Rave Review Raverbaby event one 26/2/05
05 March 2005, 05:34 PM
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Rave Review Raverbaby event one 26/2/05
With a host of HTID events in the pipeline for this year, it would seem, to most anyways, that the promotors of this event are fairly busy to say the least. Not Busy enough it would seem though, becuase Hixxy & Co. appear to have enough time on their hands to promote not one, but two events.
According to the brightest flyer I have ever seen, "Raverbaby" shared similar features to its older sibling, but was fundamentally different. The biggest difference was the location, whilst it had been used as a componant for past Helter Skelter raves, The Empire in Milton Keynes was used for the first time on its own to host this event, using two of its arenas and a section of the outdoor carpark for a free funfair.
However, it werent the location or the venue I was going for, I was at this party for one reason only. The music that had been promised was as good as and dare I say it, better than some of the offers from HTID in the past.
Not only were all the RBC jocks and MCs in attendance, filling their residencies as usual, The mainstays of the scene such as SY, Mark EG, Brisk and Dougal were also fully booked for the party too. If that werent enough, the Nu energy Collective had been drafted in to perform one of their much vaunted (and my personal favourite) 100% Hardcore PA's.
Another aspect which had not gone wanting was the inclusion of a comprehensive Techno lineup, leaning heavily towards the Harder end of the spectrum with Scorpio, Producer Thumpa doing a rare bouncy techno set and best of all another PA, this time in the shape of Deathchant.
Last, but by no means least, the Best up and runnings in the land were the icing on the cake for this party, with Cris-E-Manic, AMS, Gammer, and Jedi all getting a look in. What I lineup, could I afford to miss this?
It would seem I was not the only one to think the same thing. The car rapidly filled up and as such it was a full car that entered MK on saturday. Having been there before I knew how to get there and after waving off a short distance to park, we walked to the venue.
We knew it would be a less grand affair than the last time we were there (unless 10,000 people unexpectedly turned up), yet the sizeable queue we were greeted with on arrival was a good sign of what the night would be like. We were quickly ushered in and reasonably yet thoroughly searched before handing over our tickets. After that, and noting the new tactics which were in place to ensure a hassle free rave, we were in.
Having been to the Empire before, I quickly made a beeline for the toilets to sort out my earplugs. Once they were squared away, I made sure I was where I wanted to be for the first set, Namely upstairs in arena 2 for Cris-E-Manic's set.
Kicking off proceedings in the second arena, Crissy had been promising a Breakbeat anthems set which I wanted to see. However, not only did she drop some of the best known tunes of yesteryear, she also immersed herself in the underground on numerous occasions.
I really liked this set. Dropping tunes like "Looking into the light", "Naughty Naughty Vol. 8", "Hear me" and "Raver's Choice#1" as well as some sublime tunes which I have genuinely never heard before into her hour, it definitely got me into the mood for expending some energy. If for no other reason than because its the sort of Old skool set I usually only get to hear at Illegal raves and that dont happen often.
Next up, One of Nu Energy's rising stars took over from Miss Manic and that meant I was going nowhere for the next hour. Of course, Freeform is the order of the day when this guy takes to the decks, but on this occasion, the set held one or two surprises.
The first was the way he broke up his set. Not wishing to go all out at 180bpm from the word go, AMS started out with a varied selection of Freeform with what could only be described (by the man himself no less) as "Hard Cheese".
Nice and vocally and with a noticable trim down of the BPMs, dont ask me what the tunes were called, the only thing I can tell you was it was a nice touch, varied as hell and very, very danceable.
This was backed up by the amount of ravers AMS pulled in. The crowd wanted Hardcore and they moved upstairs when they werent getting it in the main arena. Soon the place was a heaving mass of party people as AMS and Odyssey moved their way through their hour, getting harder and harder as the set progressed, eventually they were up at familiar BPMs and terratory, as "I have a dream" and "This is Extreme" was played out to an appreciative crowd.
