Larkin about

It was 13 years previously the last time I had seen Kenny Larkin dj in Dublin. Well, approximately 13 years ago – definitely sometime in the late ’90s. He played at a regular Friday techno night in U2’s club, The Kitchen (which no longer exists). He dropped all the techno hits of the day, ‘Spastik, ‘Preacher Man’, ‘Forklift’, a few Purpose Makers. The mixing was, at times, rough and ready, but there was great energy to his set and it was a lot of fun. His brother was in attendance too and he was having a great old time dancing in the audience.

Almost a decade and half later, I saw Kenny dj in Dublin again. The first thing that struck me was the fact that the man did not look like he had aged at all. His age seems indeterminate – from a distance anyway, he could pass off as someone in his twenties. Remarkable. He was playing in a club that ticks all the boxes for me when it comes to ‘proper’ venues for dance music. 1) It’s in a basement. 2) The decor is minimal and dark. 3) The roof is nice and low and the capacity is small. In other words, proper order.

As has been detailed by Richard Brophy on Test Industries, going to club’s in Ireland is viewed as a young person’s game. I, and my cohorts, were considerably older than the majority in attendance. For me, I was observing a new generation of clubbers. An indication of how it had changed from my younger days was the fact that iPhones were the order of the day, with members of the crowd videoing and taking pics of Larkin as he mixed. The other sign that the times have changed is the fact that Kenny was using a digital set-up, with cds also being incorporated.

If I was in my early twenties, I would have been down the front checking out what he was doing and find out what mixing software he was utilising. Instead, I hung down the back. It’s a young person’s game, unless you’re the headlining dj.

I was apprehensive as to what the man would be playing, whether I would enjoy his set without the aid of alcohol or stimulants of another nature. He started with a remix of ‘At Les’, not sure by whom, which was ok. But the next couple of tracks were decidedly non-descript and he seemed to be having technical difficulties. However, he soon found his stride and I was surprised how he managed to vary his set, even dropping in a dubstep number near the end.

When I say vary his set, I should qualify that – it was not varied in terms of ISM-levels. It was all house and techno, but would go from Ben Klock/Berghain style techno to funky house to deeper fodder and back again. When he seemed to be going down a cul de sac, he would suddenly change tac. It was not mind-blowing, by any means, but was adequate – I suppose he could have been playing the techno and house favourites of now, doing the same as he did 13 years ago.

The dancefloor was packed and appreciative at all times. Certain tracks seemed to gain recognition from the crowd, but not by me. Another sign of the generation divide was when Larkin dropped ‘French Kiss’ as his penultimate track; I went bananas, gave a shout of appreciation, whereas the majoritiy of the people seemed to have no idea of what it was.

I was glad I ventured out to witness a true Detroit legend in action. Some of the man’s productions are truly mind-blowing to this day. I wish he had played more of them (I only recognised one of his own tracks and it was a fairly recent one – but still damn good) and that he had calmed it down a little when it came to using the effects on his new mixing toy, but these are minor quibbles as far as I’m concerned since the man managed to make me, in all my sober glory, dance my socks off. And I went home with a smile on my face, even though I then had to negotiate my way through all the horrid activity that a normal Saturday night in Dublin has to offer.