Once again Ibiza Rocks delivers contrast. Hot on the heels of the Mike Skinner (The Streets) approach to crowd management, and much to the relief of the local Health & Safety executive, the band charged with bettering that experience were Soulwax - masters of the remix rather than the microphone.

At times the show went so retro that older hacks in the audience could recall the days when dance culture made the decision to worship the DJ hunched over the decks rather than the front man and his axe wielding accomplices. How times change?

Soulwax, in all their guises, are fundamentally two Belgian DJs trying various different formulas wrapped around an apparently weak set of material. For no obvious reason they demoted themselves to second in the line up for the night, making 2 Many DJs (also themselves) the headline act for the night.

So first up were a four piece band with a drummer and electric guitarist doing electronic classics. Interesting we all thought as we admired their flashing light show whilst it slowly dawned on us that there weren’t going to be any vocals, just the odd sample thrown in here and there.

Then there was the problem of the white tuxedos and dickie bows, no doubt in deference to the white island but not really practical for the stage on a hot August night.

Nonetheless, there we were listening to a combination of M25 rave breakdowns with drum solos and guitar interchanges at the end of each song to the point where the crowd didn’t know when to start clapping. Or maybe there was some other reason?

Unfortunately the E’s aren’t as strong as they used to be and this audience aren’t bothered anyway, so the repetitive beats and the flashing lights were never going to work the way they did twenty years ago. On the other hand, I have to confess to not having been to Belgium for a long time.

The equipment was cleared from the stage and it looked as if that was that, but eventually 2 Many DJs appeared and it soon became apparent that the name was appropriate. Their set consisted of teasers from other people’s anthemic intros whilst two blokes reached across each other to twiddle distant knobs on the mixer as if the audience wasn’t there. The lights flashed and the audience did their bit, but this wasn’t ‘live’ music?

After 20 excruciating minutes two cuties appeared front of stage, where the band’s equipment had earlier filled the void, and the back lighting took our attention away from the two guys arguing behind the decks.

A few more Eurythmics intros swiftly followed by twiddle and squeak and the show was over. Next week should be better…

A bit of a contrast from last weeks The Streets gig. Soulwax did the usual 10pm headline gig and then their alter-ego 2ManyDJS played the stage from about 11ish - we’d love to say it was great…

Anyway, some photos and review to follow:

Click on images for larger versions.

The first of the Ibiza Rocks confirmed lineups and dates for 2008 are now in and its looking good for live music here in the summer. From the 17th June to 9th September, The Pigeon Detectives, The Wombats, The Fratellis, We Are Scientists, Reverend & The Makers, Soulwax and Pendulum will all be playing at Ibiza Rocks over the summer.

Tickets for the gigs will be 35 to 40euros (+ booking fee) and will be available from 11am (UK time) today. Click here to get your ibiza rocks tickets. All Ibiza Rocks gig tickets will include return transport from Bar M, San Antonio, which is the meeting point for Ibiza Rocks. Ibiza Rocks after party ticket options will also be available.

As already announced, The Enemy will be playing the official opening of the Ibiza Rocks Hotel on May 31st - ably supported by The Underground Heroes and Rob da Bank Pictures from last years gig

Next up, as we announced last week, are The Pigeon Detectives who play the opening gig of Ibiza Rocks on 17th June

1st July - The Wombats headline

8th July - After a storming Ibiza Rocks gig last year The Fratellis are back again. Last Years Review and pictures

22nd July - Those wacko, fun guys known as We Are Scientists are again back playing Ibiza Rocks this year. Last Years review and pictures

12th August - Reverend and The Makers return but headline this year. 13th August - Jon ‘The Rev’ McClure and his Rev Soundsystem will be joined with Sheffield pals DJ’s Matt Helders from the Arctic Monkeys and ex-Arctic Monkey Andy Nicholson at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel

26th August - Soulwax Nite Versions and their alter-egos 2ManyDJ’s Last Years review and pictures

9th September - One we’re personally really looking forward to is Pendulum playing the Ibiza Rocks Closing Party

At the Ibiza Rocks Hotel, our favourite guys The Hungover Stuntmen will open the Hotels’ Live Lounge on the 28th May, in June its the turn of Underground Heroes, after them in July its Reading based band OK Tokyo.

A brilliant idea this year will see people being able to use their mobile phone as their ticket to gain entry, thanks to Sony Ericsson. By logging on to www.ibizarocks.com, and selecting ‘mobile-ticket’ upon purchase of a ticket to a gig of their choice, fans can now opt for paper-free entry. Sony Ericsson will send customers a unique bar-code directly to their mobile that will be scanned by Ibiza Rocks hosts - bypassing the hassle of locating mislaid tickets…

Travel packages for all the gigs are available at www.ibizarockshotel.com

That’s the news for now - but there’s more to come…

Click on the images as usual for larger versions….

Above: 2 Many DJs, below: Soulwax

Tonight was the last night of ibiza rocks and also our birthday. Perfect timing for a bit of a celebration… Weve enjoyed every single week and its been brilliant - Thanks to Andy, Dawn, Jill, Sabrina and everyone at Ibiza Rocks.