Universal March 31st 2007

Manchester's Green Room proved itself to be the ideal venue for Broad-minded's latest regular music showcase, Universal. Split over two levels, with the upper floor providing the main stage, it allowed people to relax and socialise downstairs, or get in the thick of the action upstairs. Unlike previous Universal's, dj's provided the backdrop rather than the focus for the earlier half of the night, resulting in shorter bursts of eclectic sounds (anything from indie, pop, funk to reggae), complementing the make-up of the night, and allowing the crowd to give their full attention to the artists as and when they appeared.

Of the artists, The Goodhurt were perhaps the most immediate on the night - raucously infectious and energetic, their blend of original punk-pop sensibility and a dynamic, electrically-charged performance had most whooping along by the end of the first song. The band have only been together for a relatively short time - kind of hard to believe they hadn't been gigging for the decades, so tight was the overall performance. Mancunian Way are an acoustic duo, quite possibly from Manchester, who provided entertaining slants on classic pop songs. Their performance was wonderful, with"Staying Alive" an understated highlight of a warmly received set, that got better and better with each song. Really, their set felt far too short. Starcrossed Lovers provided guitar-based pop with some cool original songs and nice flourishes, a modern twist on a well established 1980's sound. Solo artists were represented, too, including Hayley Mitchell, who wowed with big-voiced renditions of jazz standards.

As various dj's supplied a fluid backdrop in-between the performances to keep the atmosphere buzzing, and VJ artist Zara Scaife kept the visuals flowing, the night rounded off on a high with a superb performance from Synthia - their blend of self-produced electro and house building on the night's enjoyment and taking it up a notch or three.

Great vibe, great performances, great venue, Universal is continuing to make a name for itself as one of the best showcase nights around. Not only that, but the money raised, £160 went to the official Huntingdon's charity. How many times have you been able to say that about a night you've been to recently?