Well, with pirates still very much “in” right now it is no wonder Bootleg is becoming a well known night around town. However, although the music of bootlegs and mash ups is very much founded on piracy it is not your average barnacle blistering, timber shivering sea shanties found within, instead it is a night of eclectic madness captained by local DJs Philly and Ben Mac.

Upon arriving at Ambar I was greeted with that big funk sound of Herbaliser’s ‘Gadget Funk,’ not surprising when I realised Locoren was on the decks. Being one of the main Funk Club selectors I just knew Ren was going to bring some dope to the tables, I mean hip hop was practically founded on ripping samples from all the old funk tracks. With everything from the down tempo smoothness of Nostalgia 77’s cover of ‘Seven Nation Army’ to some old school Plump DJs, Ren did a fantastic job of setting the mood.

Next to hit the decks were the Bourgeois Bogan DJs, winner of Bootleg’s competition thanks to a lively Madonna booty. At first I thought Josh was kidding, or at least exaggerating when he told me how much pop he wanted to put through Ableton for the gig, challenging everyone to try and trainspot it all. Kidding? No. Exaggerating? I doubt it. The result? Crazy pop electro madness. If you wanted Daft Punk vs Tiga, you got it. More of a New Order fan? Taken care of. In fact it would still only be the tip of the iceberg if I told you the set included: House of Pain, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kelis, Dire Straits, Mylo, Salt n Pepa and Jefferson Airplane. Seriously, those dudes were on some next level pop rampage, and it worked, with the crowd going wild.

By now it was time for none other than the Bootleg Brothers. Philly and Ben have really got into a groove playing with each other, bringing madness with them every time. They took the crazy energy that the Bourgeois Bogan DJs had created and built on it with hard hitting breaks and electro with tracks such as the Stanton Warriors remix of Alter Ego’s ‘Rocker’ and the Bass Kleph booty of Royksopp’s ‘What Else Is There.’

By the time the Bootleg Brothers had finished up the following DJ was left with a loose, drunken crowd, ready for some action. Luckily Flex was on next, continuing that crazy electro theme that had been present for most of the night. Certainly no stranger to closing sets, Flex controlled the dance floor with big electro reworks of Chemical Brothers, Muse, Fergie, Gorillaz and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Then suddenly, it was all over, another Bootleg done with. The Bootleg Brothers have certainly got it right with this night, bringing together cranking edits, booties, mash ups and reworks of all the well known songs to walk delicately along the edge of cheese overload and bring the punter a fun filled, crazy night.