Last Wednesday we went down to catch the launch of new indie-cum-dance night Mahatma. It’s always a treat to delve down into the Cavern’s depths. The place seems to be caught in time, with decade old posters and friendly bar staff who look as if they’ve just played supermarket sweep at the Real McCoy. The venue played host to Mahatma – a night that looks to fill the void left by KINK as it looks to showcase the best up-and-coming bands followed by DJ sets to carry on the festivities into the early hours of the morning.
Local lads BKYLN. kicked off the night with a well-paced set featuring plenty of staccato indie riffs, off kilter drums and varied vocals. But headliners HeyRocco were the highlight. We hadn’t heard of the South Carolina-based trio before the night but I’m sure we will hear more of them in the future. The band were performing their second date on a UK tour and the trio got the bustling sized crowd up on their feet and moving to their dark pop-inflected grunge beat.
As with all these nights there was a disheartening lull during the transition from live bands to DJ sets but once Theon Bower opened with Waze and Odyssey’s remix of R Kelly’s Bump N Grind most of the crowd returned to the dance floor because their bodies were telling them “YES”. It was a proper party set: house and big room songs dominated the airwaves and provided a good set-up for fellow new-comer Doddles to spin a mix of deep house, garage and bass until the early hours.
Exetera caught up with one of the faces behind Mahatma, Colin Bugler, who was mightily pleased with the night’s proceedings. “It was great to see such a brilliant turnout for our launch,: he told us. “We had an outstanding time and have lots planned for the rest of term, so keep an eye out for even bigger parties to come. Thanks to all who came down!”
It was refreshing to see a night committed to showcasing live indie and rock music and student DJs at a venue that has become a hot bed for student nights dedicated to dance music. It will be interesting to see how Mahatma develops and we are excited to see the emerging talented artists that will headline future events. Up next on October 28th are As Elephants Are. We urge you to head down and see what all the fuss is about.