How long do you have to be a lapsed Catholic before the guilt factor goes away? I couldn’t help but feeling slightly naughty when I was getting ready to head into Ambar for the General Midi gig. Will I be eternally damned for going out clubbing on Easter Sunday? I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was misbehaving, but let’s put it down to the after effects of a Sunday afternoon spent gorging on chocolate.

I really had no idea what was in store for me from General Midi. Sometimes it’s nice to head out to a gig that you think you might enjoy, without any preconceived expectations hanging over the evening. It was also a friend’s birthday and she had commanded our attendance, so I really had no choice.

I arrived shortly after 11pm to find Micah behind the decks. Micah was playing his usual electro-tinged breaks that immediately had me and a friend strutting our stuff on the dance floor. He played that fantastic Plump DJs bootleg that I still don’t know the name of (oops) and that track that has the slide whistle bit. Oh, you know, the one that sounds like it’s going to turn into “groove is in the heart” but doesn’t??

I felt a bit worried for General Midi, knowing how pumped Micah usually gets the crowd. Could he keep the momentum going? Indeed he did. I would have to say the first half of General Midi’s set was one of the best efforts I’ve heard in a while.

I was a tad surprised at the crowd. I mean, hello, calling all single ladies, this place was full of guys all jumping around, dancing and not in an “I’m completely drunk” kind of way. They actually looked like they were really into the music. Hmm, maybe my drought has gone on for too long?

General Midi came on at midnight and personally knocked my socks off with the intensity of the breaks that he was playing. I was firmly defending my place on the dance floor from the moment he stepped up to the decks. Just when I thought it was safe to duck outside for a fresh air filter, he dropped his remix of “Breathe” by Jono Fernandez and Dylan Rhymes so I had to race back downstairs. It’s definitely a tune worth checking out.

I also love that “killers are eating the flesh of their victims” track that he played. Again, I’m sorry; I don’t know the proper name. It always seems reminiscent of that “dead eyes opened” track from years back, and it gets stuck in my head. You’re dancing away to these really gruesome lyrics…it has some strange appeal!!

I really thought the first half of General Midi’s set was so intense my ears were going to bleed and I’m sure I wasn’t the only person on the dance floor half cringing, half jumping as he stretched some notes beyond breaking point.

General Midi played for about 2.5 hours but to my uneducated ear the second half of his set was not as intense as the first. Sure there were still some crowd pleasers in there… Dead Perez vs. Sliders from Mars “Bigger than Hip Hop” springs to mind, as well as the Bass Kleph remix of the Trentmoller remix of Royksopp’s “What else is there?”. Phew. Try saying that quickly in a sentence.

It may well have been the effects of my chocolate binge and my unfamiliarity with clubbing on a Sunday night but I definitely thought things died away later in the proceedings. This was also reflected on the dance floor, which went from being jam packed to quite roomy in the space of half an hour. Perhaps this was the influence of the early Sunday closing hours, with no alcohol being served past 2am?

However, alll in all, a great night. When somebody that you haven’t really heard of has you rocking your socks off for a good couple of hours, you can’t really complain, can you?