Going clubbing tonight, or staying at home? Or perhaps you'd like to have it both ways, and large it up without leaving your living room. How? By hooking up with Eurodance '97, coming on at Dublin's Temple Theatre, and also coming out of a wireless near you. The EU-wide event happens simultaneously in four cities - Rome, Brussels, Liverpool and dear old Dublin - and features top DJs like David Holmes, Carl Cox, Pete Tong, Dave Clarke and Claudio Coccolutto; it will also be beamed by satellite to radio stations across the Union. The organisers are expecting at least 70 million Europeans to tune in, turn on and work up a veritable lake of sweat, all in the comfort of their own homes, and they're predicting a further two million hits on the event's own Web site. Now that's what I call having it large.
The Dublin side of tonight's big beat bash is being organised by the fine people at Strictly Fish, and the tricky broadcasting bit is being handled by 2FM production wizard Ian Wilson. Headlining tonight's show at the Temple Theatre is Belfast DJ David Holmes, who has just released his critically-acclaimed second album, Let's Get Killed. Having already cut a cinematic swathe with his debut album, This Film's Crap, Let's Slash The Seats, Holmes brought a DAT machine onto the streets of New York, recorded a variety of colourful conversations, and stitched them onto Latin, dub and electronic rhythms to create the city soundscape of Let's Get Killed.
Holmes has already won the Heineken Hot Press DJ Award and Muzik magazine's Essential Mix Award, and tonight Holm-er and his deckmates Billy Scurry, Glen Brady, Dave Cleary and Nemo will knock 'em dead right across Europe, via the EBU satellite and on the Internet. Meanwhile, at Cream in Liverpool, DJ Carl Cox will do the honours for all the la's and la'ssies, while Dave Clarke flexes his mixing muscles at Fuse in Brussels. Finally, at the Goa Club in beautiful Rome, Pete Tong and Claudio Coccolutto will be inna da 'ouse. If you're one of the lucky ticket-holders for the actual event at the Temple Theatre tonight, you can watch all these DJs on big screens at the venue; if not, you can still access the Web site and watch them in all their cyber-spatial glory.
Tonight's other big club event happens at Dublin's Red Box, with a live appearance by Death In Vegas, the hip UK dance combo led by DJs Richard Fearless and Steve Hellier. The duo's debut album, Dead Elvis, is a mad swirl of house, hardcore and psychedelic beats topped off with grinding guitars, techno bleeps and a morbid sense of humour. Support is provided by Black Star Liner, and DJ Johnny Moy will be on full deck alert.