Continuing my entrenchment in the second arena, the next DJ was definitely worth staying for. Marc Smith stepped up and continued on from AMS's work in his own inimitable style. Together with a second helping of MC Odyssey on the mic, I got ready for more of what I cant get enough of, Smithy's tunage.
Typical for Marc, his selection had just the right balance of euphoric (Covered by "I feel alive" and "Agadio") serious tunes (See "Are you ready for the ride") and not so serious tunes (Reference: Badger, badger, badger) but good and daceable his set might have been, the icing on the cake was the final tune. Heard Morphious's speech in matrix Reloaded? well rip the style, Replace Morphious with MC Ribbz and replace the content with a speech on how Hardcore has come through all its troubles yet is still here and you have a tune which produced the mother of all rushes. Its called "Hardcore Machine" and I advise you to listen to it asap.
Next up was meant to be Next Generation bad boy Brisk, but due to illness he was unable to make it. Ribbz made his presence felt and apologised for Brisky's absence, then introduced the replacements whilst various people were grumbling about about how they'd made the trip specifically to see Brisk / demanding their money back / going to set fire to the building in protest etc.
In the event, Smithy stayed on for another hour and was joined by a DJ by the name of "The Doctor". Together they took the arena to the next evolution of the nights music by staying faithful to what Brisk would have played. Gabba at its finest.
The Tunes were instantly plunged into the realm of dark and hard as Marc displayed his versitility and The Doctor set about educating those who were unfamiliar with his style. Playing the more popular side of the dutch sound, the set was intense as well as ID-able, I managed to pick out "State of emergency" as his initial tune and proceeding onward with "This is my style, **** your style", "Like a maniac" and my personal favourite "Payback"
All this mayhem translated as lots of stomping on the dancefloor. The Gabba freaks were in their element and as well as being effortlessly hyped by Ribbz on the mic they were taking no prisoners on the dancefloor. Not aggro, just lots and lots of goodnatured moshing. Top set.
For those that were not content with that, the next set was just the ticket. The first of two live PA's. Another well spent hour upstairs was spent listening to the Deathchant PA. Hellfish took his space behind the decks and whilst he was there took the ravers who were hungry for more (all of us in case you're interested) on a voyage of discovery.
Forget what I could ID, cos I couldnt. The tunes were too obscure, but jesus they were good. Constantly varying between proper industrial noise, whilst getting faster and faster, the main thrust of his set was spent at the mixer. I have to say I'm not a big fan of techno jocks who get too creative in this aspect, but Hellfish managed to keep us entertained, whilst maintaining the melody and more importantly, the dancability of the music.
Having said that, the one time he did deny us a kick drum, it only made it all the more noticable as it came in again. The best bit about this was the reaction of the crowd when it dropped, a huge cheer drowned out the stack and the rest was a blur of movement as the headstrong tore the place apart.
My time upstairs was coming to an end and it was time to change rooms. by a twist of fate, I was spending the first half upstairs and the latter half of the evening in the main arena. Next up was the first act I was seeing downstairs.
The second PA of the night, I am a big fan of Nu energy's 100% Hardcore PA and I werent going to miss it for nowt. It had already started when I arrived so I wasted no time in getting on the dancefloor and going for it once I was there.
Kev Energy and Odyssey were up on stage doing the business, with Hardcore's answer to Ant and Dec, Aka K-Komplex and AMS right next to them. The multitude of equipement which the boys from Nu Energy bring with them was being put to good use by the music makers and the ravers were returning the compliment by going for it on the dancefloor.
Having missed the official kick off set, this was my own personal one. Having spent the entire night up in the second arena, the novelty of being within a large arena full of ravers got me very excited indeed, that and the PA's tune selection, including "Freedom", "Pig" and once again, a small snippet of "Badger Badger Badger"
Having got my night underway and finally moved out of the second room, I probably should have stayed and continued with what Styles had to offer. Under normal circumstances I would have as well, but you dont hear Old Skool Bouncy Techno at a rave too often so I made my way back to the second arena.
