Carl Craig is a man who, for most, needs no introduction. Coming from Detroit’s techno second wave alumni, alongside such luminaries as Stacey Pullen and Octave One, Craig is nothing short of an idol to many – including myself.

Along for the ride (pun intended) was Vito De Luca, who is now the sole producer DJ for Belgian disco pop outfit Aeroplane. He was possibly an odd choice to be on the same bill as Carl Craig, but checking the set times prior to leaving I was grateful that The Likes Of You crew had set up two rooms with distinctly different flavours: Carl Craig headlining from 1-4am in the main room, with Aeroplane 1-3am in the other.

Christian Vance kicked things off at 12am with a live set comprised of deep, loopy, and shuffling house and techno. Around 1am Carl Craig emerged behind the turntables, but seemed content to let Vance play on. A few words by Carl Craig in Vance’s ear seemed to suggest he wanted him to play on. From here on in Vance stepped it up a notch, ending his set with a stompy floor filler.

Carl Craig hit the decks at around 12:30am. Picking up immediately where Vance left off, he commenced his set with a banging kick drum. This set was celebrating 20 years of Planet E Recordings, so as well as playing his own material such as Paperclip People’s 4 My Peepz and Throw, we also got treated to classics by like-minded artists such as Robert Hood and Rick Whilite.

The Roxanne Parlour punters were absolutely enjoying themselves, with foolish grins aplenty. Carl ended up going 30 mins over his expected three hour timeslot, so toward the end of his set the dancefloor had thinned slightly. Those who remained certainly shared a special moment when C2 dropped the original version of The Beatles Come Together.

Things took an unexpected, yet a rather welcome dark turn when C2 dropped some acid techno, quickly followed by the man’s own deep, moody remix of Theo Parrish’s Falling Up. Bringing us back towards the light, the hits recommenced with Derrick May getting some play with his classic Strings of Life; followed by Floorplan’s techno-disco stomper ‘Dancer’; and what Detroit classic set would be complete without Inner City’s Good Life.

To quote a dear friend of mine, this Likes Of You party ”...was the best club night I’ve been to in many years. They didn’t over sell, the crowd was diverse and respectful, I didnt get one bad vibe all night, and the music was phat. Further evidence that Carl Craig absolutely rocked Roxanne Parlour was the giant crack in the dancefloor that was left behind from all the stomping by the hyperactive party goers. If that isn’t evidence of a great dance party, then I don’t know what is.