Reviewed: WHP New Year’s Eve Party

“We’ve come a long long way together, through the hard times and the good“. And it’s true, since Fatboy Slim last headlined The Warehouse Project, a LOT has changed.  

Taking to the stage in December 2019 just before Christmas at The Depot Mayfield, Fatboy Slim last visited Manchester for a festive spectacular, whilst unbeknown to the UK at the time, COVID19 was brimming. Fast forward two years on and it felt like I’d gone full circle, hoping that in my head this New Year’s Eve show would mark closure; putting a lid on Covid as it were. 

However, here I am sat here in January 2022, Covid is far from over, but I have no regrets from going to The Warehouse Project the bring in the New Year. 

With a line-up consisting of legends like Annie Mac, Hannah Wants, Redlight and Low Steppa to name just a handful on the bill alongside Fatboy Slim, it was a night too good to turn down. With Annie Mac set to perform with an early set time of 9pm, The Depot Mayfield was already bustling by the time I arrived- this time it felt different. Good vibes and energy were radiating through the room, and Annie Mac mirrored this with her exceptional choices of tracks, bouncing around the stage to the roaring crowd as she played out ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’- everyone’s guilty pleasure. 

Bringing in the new year was non other than the man himself, Fatboy Slim in the main room. As the crowd chanted to the countdown, it felt surreal to be celebrating this New Year’s Eve with thousands of music-loving strangers as opposed to my parents and cat watching the telly the year prior.  

Ewan Vicar’s ‘Tell Me Something Good’ seemed to become the anthem of the evening, hearing it across multiple rooms during the New Year’s Eve party. The crowd didn’t seem to mind though and it became evident that it was a great crowd pleaser, with a sea of phones waving around every time the chirping synth surfaced again.  

Standout sets always seem to happen in The Concourse for me, and yet again I wasn’t let down. After staying to watch Fatboy Slim for fifteen minutes into the New Year, we headed over there to watch Redlight. Playing a soaring eclectic mix of his classic tracks intertwined with new ones that he’s bringing out in 2022 (as told on his Instagram) it felt amazing to hear one of my favourite dance tunes, ‘Get Wavy’ played live so soon into the New Year.  

Low Steppa also delivered an impressive closing set, as you would expect, dropping groovy 00’s dance tracks to keep the energy high despite the challenges of playing 3-4am. Playing tracks like Duck Sauce’s ‘aNYway’, you couldn’t help yourself but boogie into 2022. 

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