Having written effusively about last year’s Catch My Drift weekender in Bristol, it’s hard to find lots more to say when 2024’s event repeats that successful formula with an extra polish! Nevertheless, an event of this stature deserves to be captured in words, so here goes…

So what was different? This year, promoter Bryan ‘Rusty’ Rookes wisely decided that trying to meet the demand for Friday night tickets by running two venues risked dividing up the crowd, which in turn made sure that tickets for the Louisiana venue flew out of the door as soon as they became available, quickly reaching capacity. Managing numbers was given an extra dimension as the Louisiana was also hosting a couple of live bands in their first floor function room, placing a strict limit on headcount and giving him and wife, Ali, an extra task on the door in steering one set of punters upstairs while equipping the Catch My Drifters with their wristbands.

That nuance apart, and despite the same soggy weather that plagued last year’s Friday evening travellers (though somewhat less biblical), the Louisiana sprang to life as soon as the doors were opened. As the first DJs to play, we were delighted to see the room quickly filling, especially as many of the early arrivals were fellow DJs scheduled for later that night or Saturday paying us the compliment of hearing what we had to offer. A 40-minute set flew past and we handed the decks to the next incumbent, and so the evening progressed. One of the beauties of the Louisiana is that the configuration of the room allows conversation around the bar end, without being divorced from the music filling the dance floor end, making for a lively start to the weekend as old acquaintances were renewed amongst those travelling from near and far (Spain and France for a start), and new ones struck up with those on their first CMD foray. As I’ve written before, one of the really nice things about the R&B scene is the merging of tribes, with folk from the rockin’, mod and soul scenes coming brought together by their love of rhythm and blues. Even the mix of events up and downstairs worked well, with a number of the live band audience hanging around after their gig, sucked into our world of obscure R&B on record. And so, dig the sounds, drink, dance, chat – and repeat until 1.00 am rolled around and Neil MacInnes saw us off into the night with a last blast of rare garage.

Which gave those of us with tickets for Saturday night’s main event just time to recharge, refuel and pull something fresh from the wardrobe before beating a path to Basement 45 in the heart of the city where the needles dropped sharp at 4.00 pm. To recap, Basement 45 was formerly The Mandrake and one of Bristol’s oldest night club venues. Most importantly, it’s a classic vaulted cellar space – the epitome of the cool 60s beat club – offering two acoustically separated rooms with bar and circulation area between them. That means there’s always a choice of DJs just a few dozen steps apart, with somewhere to take a breather and chat without being dislocated from the action.

We couldn’t have imagined that the first two CMD weekenders could be improved on, but something about this year’s took it to a new level. Maybe it was Rusty’s meticulous programming, meaning that if you missed a particular DJ in their first set, you could flip your choice in the second; maybe it was the DJs, each with their own take on the R&B spectrum but blending seamlessly together with neither sudden changes of vibe in the room or becoming an homogenous blur – and hitting the sweet spot in mixing scene favourites with new finds to keep things fresh. Or maybe it was the crowd, good natured, keen to hit the dancefloor from the outset yet keeping the energy levels high throughout the evening. Whatever it was, it worked a treat and before we knew it, we were gathered in the main room for a final set of super rare material from New York visitor Matt Weingarden, sending his fellow DJs out into the night muttering “I’ve never heard that before, now I want a copy”.

It’s easy to underestimate what goes into a weekend like Catch My Drift – after all, how hard can it be to get a bunch of people to play records for a few hours? Dead easy, really – all you’ve got to do is negotiate with the venues (who themselves have got to make sure that their critical Friday and Saturday night slots are best used); pull in 21 DJs and weave them into a schedule that gives them enough playing time to make it worth coming, but will keep your customers happy; reschedule when one or more of them realizes they can’t come; advertise, advertise, advertise; deal with the customers who wanted to come to both nights, but didn’t book in time to get Friday night tickets; deal with the customers who booked for both nights, then realized they could only make one; deal with the customers who turned up anyway! Help your DJs visiting from abroad sort out travel and accommodation; advise everyone else on where to stay when they message you asking for tips; get T-shirts and wristbands made; organize a photographer; deliver record decks, cartridges, needles and spares to your venue; make sure they connect up properly to the venue sound system; do the same for your oil wheel projectors then set them up so they don’t fall on anyone’s head; try and work out what the final attendance list looks like after a raft of last-minute changes; get to the venue before anyone else – test the sound, hook up your digital recorders so you can capture everything for MixCloud, then set up the ticket desk; watch to make sure your DJs have arrived; keep an eye on sound levels; make sure security are happy; chat to everyone; take your own photos; make sure the DJs are sticking to the schedule and the decks are holding out; and when the last punter’s gone, the DJs have been paid their expenses, and the venue staff are happy, pack up all your kit, load your trolley and lug it back to the hotel in the rain. Piece of cake!

Mr Catch My Drift – Bryan Rookes

So I end this year’s review the same way I have to for every great event, with thanks to the Rusty and Ali for dedicating a huge chunk of their year towards making one great weekend for the rest of us, DJs and audience alike (because we’re really the same people). He’s already talking about Catch My Drift No 4, and we’re already looking forward to it…

The music from the night can be found at the Catch My Drift MixCloud page and hundreds of fantastic photos on the Facebook page.

And for the record, the line-up was:

At the Louisiana on Friday night:

Clive & Jane Montellier, Ed Bush, Lee Armitage, Howie Houghton, Dean Read, Jon Drake, Bryan Rookes, Bill Kealy, Neil MacInnes

At Basement 45 on Saturday:

Vernon Whittle, Batman, Dave Crozier, Bill Kealy, John Parker, Matt Weingarden, Henrik Ackerberg, Donna Driscoll, Rachelle Piper, Phil Bush, John Stapleton, Chris Reilly

Just some of whom appear here…