Your LMG’s ‘Rest in Print’ farewell party at the Dragon Room

Friday 8 November 2013

I had my first music photo published in LMG magazine in mid 2011, and did my first editorial shoot for them in November the same year. In the 2 years since then I’ve covered loads of gigs for the mag, had the privilege to shoot 3 covers and met some great people in the LMG family. So, like many, I was really sad to see October’s issue of LMG had a gravestone on the cover and the headline Rest In Print.

It’s the end of an era, a bittersweet sign of the times – LMG will now exist solely online. Going out in style after 5 years and 77 issues, the printed mag was laid to rest at an epic 3-stage party at the Dragon Room on Friday.

The Dragon Room is an insane venue – often when passing it on the way to the Assembly, I’ve wondered what happened beyond its austere and exclusive-looking exterior, but the actual interior is beyond what I could have imagined.

If the building wasn’t a bordello in a past-life, it definitely feels inspired by one – lush patterned walls, detailed ceilings, ornately framed mirrors, seating everywhere, chandeliers, incense and moody lighting were everywhere.

LMG’s party took place over 3 floors and music areas (and that wasn’t even all of the venue – the unused areas were closed off and dark and included a huge kinda ballroom; the place is truly like a massive mansion) – as you entered, the bar stage featured DJs, then, past 2 bars and down the stairs was the electronic stage (and bar number 3). Around the corner past some red satin curtains and up a surprisingly industrial flight of stairs was the band stage (and bar number 4).

Sideshow kicked things off downstairs while upstairs the first band up was Grassy Spark, who set the pace and volume for the night – things started getting sweaty very fast.

I felt a bit like I was at a mini festival, running around between stages; I popped downstairs briefly to see the Blame Jakes Jazz Installation…

…then headed back upstairs for 7th Son.

In my ups and downs the stairs I passed DJ Invizible twice, the first time he was busting out some reserved moves behind the booth and the second time he was in full-on performance-mode in front of the crowd with a keytar – it was awesome!

The Very Wicked changed the mood upstairs from ska to moody rock, things were no less hot and sweaty though…

Thor Rixon was playing over by the bar stage, and back upstairs LMG founder Mike Smith gave a short speech before introducing Shadowclub.

I’ve missed Shadowclub, it’s been a while since I last saw them and I really enjoyed watching them again, and I think it’s safe to say the rest of the crowd felt the same. The room was the fullest it had been all night and the heat was intense, practically everyone was dripping with sweat.

Downstairs Mix n Blend were on the dance stage and the Robfather was living it up with a harem of blondes over in the bar…

Haezer was up next downstairs; I hadn’t seen him before so stayed to listen for a while, but the music was a bit too hard for me at that point…

The Nomadic Orchestra raised the temperature upstairs once again, by this stage I’d resorted to sticking icecubes in my bra to keep from passing out – the Nomads always put on a great show and even being drenched in sweat couldn’t keep the crowd from dancing and cheering their hearts out.

Downstairs Das Kapital and Ryan Gosling played out the night, though I didn’t stay long for either – I was totally exhausted and relishing the light drizzle outside.

It was a really fantastic night – intriguing venue, great lineup, good sound and photographically a total pleasure. I actually can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a gig as much as this one. A fitting tribute to and send-off for the printed LMG.

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LMG lives on in cyberspace: Facebook | website