“Clubbing is the social fabric of our society. Our city has been losing clubs, spaces to dance, meet, learn and escape. We have been starved of the unifying and euphoric experience of clubbing for the last 20 months.”

So reads the recently released manifesto of Centre Point (The Button Factory of Temple Bar). Located in the heart of Dublin, the newly rebranded venue is clearly looking to position itself at the forefront of Dublin's post-Covid nightlife revival. The best way to do this? Well, announcing a slew of upcoming performances by some of the top names in modern electronic music certainly helps!

The likes of DART, Folamour, Mano Le Tough, Prospa, Romare, Avalon Emerson and Dam Swindle made Centre Point's February line-up alongside Partiboi69.

With the uncertainty of the pandemic still looming over the live music industry, you could say that, while admirably ambitious, this is certainly a big gamble on Centre Point's behalf. On Friday night though, that gamble well and truly paid off in the form of a remarkable headline show by Australian DJ and producer Partiboi69, who performed in front of a sold out crowd of hungry Dublin clubbers.

The night opened up with a powerful set from hometown hero Kasé, a supremely talented emerging DJ. She instantly filled the dance floor with a finely picked, techno heavy selection of tunes, and it remained filled for the duration of the night. Partiboi69 then came out to a rapturous reception.

Known for his tongue in cheek, sexually charged numbers such as 'Freq U All Night' and 'K on my D + C,' Partiboi69 certainly knows how to attract new fans with his exuberant and humorous nature. His set on the night proved he's far more than just a gimmick act though, as he delivered a plethora of original songs from genre's all across the electronic spectrum.

Throughout his performance, Partiboi69 and the crowd fed off each other's respective energy, and indeed there was a certain magic in the air that has long since been missing from the hearts and minds of those who live for the night. The show was at once a throwback to beautiful times long since passed, and a hopeful beacon of what's in store in the immediate future.

An atmosphere of communal love hung beautifully over the crowd, as all in attendance let off the collective steam that had accumulated throughout the last two disjointed years (fittingly, this show was two years to the day of the World Health Organisation proclaiming a global pandemic)

As the clock neared 3am, the night hurdled towards its government-mandated end time. The crowd was still absolutely buzzing, the dance floor still full of electricity.

“Do you wanna hear more?” Partiboi asked, before asking the venue staff, “Can we keep going?” There's no question that almost all in attendance would have loved the night to go on for another hour, two, or possibly even more. Alas though, after an all-too-brief encore, the show was over. However, the next time Partiboi69 graces Irish shores, we may just get that extended encore we so desperately craved.

Give Us The Night, the campaign which wants to “raise the quality of nightlife to international standards,” is at long last gathering some real momentum. One of the central tenants of this movement is the extension of licensing hours to last until 6am, much like our European neighbours.

If this does eventually come to pass, you can be sure that Centre Point will be, as its name suggests, at the centre of a new age of clubbing in Dublin.

Listen to Partiboi69's Mutual Pleasure 002 EP below: