It's always a pleasure to witness talent grace us with their presence. Todd Terry is one such legend, a pioneer of Chicago House music, he's been playing since 1980 and still sounding fresh! Having played in Leeds on numerous occasions, due to the love of house music in the UK and due to the commitment of passionate promoters creating those links. Steve Raine is one such promoter, creator of Hard Times, this club night goes back to the 90's and has seen a plethora of amazing house acts, one such cat being Todd 'the God' Terry. Of course what a pleasure to have him back, this time at a new club Church from the creators of legendary Back to Basics, who you'd expect would create a first class club. All in all this was to create for one night the 'Best of Times' with the return of one of the most respected DJ's on the planet. 

Todd Terry

 

The pre-party started at 53 Degrees North with local talent and stalwart Leeds aficionado's such as Paul Murray and Afro Co's Euan Mitchell and Malcolm WeLove. Certainly the crowd were not going to miss Terry back in town, especially with dance music legends Spen & Karizma on the line up, and upcoming talent Josh Butler. I saw a lot of old faces in the crowd, such as Southport Weekender veterans and people from Suncebeat who i hadn't seen since last year, all obviously going to make an effort to be at this one!

 

There's no doubt Church is a great venue for dance music DJ's. The pa, lighting and centre stage sets the tone for big performances. Certainly the DJ's were on their game and the crowd waiting to get their rocks off. It was good to see young people there who may have never seen Terry play before, so the whole atmosphere was was a unique blend of nostalgia, newbies and a lot of desire to dance. Certainly it was a fun loving crowd that knew how to party!

 

The 'Best of Times' was another highlight to the illustrious career of Steve Raine, who I'm sure must feel deep gratitude for the consistency of Hard Times and the desire of the crowd who continue to return. Seemingly Hard Times at Church is a good match and I'm sure we'll see more gigs there. It certainly had an old skool feel to it, showing the music lives on and the desire to recreate the soul that house music prospers at. Spen & Karizma's set certainly rocked it and Josh Butler warmed it all up nicely, however everyone was there to see Todd Terry, who still continues to raise the roof!

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