When I got there, Thumpa was on the decks and Scottie B was on the mic. I knew from the blurb on the flyer that he was playing a real musical rarity. Me and the ravers lucky enough to be there were in our element, the tunes were a real blast from the past with their signature of crazy riffs and sky high BPMs telling us all we needed to know.
I totally lost it during this set. Throughout Thumpa's hour I was right next to the speakers going for it like my life depended on it. Clearly a man of education, Ribbzy did what he had to do and took over from Scottie B to add his distinct understated flair to the set. Meanwhile, Thumps was keeping himself busy on the decks as he varied the style as his set progressed, mainly he kept it in the vein which was described, although I knew he couldnt resist as the occasional leanings towards Gabba showed.
The tunes were exactly what I came to hear and although I couldnt name them at the time a brief word with the man himself after the set secured his personal highlights, namely "Bleeding ears", "Mental Passion", "9MM" and Radders personal favourite "used and abused" I ask you, what better way to end an evening in an arena?
That was it for me for the second room. I knew it couldnt get any better so from that moment on I was spending the rest of the evening in the main arena and loving every minute of it. The DJ and MC on next were on of the main reasons.
Sy was meant to be going b2b with Seduction, but as with Brisk, he could not make it due to illness. Sy had no replacement to work with, so he fell back on doing what he does best, going solo, with Storm on the mic.
As with pretty much all of the sets I hear from these two, I was well away in no time at all. The practiced delivery and the obscene amounts of energy these two put into their work always translates into packed dancefloors and lots of raving from them. Of course, I spent the entire hour in the thick of it.
Sy's trademark bouncyness was evident by his tune selection, no chin stroking or clever tricks here, the DJ and the MC were here to entertain, with Sy dropping "Put your hands up in the air", "fly away" and the remixes of "Pacific Sun", "Free your mind" and "Edge 1" during his set and Storm going for it throughout, especially when he cained "Raw like sushi" during the latter tune.
With the evening drawing to a close, most raves would be well into a tried and tested lineup which some might call predictable. This was the main reason why I wanted to see the next set. Next Generation's very own DJ Ham was up next, together with MC Rude on the mic.
You never know what you're going to get with this guy. Its a choice between breakbeats and kick driven sets and sometimes I just dont know which he is going to go for before he gets started. However, on this ocassion I could make an educated guess that 6 hours of a never ending kickdrum would not be interupted.
Not that I was complaining, mind you, although my personal preference is obivious, Ham proved he was more than capable in this department as well as my particular preffered one by going for it upfront, dancable and nothing less than awesome.
Starting off with the new remix of "Here I am" Ham was answering the challange of keeping the ravers which had just beed Sy and Storm'ed on the dancefloor. From where I was standing, he suceeded. Him and Rude clearly put their heart and soul into this set and it showed, with lots of top tunes forthcoming, as well as understated yet effective mic work to keep the party people dancing.
Speaking of which, "Just be Happy", "Crazy Love" and the remixes of "Poison" and "Higher love" gives you an idea of what the ravers were going for it to, nice and upfront, yet varied enough to raise eyebrows and keep picky chinstrokers like me happy. Nice set, change from the norm too.
Finally the last hour was upon us. The rave had one mre DJ left to play out before we were sent on our way and handily enough, the promoter was more than ready to deliver the coup de grace.
Hixxy, together with Storm and Whizzkid with their MCSquared hats on were all on peak form for this one, with the first order of business of dedicating the first tune, "Heaven's above" to the one like the MC Wottsee, Currently laid up from a car accident. After resealing the roof to the building after it was torn off when the micmen asked the crowd to make some noice for the men from Newport, it was business as usual.
A relic of their HTID events, Hixxy led the "Morning Glory" set with a tightly mixed selection. He was obivously determined to cram in as many tunes as possible into his hour and because of this he took the ravers on the dancefloor on a rollercoaster ride of forgotten gems.
