HOT PRESS REPORTS ON METROPOLIS' FRIDAY FESTIVITIES

In the tail-end of autumn – clocks firmly set to Daylight Savings Time – there’s really nothing more heartening than seeing thousands of people flock to a festival in their winter woollies.

Kickstarting things in the Main Hall are White Collar Boy, who set the tone for the night with some electronic beats as the crowd slowly arrives in. Next, to the Shelbourne Hall to see Girl Band, whose Red Bull-fuelled 50 minutes on stage changes non-believers to converts. Lead singer Dara Kiely whips himself up into a fiery frenzy (the kind that only Girl Band’s music can allow for), then runs backstage to be sick behind the scenes,  before arriving back re-energised to finish the set. You’d have to see it to believe it.

Moving from the Shelbourne, there’s a chance to drift around the different stages, taking in all that the festival has to offer. The largest disco ball in the world is placed right at the centre, so needless to say, it’s tough to miss. But as you venture through the winding corridors of the RDS, you stumble upon Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds, a digital petition supporting Repeal the 8th, and the ‘Conversations’ section of the festival, where you’ll find the likes of Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor chatting with Prince’s biographer Matt Thorne, all in the cosy confines of the RDS Library.

But the real party is at Metropolis’ smallest stage in the Serpentine Hall, where newcomer Mall Grab is serving up some delicious feel-good techno. Evidently no one told him that it’s only 7 o’clock and that opening acts aren’t supposed to sound this good.

Back in the Shelbourne area, where Cyril Hahn takes to the stage and demonstrates his production mastery. For those  used to his chilled house remixes of songs by the likes of Sia and Destiny’s Child, there’s little to disappoint, but the Swiss producer also throws in as much of his new stuff as he can, to winning effect.

Finally, we head to the Main Hall to see Jack Garratt. The sheer size of this arena leaves you in doubt as to whether any of the main acts can draw a sufficiently big crowd to fill it, but as soon as accomplished multi-instrumentalist Garratt kicks things gear, punters arrive in droves.

Once Garratt finishes, the crowd at the Main Hall hangs around and waits with anticipation for Moderat to conclude the evening. The German three-piece demonstrate why they were voted Resident Advisor’s No. 1 Live Act in the World, as they deliver a blazing set of minimal techno and house to a sweaty, wide-eyed crowd.

Against the backdrop of one of the best light and visual shows I’ve ever seen, the trio are ghostly silhouettes providing awesome grooves that launch us into the cosmos. When the set finishes, everyone’s wired and scrambling to find out the location of the afterparty.

It’s a suitably climactic finish to a terrific first day.