Duke Dumont
The Lemon Grove
28 September 2015
After hearing great things about Duke Dumont’s extensive summer festival circuit I was expecting a great gig at the Lemon Grove. However, there is a vast difference in atmosphere between a crowd of 25,000 at Coachella and a crowd of a few hundred at the Lemmy. Perhaps this was why Duke Dumont delayed his set till 12:30, by which point there was a growing mix of anticipation and frustration in the crowd.
FOR AN ARTIST THAT HAS HIS OWN RECORD COMPANY AND A GRAMMY NOMINATION UNDER HIS BELT, IT WAS A SURPRISE FOR HIM TO RETURN TO THE COMFORT OF THE SUMMER HITS
After opening with ‘Won’t Look Back’ to cheers from the crowd, it looked set to be a great set, quickly followed with his 2013 chart topper ‘I Got U’. It seemed unusual to play two of his top hits within the first section of the set. Despite a hyped up atmosphere for these tracks, it soon dropped when he played an unimaginative remix of the most overplayed house song of the summer, ‘House Every Weekend’. For an artist that has his own record company (Blasé Boys Club) and a Grammy nomination under his belt, it was a surprise for him to return to the comfort of the summer hits. Saying this, he kept the crowd dancing with remixes of house classics; perhaps the most significant signal of a good house set.
Also of note was the warm up set from London-based Alex Warren, aka Kiwi. Holditdown have saturated the Exeter House market recently, and despite the sparse numbers until Duke Dumont’s set began, they still find quality. East End producer and Durrr resident Warren heralded the funk and soul foundations of music and integrated them with R&B tracks, and those who braved the empty dancefloor were clearly having a great time. Some classic 80s remixes even got a sing along.
Mixed emotions followed me out of this gig as I was, and am, still unsure over whether it was good or not. If the set was played, as it was, at one of the many festivals of the summer, then I can imagine I would have come away buzzing. But, the nature of The Lemon Grove, especially on a Monday night, meant that it just couldn’t reach that level.