Everything from "You're Shining" and "Elysium" to "Raveheart" and "On a Ragga Tip" with the rest of the tunes such as "Take you to the top", "Pretty green eyes" and "Discoland" all taking the party crew (and most definitely me) to new highs to finish off the evening.
Storm and Whizzkid were also feeling the love as well. With a mic each to ensure a peak performance they delevered where it counted in the form of Whizzkid dropping "My sexy baby" during "You're Shining", Storm going for it with "Just accept it" during "Catch you if I can" and the pair of them having it crystal clear with "Base, fire" during Eyeopener. Even the lack of a last tune due to time constraints failed to take the edge off that one.
Things I liked:
Music - A REAL musical treat, this one. I got a listen of virtually every defintion of the Hardcore sound by the close of the evening. Okay I did have to change rooms quite a bit, but I didnt have to split any sets in half to see who I wanted to see....
Zero Tolerance - I really liked this. A clear warning to troublemakers on entry and no further notice was an innovative, proactive and effective solution to the problem of people coming with other intentions than partying. Seemed to work as well as I didnt see any trouble all night. The only downside to this approach is that the promoters are going on the assumption that the people who think its a laugh to cause bother at a rave can actually read.
Free stuff - Picture this, I'm raving in the main arena and a bloke comes on stage with a bucket. Starts lobbing out handfulls of glosticks. I catch one in my left hand with the first lob, another in my right hand with the second lob. Not only am I fully glosticked up for free, but they are the same colour as my dayglo vest! Everything was good from then on in, let me tell you
Dodgems - another free attraction, although I never seem to find time to go on them. I'll defnitely give it a go next time.
Text screen - A 21st century solution to the shout out situation. I like the way its not massively overcharged as well (quite the opposite in fact, all it costs is a price of a text).
Decor - Lots of branding as well as some seriously weird backdrops suspended round the arena. Multicoloured lasers in each arena were nice too.
Things I liked less:
Sound - It was a bit hit an miss in both arenas, throughout the night as well.
Security - They were actually okay and not intrusive at all, However I didnt like them wearing those old Sanctuary Security MA2's Reminded me of darker times.
Cinema - I couldnt find it! Did anyone else have similar problems?
Even though the promoters are old hands at this game, Raverbaby was still a new event. Its strange in that sense because if the flyer had said HTID, the place would have been pushing them out the door, instead of the nicely full it was.
Having said that, the crowd were all 100% hardcore stompers and that alone more than filled the place to bursting point. No bother that I saw, just up for it Hardcore Party people going for it all night, right up until the final tune. I cant blame them either, the music played at this night was simply sensational.
Hardcore, Freeform, Old Skool, Techno, Gabba, Bouncy techno, Hard Style, the sub genre hops were relentless throughout the night with musical surprises in virtually every set. I went away more than satsfied on this front, proving its the promoters and not the promotion which is responsible.
I could mention, in order, the loads of little things which brightened up an already top night out (Free Facepainting, giveaways, new talent mixing it up with big names, no-one collapsing, Etc, etc, etc) But I'd be here 6 hours later and you'd be bored to tears.
The upshot of it all was me walking out at the end of Raverbaby with a big smile on my face and very sore legs. The latter dont happen too often these days and is the best testiment to how good the night was. The music precluded the chance of me sitting down for one minute and that is all you need to know about the level of preperation which had gone into this event.
Fancy a night out with the best musical variety on the circuit at the moment and an atmosphere to match? Me too. I'll see you in the queue for the next one.
astraboy.
Apologies for the lateness, my only defence was having to delete half the review and write it again cos it was complete bollocks. Writing with a hangover, I dont recommend it.
Anyways!
