Review: Lord of The Tings at South Manchester

Image: Jack Kirwin 

Lord of The Tings. The name alone is enough to raise an eyebrow, in a musical world where everything is taken a bit too seriously, a humorous nod towards the ‘tings’ that happen when the event takes place is a refreshing change.

Across the UK, house music appears to hold the reigns in regards to clubnights, but for those who go against the grain, like Lord of The Tings, and offer something a touch different, the individuality pays off. 

The Return of The Tings event took place at South in Manchester, a versatile venue with an underground edge. The no frills basement space houses one of the most impressive Funktion One sound systems, it’s one of the city’s most loved clubs, and each month tonnes of nights set up camp within South. 

Less is more when it comes to a space like South. Although it has the moody and dingy feel that appeals to anyone in the need of a proper knees up, it maintains smartness. The dark walls keep things looking clean, while wooden details break it up. 

On arrival, the venue was already swarming with youngsters. As many of them made their way nearer to the DJ booth, Architect was working through a selection of hip hop and bass, and exploring a host of softer splinter genres. The crowd began to get increasingly hyped as more classics snuck into his set. The energy was electric, as beats got heavier, the crowd got sweatier.

The set of the night came courtesy of Eden and Skanky's 2 hour long back to back. They delivered banger after banger, a lot of them tracks from the 90s and early 00s that most of the crowd had forgotten about but were elated to be reminded of.

'Sing It Back' by Moloko made an appearance, so did 'Funkytown' by Lipps Inc. Before you had time to recover from the last hit of old school tunes, they’d bring another straight in, with howls of approval echoing round the room.

If you needed a ciggie, it could wait, if you were going to wet yourself, it could wait. Every time you prepped to have a break, another tune would glue your feet to the ground, and make you forget why you even wanted to move in the first place.

Tracks like Basement Jaxx's 'Do Your Thing' and 'Jump N Shout' (listen above) provoked some of the biggest crowd reactions we’ve had the pleasure of being amongst in quite a while. 

Lord of The Tings was fun. A lot of fun. There was no pretentious vibes from the DJs or the crowd, just laughs all round and a whole lot of amusement for a Wednesday night. Keep an eye out for their next event.