Theatre, which relaunched in April as the East Village Arts Club after a much-needed £1.5m refurb by new owners MAMA. Spearheading the fresh paint's trial by bank holiday sweat is the sleek but effortlessly persuasive techno of Naples pioneer Marco Carola. Deetron continues to prove himself more than Bern's answer to Derrick May, with his forthcoming album on Music Man promising to expand upon the soulful, song-orientated feel of the single Out Of My Head; while London duo Gorgon City bring their voluptuous basslines and deep house and garage mix. Butch, Lewis Boardman and Scott Lewis round off the bill, under the eye of founder Yousef.
*East Village Arts Club, Seel Street, Sun*
AB
*We Are FSTVL, Upminster*
It's testament to the current healthy state of the UK dance scene that a new 15,000-capacity festival can spring up on the London/Essex borders without having to book Rita Ora to pull in the casual punters. Väth, Villalobos, Sneak and Shonky are all heavy hitters in the DJ world of course, and We Are FSTVL is heavy on the kind of pan-global tech house sound that's definitely not cheesy, but not too challenging, either. Impressively, almost everyone who's made, or is likely to make, a 2013 underground dance anthem is here, from Belgian duo FCL (It's You) and the Martinez Brothers (their remix of Santos Resiak's A Better Light) to Gorgon City (Real Feat Yasmin) and Joy Orbison (Big Room Tech House DJ Tool – Tip!). With 10 stages spread across 122 acres, We Are FSTVL ought to avoid the problems that have beset some inner-city fests. The 2.30am finish may seem like a bit of a compromise, but you can book tickets for coaches to after-parties at Egg, Fire or Ministry Of Sound.
*Damyns Hall Aerodrome, Sat*
SR
*Love Saves The Day, Bristol*
After a stunning debut last year, LSTD returns. It proclaims to celebrate all that's best about the city and is a labour of love from the team behind Glastonbury's Wow! stage, the See No Evil graffiti festival, and one half of Bristol's answer to the Warehouse Project, In:Motion. Expect much noise for hometown favourites such as Eats Everything, Waifs & Strays and Baby Malc. Elsewhere, hip-hop, drum'n'bass and tea-driven funk highlights are provided by Bonobo, Shy FX and Mr Scruff respectively. And all that's before we get to the small matter of a live set from album chart-toppers Rudimental, though the real highlight comes at Love Saves Sunday Night when Nile Rodgers and Chic come to town.
*Castle Park, Sat & Sun*
JM
*Electric Frog Bank Holiday Weekender, Glasgow*
If Scottish banks are closed on a Monday, the chances are that there's an Electric Frog party taking advantage of the holiday weekend, and this one follows on from Easter's sell-out event. Saturday's headliner David Morales has been fairly quiet of late on the DJ circuit but will be playing a five-hour set overflowing with selections based on decades spent as one of the world's leading DJs, remixers and producers. Dimitri From Paris will be there too, as will Chez Damier and Nicholas, while Erol Alkan plays on Sunday.
*SWG3, Eastvale Place, Sat & Sun*
PB
*Feel My Bicep, London*
If Daft Punk are about to usher in a summer of disco-house, then Metro Area have returned just at the right time. The New York duo's work has been the touchstone for retro-leaning dancefloor action over the last decade. House revivalists Bicep have acknowledged the debt by inviting Metro Area over to play live at their ever-expanding Feel My Bicep night. Expect plenty of rose-tinted house moves, but also a tilt towards the harder stuff as the night wears on, especially with Optimo as the other guests.
*Oval Space, E2, Sat*
SR Reported by guardian.co.uk 15 hours ago.
*Circus, Liverpool*
Still giddy on birthday cake after celebrating 10 years last September, Circus heads to Ibiza in June for a residency at new club Bomba. This weekend, however, it's back to the original big top in Liverpool's former Masque Theatre, which relaunched in April as the East Village Arts Club after a much-needed £1.5m refurb by new owners MAMA. Spearheading the fresh paint's trial by bank holiday sweat is the sleek but effortlessly persuasive techno of Naples pioneer Marco Carola. Deetron continues to prove himself more than Bern's answer to Derrick May, with his forthcoming album on Music Man promising to expand upon the soulful, song-orientated feel of the single Out Of My Head; while London duo Gorgon City bring their voluptuous basslines and deep house and garage mix. Butch, Lewis Boardman and Scott Lewis round off the bill, under the eye of founder Yousef.
*East Village Arts Club, Seel Street, Sun*
AB
*We Are FSTVL, Upminster*
It's testament to the current healthy state of the UK dance scene that a new 15,000-capacity festival can spring up on the London/Essex borders without having to book Rita Ora to pull in the casual punters. Väth, Villalobos, Sneak and Shonky are all heavy hitters in the DJ world of course, and We Are FSTVL is heavy on the kind of pan-global tech house sound that's definitely not cheesy, but not too challenging, either. Impressively, almost everyone who's made, or is likely to make, a 2013 underground dance anthem is here, from Belgian duo FCL (It's You) and the Martinez Brothers (their remix of Santos Resiak's A Better Light) to Gorgon City (Real Feat Yasmin) and Joy Orbison (Big Room Tech House DJ Tool – Tip!). With 10 stages spread across 122 acres, We Are FSTVL ought to avoid the problems that have beset some inner-city fests. The 2.30am finish may seem like a bit of a compromise, but you can book tickets for coaches to after-parties at Egg, Fire or Ministry Of Sound.
*Damyns Hall Aerodrome, Sat*
SR
*Love Saves The Day, Bristol*
After a stunning debut last year, LSTD returns. It proclaims to celebrate all that's best about the city and is a labour of love from the team behind Glastonbury's Wow! stage, the See No Evil graffiti festival, and one half of Bristol's answer to the Warehouse Project, In:Motion. Expect much noise for hometown favourites such as Eats Everything, Waifs & Strays and Baby Malc. Elsewhere, hip-hop, drum'n'bass and tea-driven funk highlights are provided by Bonobo, Shy FX and Mr Scruff respectively. And all that's before we get to the small matter of a live set from album chart-toppers Rudimental, though the real highlight comes at Love Saves Sunday Night when Nile Rodgers and Chic come to town.
*Castle Park, Sat & Sun*
JM
*Electric Frog Bank Holiday Weekender, Glasgow*
If Scottish banks are closed on a Monday, the chances are that there's an Electric Frog party taking advantage of the holiday weekend, and this one follows on from Easter's sell-out event. Saturday's headliner David Morales has been fairly quiet of late on the DJ circuit but will be playing a five-hour set overflowing with selections based on decades spent as one of the world's leading DJs, remixers and producers. Dimitri From Paris will be there too, as will Chez Damier and Nicholas, while Erol Alkan plays on Sunday.
*SWG3, Eastvale Place, Sat & Sun*
PB
*Feel My Bicep, London*
If Daft Punk are about to usher in a summer of disco-house, then Metro Area have returned just at the right time. The New York duo's work has been the touchstone for retro-leaning dancefloor action over the last decade. House revivalists Bicep have acknowledged the debt by inviting Metro Area over to play live at their ever-expanding Feel My Bicep night. Expect plenty of rose-tinted house moves, but also a tilt towards the harder stuff as the night wears on, especially with Optimo as the other guests.
*Oval Space, E2, Sat*
SR Reported by guardian.co.uk 15 hours ago.