Shouts to:
Moron, Mrs. Moron, Saiira, Matt, Slammin' Sam, LordPeter, EmstiesShauney C, Abeyance, , Gillian, Spike, Dan Desire, Uplift, IIHTIDII, Bag, Gurning Girlie, Sawyer, Radders, Cakes, Sallie, Mini Sallie, Sarah, Tansy, Xtra-C, Niki, Overlode, Mossleman, Immz, MC, Trev, Jay Hughes, Peter, Emily, Mikey and the rest of the SAFE Birkenhead crew, Lee UHF, Lisa, Lauren, Emma, GingerJim, Mad Vic, STS Dave, Spenno, Welsh Pikey, Mini Smithers, Big Smithers (But which is which?), Hixxy (thank you!), Styles, Sy, Thumpa, Cris-E-Manic, Marc Smith, Kev Energy, Ant & Dec (AMS & K Komplex), Gammer, Ham, Storm, Rude, Whizzkid, Odyssey and anyone else I forgot.
According to the brightest flyer I have ever seen, "Raverbaby" shared similar features to its older sibling, but was fundamentally different. The biggest difference was the location, whilst it had been used as a componant for past Helter Skelter raves, The Empire in Milton Keynes was used for the first time on its own to host this event, using two of its arenas and a section of the outdoor carpark for a free funfair.
However, it werent the location or the venue I was going for, I was at this party for one reason only. The music that had been promised was as good as and dare I say it, better than some of the offers from HTID in the past.
Not only were all the RBC jocks and MCs in attendance, filling their residencies as usual, The mainstays of the scene such as SY, Mark EG, Brisk and Dougal were also fully booked for the party too. If that werent enough, the Nu energy Collective had been drafted in to perform one of their much vaunted (and my personal favourite) 100% Hardcore PA's.
Another aspect which had not gone wanting was the inclusion of a comprehensive Techno lineup, leaning heavily towards the Harder end of the spectrum with Scorpio, Producer Thumpa doing a rare bouncy techno set and best of all another PA, this time in the shape of Deathchant.
Last, but by no means least, the Best up and runnings in the land were the icing on the cake for this party, with Cris-E-Manic, AMS, Gammer, and Jedi all getting a look in. What I lineup, could I afford to miss this?
It would seem I was not the only one to think the same thing. The car rapidly filled up and as such it was a full car that entered MK on saturday. Having been there before I knew how to get there and after waving off a short distance to park, we walked to the venue.
We knew it would be a less grand affair than the last time we were there (unless 10,000 people unexpectedly turned up), yet the sizeable queue we were greeted with on arrival was a good sign of what the night would be like. We were quickly ushered in and reasonably yet thoroughly searched before handing over our tickets. After that, and noting the new tactics which were in place to ensure a hassle free rave, we were in.
Having been to the Empire before, I quickly made a beeline for the toilets to sort out my earplugs. Once they were squared away, I made sure I was where I wanted to be for the first set, Namely upstairs in arena 2 for Cris-E-Manic's set.
Kicking off proceedings in the second arena, Crissy had been promising a Breakbeat anthems set which I wanted to see. However, not only did she drop some of the best known tunes of yesteryear, she also immersed herself in the underground on numerous occasions.
I really liked this set. Dropping tunes like "Looking into the light", "Naughty Naughty Vol. 8", "Hear me" and "Raver's Choice#1" as well as some sublime tunes which I have genuinely never heard before into her hour, it definitely got me into the mood for expending some energy. If for no other reason than because its the sort of Old skool set I usually only get to hear at Illegal raves and that dont happen often.
Next up, One of Nu Energy's rising stars took over from Miss Manic and that meant I was going nowhere for the next hour. Of course, Freeform is the order of the day when this guy takes to the decks, but on this occasion, the set held one or two surprises.
The first was the way he broke up his set. Not wishing to go all out at 180bpm from the word go, AMS started out with a varied selection of Freeform with what could only be described (by the man himself no less) as "Hard Cheese".
Nice and vocally and with a noticable trim down of the BPMs, dont ask me what the tunes were called, the only thing I can tell you was it was a nice touch, varied as hell and very, very danceable.
This was backed up by the amount of ravers AMS pulled in. The crowd wanted Hardcore and they moved upstairs when they werent getting it in the main arena. Soon the place was a heaving mass of party people as AMS and Odyssey moved their way through their hour, getting harder and harder as the set progressed, eventually they were up at familiar BPMs and terratory, as "I have a dream" and "This is Extreme" was played out to an appreciative crowd.
