Nick Warren has been around for how many years? 20? 25? Whatever the exact number is, the dude has been around for long enough and done it so well that he is openly regarded as a bit of a legend. And rightly so, having achieved plenty. He’s been here a few times the last few years, once as one half of Way Out West, and for a few bigger parties at the same venue as this gig – Chinese Laundry.

This time however, with arguably less fanfare than the previous gigs, Warren was going to show us his wares in the Cave. And with the Cave in recent times being treated to some strong performances from the likes of Messrs Saiz, Fleming and Fair, there was more than an air of excitement as the Cave opened up for business.

Dave Stuart handled warm up duties with absolute aplomb, with some deep melodic stuff that had many moving early and showing there was going to be some fun had, with Driven from Estroe one of many highlights in what was a strong-yet-warm warm-up. The platform had been laid brilliantly, and by midnight, Warren had the Cave for his taking.

The fans were out in big numbers, and Warren, beer in hand, took the party to them. This was not to be any sort of progressive journey with strong progression and a story to tell, this was just about fun. Tunes as diverse as Let Me Count The Ways from Benoit & Sergio to Blue Monday from New Order, and to some extent, everything in between. And when you’ve been a veteran of the scene for so long, why the fuck not?

People were lapping it all up, even if the Cave did look like it was actually going to burst at the seams at various points of the night. It was seriously jammed in there, making for hard work for a large part of the night, with the sizeable groups of people outside indicative of exactly that. But the sound was once again pretty much spot on – a few technical glitches at one point aside – and all appeared to be having fun; Warren included.

Come 2am, he took it up a notch, letting fly with a bit more of the banging glitchy stuff, with the lighting display (recently added or have I just been oblivious to it?) even getting a workout. And it was fun. Not one of the most technically dazzling or mind-blowing sets, but from a dude who is more accustomed to playing the big party and festival sets in other parts of the world, it showed that he still bloody knows what he’s doing.

The last hour and a bit brought in some classics to keep the older punters happy, and honestly there did seem to be a few of them.. or is that ‘us’? Hmmm. Either way, t’was another fun night and Warren still showing that he’s got what it takes – but then again, was there really any doubt?