- Chequered shirts, for me, are the primary colours of two distinct groups of people; one wields an axe, whilst the other gets fired up on booze and turns Manchester's red lit Roadhouse basement into an intoxicating monthly romp. DJs at this romp are varied and span the eclectic funk, soul and disco side of house. Mark E, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Theo Parrish—who's set to return in July—and Sound Stream have all played previously. The crowd at its centre is a feverish group that sets an unmistakeably infectious mood about the night they call Cutloose.
Photo credit: Lucy Sugden-Smith
I've made attempts to get down early, which have crumbled into pre-night out red wine drinking frenzies. I told myself that this time was going to be different, I was going to concur the bottle and witness more of the resident's warm-up. A minor alcoholic infraction and cash point trip set me back slightly but still I managed to fall in by 11:30. A rewarding effort it was too: I caught an hour of Mark and Wes, two of the night's three promoters and residents. I still held a straight eye at this point and remember Wes tightly mixing rolling house classics, familiar to the any old club head. Mark came on about 30 minutes later, adding a disco edge to the four-four proceedings. This expectedly caused a rise in what was already high numbers on the dance floor. Cutloose fever was in full swing by midnight and the vibe reminiscent of the first time I went to the night some months ago when Sound Stream put a memorable show.
I managed to acclimatise myself to the deafening volumes of the Roadhouse sound system earlier and more sober than usual. At previous events the high notes, at times, have been too much for me to bear. This time—reduced to a more acceptable level—they were palatable and easier to digest.
Mark Seven, the headline for the night—a man I know little of—was on by 1 AM.
He started with a bleary look in his eye and a distinctly house sound. Early on he dropped "Reach for Me" by Funky Green Dogs, which almost left my voice spent. Things got a little crazy amongst the dancing public at this point and as he took a disco swerve it was all out bloodshed. Singing, strutting and quick-toed carnage were the order of the day. The last 45 minutes had a more '80s feel about it, which may not be to everyone's taste, but the way he got to it had me sold. There was plenty of well-known '70s numbers thrown in too but I'm at a lost as to what they were.
Photo credit: Lucy Sugden-Smith
This was possibly my favourite Cutloose so far but I'm not quite sure why. Looking back the music was good—at times a little outside of what I would normally like—but despite this I was well involved. The crowd, I feel, was the main reason I came away grinning like a 14th century gay man. There wasn't a pretentious head in the room and without exception everyone was in a good time mood.