Continuing my entrenchment in the second arena, the next DJ was definitely worth staying for. Marc Smith stepped up and continued on from AMS's work in his own inimitable style. Together with a second helping of MC Odyssey on the mic, I got ready for more of what I cant get enough of, Smithy's tunage.
Typical for Marc, his selection had just the right balance of euphoric (Covered by "I feel alive" and "Agadio") serious tunes (See "Are you ready for the ride") and not so serious tunes (Reference: Badger, badger, badger) but good and daceable his set might have been, the icing on the cake was the final tune. Heard Morphious's speech in matrix Reloaded? well rip the style, Replace Morphious with MC Ribbz and replace the content with a speech on how Hardcore has come through all its troubles yet is still here and you have a tune which produced the mother of all rushes. Its called "Hardcore Machine" and I advise you to listen to it asap.
Next up was meant to be Next Generation bad boy Brisk, but due to illness he was unable to make it. Ribbz made his presence felt and apologised for Brisky's absence, then introduced the replacements whilst various people were grumbling about about how they'd made the trip specifically to see Brisk / demanding their money back / going to set fire to the building in protest etc.
In the event, Smithy stayed on for another hour and was joined by a DJ by the name of "The Doctor". Together they took the arena to the next evolution of the nights music by staying faithful to what Brisk would have played. Gabba at its finest.
The Tunes were instantly plunged into the realm of dark and hard as Marc displayed his versitility and The Doctor set about educating those who were unfamiliar with his style. Playing the more popular side of the dutch sound, the set was intense as well as ID-able, I managed to pick out "State of emergency" as his initial tune and proceeding onward with "This is my style, **** your style", "Like a maniac" and my personal favourite "Payback"
All this mayhem translated as lots of stomping on the dancefloor. The Gabba freaks were in their element and as well as being effortlessly hyped by Ribbz on the mic they were taking no prisoners on the dancefloor. Not aggro, just lots and lots of goodnatured moshing. Top set.
For those that were not content with that, the next set was just the ticket. The first of two live PA's. Another well spent hour upstairs was spent listening to the Deathchant PA. Hellfish took his space behind the decks and whilst he was there took the ravers who were hungry for more (all of us in case you're interested) on a voyage of discovery.
Forget what I could ID, cos I couldnt. The tunes were too obscure, but jesus they were good. Constantly varying between proper industrial noise, whilst getting faster and faster, the main thrust of his set was spent at the mixer. I have to say I'm not a big fan of techno jocks who get too creative in this aspect, but Hellfish managed to keep us entertained, whilst maintaining the melody and more importantly, the dancability of the music.
Having said that, the one time he did deny us a kick drum, it only made it all the more noticable as it came in again. The best bit about this was the reaction of the crowd when it dropped, a huge cheer drowned out the stack and the rest was a blur of movement as the headstrong tore the place apart.
My time upstairs was coming to an end and it was time to change rooms. by a twist of fate, I was spending the first half upstairs and the latter half of the evening in the main arena. Next up was the first act I was seeing downstairs.
The second PA of the night, I am a big fan of Nu energy's 100% Hardcore PA and I werent going to miss it for nowt. It had already started when I arrived so I wasted no time in getting on the dancefloor and going for it once I was there.
Kev Energy and Odyssey were up on stage doing the business, with Hardcore's answer to Ant and Dec, Aka K-Komplex and AMS right next to them. The multitude of equipement which the boys from Nu Energy bring with them was being put to good use by the music makers and the ravers were returning the compliment by going for it on the dancefloor.
Having missed the official kick off set, this was my own personal one. Having spent the entire night up in the second arena, the novelty of being within a large arena full of ravers got me very excited indeed, that and the PA's tune selection, including "Freedom", "Pig" and once again, a small snippet of "Badger Badger Badger"
Having got my night underway and finally moved out of the second room, I probably should have stayed and continued with what Styles had to offer. Under normal circumstances I would have as well, but you dont hear Old Skool Bouncy Techno at a rave too often so I made my way back to the second arena.
