Nightshift review of Creepshow 2

Creepshow 2 marks the long-awaited return of Peepshow to Oxford‘s clubbing calendar. Now firmly established as the city’s most ambitious and innovative club night, organisers Paddy, Alan, Rob and Ron are passionate about showcasing cutting-edge music and visuals, with tonight’s headliners the perfect case in point. Of course, in the wrong hands such dalliances into the clubbing counter-culture (we arrive, at midnight on a Friday to a live re-scoring of Stephen King’s The Shining) could result in a short-lived exercise in low turnouts and stroked goatees. Peepshow has been packing in punters (having outgrown the backroom of The Bullingdon) for two years. It does this because the promoters know how to throw an incredible party.

So having reminded ourselves that we’re in The Zodiac (virtually unrecognisable with live projections being beamed onto umpteen screens and glowing pumpkins galore) and berated ourselves for being almost the only people not in fancy dress, we’re presented with Digitonal’s pacey laptop accompaniments to the scary bit, the “Here’s Johnny” bit and the “oh feck he’s running through the maze and he’s going to kill them with a feckin’ axe” scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s chiller. Genuinely gripping, and all from the hands of a bloke dressed like one of those nutters out of A Clockwork Orange. Class.

Between that and some frankly devilish tunes from Alan M there’s an overwhelming sense of anticipation as Robin and Stuart Hexstatic enter to the theme from Creepshow 2. It’s a testament to Peepshow’s glowing national reputation that the Ninja Tune pair have prepared an exclusive Halloween-themed set for this evening, mashing and melding the brash (Smack My Bitch Up makes an early appearance) with the frankly gash (Sir Cliff gets cut up till he’s chanting “Hexstatic” and his face disintegrates before our very eyes), before Rick James gets jiggy with fellow freaks Missy and Chic over a bonkers audiovisual bootleg-athon. Enormously hi-tech, it’s also silly enough to keep us grinning from ear to ear, and achingly brilliant tunes like their two-step reinterpretation of ‘These Boots Were Made For Walking’ ensure that no-ones boots are going anywhere before 4am.