Manchester is home to quite a few dubstep/d’n’b/ukg nights and it may be fair to say that DrumClinic is not be the first that springs to mind when asked, but this is a night which has spent the last year building up quite a loyal following. Tonight they're celebrating their 1^st birthday by filling Jabez Clegg with ravers and bass!

The first thing I spot on entry is a sign informing that one of tonight’s headliners (Actress) cannot even make the gig! My disappointment is short-lived however, when I read the TWO replacements put in place, Illum-Sphere + garage legend El-B: Nice!

Illum-Sphere is Hoya:Hoya resident & no stranger to a mixer. Stepping up to the decks he plays a set eschewing all genres or any pigeonhole. You'll be hard-pressed to find another DJ that can fit dubstep, Garage, Roots Manuva and the Pixies into a set so well! The crowds’ response to whatever is thrown their way is surely a great positive for DrumClinic, after all we just want to dance!

Next up it’s the special last minute replacement, Mr El-B, a man who has repped the garage scene, then the emergence of dubstep, for the past 10 years. Tonight’s affair is a perfectly executed garage set, with flavours old and new sprinkled throughout, which keeps a few hundred skankers on their toes for an hour. It’s a great performance from a man worthy of headlining himself and most punters have by now forgotten about the last minute bill change.

Just before its time for the headline act, there's word buzzing on the grapevine. Headliner Zomby has forgotten the mask which he DJ's in, and consequently I can't take any photos which identify him! Great! Luckily the mask's absence doesn't seem to affect his DJ-ing ability at all.

Zomby takes to the stage wrapped in a hood and scarf, and seems to start taking his frustrations out on the venues’ subs, pumping bass to heart-stopping levels! It is definitely a set for the people that know, combining some fresh dubstep with older Jungle influences, (the peak for me being 'Tears in the Rain'), with relentless wobbly sub shaking the very foundations of Jabez.

It’s a testament to the following DrumClinic has built up in its first year that 3 quite different sets/styles are all met with equal enthusiasm from the crowd. This is definitely a night to keep an eye on if you want to avoid the 'too cool for school' dubstep crowds and join a party where, quite simply, good tunes are good tunes and bad attitudes are left out in the rain (Gary Brown).

DrumClinic this Saturday (26th March @ Jabez Clegg) sees Kode 9 launch his new LP alongside Detroit DJ Stingray!!