When I got there, Thumpa was on the decks and Scottie B was on the mic. I knew from the blurb on the flyer that he was playing a real musical rarity. Me and the ravers lucky enough to be there were in our element, the tunes were a real blast from the past with their signature of crazy riffs and sky high BPMs telling us all we needed to know.
I totally lost it during this set. Throughout Thumpa's hour I was right next to the speakers going for it like my life depended on it. Clearly a man of education, Ribbzy did what he had to do and took over from Scottie B to add his distinct understated flair to the set. Meanwhile, Thumps was keeping himself busy on the decks as he varied the style as his set progressed, mainly he kept it in the vein which was described, although I knew he couldnt resist as the occasional leanings towards Gabba showed.
The tunes were exactly what I came to hear and although I couldnt name them at the time a brief word with the man himself after the set secured his personal highlights, namely "Bleeding ears", "Mental Passion", "9MM" and Radders personal favourite "used and abused" I ask you, what better way to end an evening in an arena?
That was it for me for the second room. I knew it couldnt get any better so from that moment on I was spending the rest of the evening in the main arena and loving every minute of it. The DJ and MC on next were on of the main reasons.
Sy was meant to be going b2b with Seduction, but as with Brisk, he could not make it due to illness. Sy had no replacement to work with, so he fell back on doing what he does best, going solo, with Storm on the mic.
As with pretty much all of the sets I hear from these two, I was well away in no time at all. The practiced delivery and the obscene amounts of energy these two put into their work always translates into packed dancefloors and lots of raving from them. Of course, I spent the entire hour in the thick of it.
Sy's trademark bouncyness was evident by his tune selection, no chin stroking or clever tricks here, the DJ and the MC were here to entertain, with Sy dropping "Put your hands up in the air", "fly away" and the remixes of "Pacific Sun", "Free your mind" and "Edge 1" during his set and Storm going for it throughout, especially when he cained "Raw like sushi" during the latter tune.
With the evening drawing to a close, most raves would be well into a tried and tested lineup which some might call predictable. This was the main reason why I wanted to see the next set. Next Generation's very own DJ Ham was up next, together with MC Rude on the mic.
You never know what you're going to get with this guy. Its a choice between breakbeats and kick driven sets and sometimes I just dont know which he is going to go for before he gets started. However, on this ocassion I could make an educated guess that 6 hours of a never ending kickdrum would not be interupted.
Not that I was complaining, mind you, although my personal preference is obivious, Ham proved he was more than capable in this department as well as my particular preffered one by going for it upfront, dancable and nothing less than awesome.
Starting off with the new remix of "Here I am" Ham was answering the challange of keeping the ravers which had just beed Sy and Storm'ed on the dancefloor. From where I was standing, he suceeded. Him and Rude clearly put their heart and soul into this set and it showed, with lots of top tunes forthcoming, as well as understated yet effective mic work to keep the party people dancing.
Speaking of which, "Just be Happy", "Crazy Love" and the remixes of "Poison" and "Higher love" gives you an idea of what the ravers were going for it to, nice and upfront, yet varied enough to raise eyebrows and keep picky chinstrokers like me happy. Nice set, change from the norm too.
Finally the last hour was upon us. The rave had one mre DJ left to play out before we were sent on our way and handily enough, the promoter was more than ready to deliver the coup de grace.
Hixxy, together with Storm and Whizzkid with their MCSquared hats on were all on peak form for this one, with the first order of business of dedicating the first tune, "Heaven's above" to the one like the MC Wottsee, Currently laid up from a car accident. After resealing the roof to the building after it was torn off when the micmen asked the crowd to make some noice for the men from Newport, it was business as usual.
A relic of their HTID events, Hixxy led the "Morning Glory" set with a tightly mixed selection. He was obivously determined to cram in as many tunes as possible into his hour and because of this he took the ravers on the dancefloor on a rollercoaster ride of forgotten gems.
