Drowning in a sea of curly hair…

So over a week has passed since that fateful End night, and cameraman Dan has now got his photos back from the processing lab, so I have dutifully trawled through all four films worth to put together the following alternative impressionistic photo-reportage-meets-witty-repartee. See if you can spot yourself amongst the photo motherload by viewing the full gallery here.

The technologically-minded Dan has a bit of a laser fixation, and the combination of brightly flashing club lighting and the lomo’s colourific unpredictability produces some magical effects, which I think rather successfully capture the psychedelic feel of the evening:

Regular warm-up boy Avus completed his full attendance record at every Border Community night last Saturday, even if he only took on official residency duties from party number two – an honour which the long-time End regular and tech-house disciple has described as “a dream come true”. Over the course of our residency he has really made the warm-up slot his own, and as the pictures show on Saturday night he looked right at home in that DJ booth of dreams:

Another nice shot of Scott (Avus), this time pictured with our old office boy Vincent Oliver and the lovely Rosana, who I think along with only myself, Kat, and our three DJ stalwarts ought to earn some kind of award for 100% attendance. (But if you do know anyone else who can match us, please do speak up in the comments!).

That DJ booth slap bang in the centre of the dancefloor has a handy rail running around the edge, which members of the crowd can conveniently hold onto to prevent themselves being literally bowled over by the musical onslaught. Either it was a tech-house thrashing from Avus that caused them to cling on, or there were a number of hamsters who made it into the club last Saturday to watch their rodent king James Holden. Or perhaps they were just common or garden trainspotters, and I have an over-active imagination:

I think this photo provides a nice illustration of that famed intimacy between crowd and DJ provided by the End’s low-slung DJ booth, and it is also about as close as James will ever get to crowdsurfing:

James was happy not to have to take on the graveyard shift this time, playing rather early in the evening for him and cutting a rather dashing figure with his new fringe-heavy haircut:

This fellow was next up: I am sure you can guess who this is – I would recognise that curly hair anywhere!

Comrade Fake and his elbows of doom did his best to elude Dan’s photographic efforts, fitting so fast that the camera could barely keep up with him:

But Dan’s intrepid efforts paid off, as he managed to capture the electronic sorcerer’s other-worldly incantations in full swing, blowing the cover on Fake’s pact with the devil once and for all:

And here are the results of Nathan’s Ableton-alchemy, as Dan also caught on camera the moment that the mainroom dancefloor transformed into one big writhing sea of curly hair, as the entire crowd spontaneously sprouted a Fake-do in tribute to their techno tormenter:

Finally, the Kieran Hebden, James Holden and Avus threeway that filled the last two hours is already the stuff of legend round these parts. Indeed, we are coming to believe that Scott may actually have also dabbled in the dark arts to a greater degree than we previously realised, after Dan captured him hovering as a translucent ghostly presence between Hebden and Holden:

But I can assure you that Avus did indeed participate in a physical as well as spiritual sense in this fitting conclusion to our two year run, which saw our own holy trinity’s exemplary and often conveniently overlapping taste meld together in a dreamlike fashion. James meanwhile was left scampering frantically between Scott and Kieran, demanding that they tell him the key of each record that they played at this most unlikely hour for that sort of thing.

A slightly less fanciful official version of events as assembled by The End’s photographer is now up on The End website too, although loyalty to Dan’s lomo prevents me from repeating them here: but these snaps of Avus’ funny pointy fingers dance, Ellen’s record-for-a-hat, and the irrepressible Helios did make me chuckle. The nostalgic Thirteen years of The End photo diary is also worth a tearful look while you are there!