Everything from "You're Shining" and "Elysium" to "Raveheart" and "On a Ragga Tip" with the rest of the tunes such as "Take you to the top", "Pretty green eyes" and "Discoland" all taking the party crew (and most definitely me) to new highs to finish off the evening.
Storm and Whizzkid were also feeling the love as well. With a mic each to ensure a peak performance they delevered where it counted in the form of Whizzkid dropping "My sexy baby" during "You're Shining", Storm going for it with "Just accept it" during "Catch you if I can" and the pair of them having it crystal clear with "Base, fire" during Eyeopener. Even the lack of a last tune due to time constraints failed to take the edge off that one.
Things I liked:
Music - A REAL musical treat, this one. I got a listen of virtually every defintion of the Hardcore sound by the close of the evening. Okay I did have to change rooms quite a bit, but I didnt have to split any sets in half to see who I wanted to see....
Zero Tolerance - I really liked this. A clear warning to troublemakers on entry and no further notice was an innovative, proactive and effective solution to the problem of people coming with other intentions than partying. Seemed to work as well as I didnt see any trouble all night. The only downside to this approach is that the promoters are going on the assumption that the people who think its a laugh to cause bother at a rave can actually read.
Free stuff - Picture this, I'm raving in the main arena and a bloke comes on stage with a bucket. Starts lobbing out handfulls of glosticks. I catch one in my left hand with the first lob, another in my right hand with the second lob. Not only am I fully glosticked up for free, but they are the same colour as my dayglo vest! Everything was good from then on in, let me tell you
Dodgems - another free attraction, although I never seem to find time to go on them. I'll defnitely give it a go next time.
Text screen - A 21st century solution to the shout out situation. I like the way its not massively overcharged as well (quite the opposite in fact, all it costs is a price of a text).
Decor - Lots of branding as well as some seriously weird backdrops suspended round the arena. Multicoloured lasers in each arena were nice too.
Things I liked less:
Sound - It was a bit hit an miss in both arenas, throughout the night as well.
Security - They were actually okay and not intrusive at all, However I didnt like them wearing those old Sanctuary Security MA2's Reminded me of darker times.
Cinema - I couldnt find it! Did anyone else have similar problems?
Even though the promoters are old hands at this game, Raverbaby was still a new event. Its strange in that sense because if the flyer had said HTID, the place would have been pushing them out the door, instead of the nicely full it was.
Having said that, the crowd were all 100% hardcore stompers and that alone more than filled the place to bursting point. No bother that I saw, just up for it Hardcore Party people going for it all night, right up until the final tune. I cant blame them either, the music played at this night was simply sensational.
Hardcore, Freeform, Old Skool, Techno, Gabba, Bouncy techno, Hard Style, the sub genre hops were relentless throughout the night with musical surprises in virtually every set. I went away more than satsfied on this front, proving its the promoters and not the promotion which is responsible.
I could mention, in order, the loads of little things which brightened up an already top night out (Free Facepainting, giveaways, new talent mixing it up with big names, no-one collapsing, Etc, etc, etc) But I'd be here 6 hours later and you'd be bored to tears.
The upshot of it all was me walking out at the end of Raverbaby with a big smile on my face and very sore legs. The latter dont happen too often these days and is the best testiment to how good the night was. The music precluded the chance of me sitting down for one minute and that is all you need to know about the level of preperation which had gone into this event.
Fancy a night out with the best musical variety on the circuit at the moment and an atmosphere to match? Me too. I'll see you in the queue for the next one.
astraboy.
Apologies for the lateness, my only defence was having to delete half the review and write it again cos it was complete bollocks. Writing with a hangover, I dont recommend it.
Anyways!
Shouts to:
Moron, Mrs. Moron, Saiira, Matt, Slammin' Sam, LordPeter, EmstiesShauney C, Abeyance, , Gillian, Spike, Dan Desire, Uplift, IIHTIDII, Bag, Gurning Girlie, Sawyer, Radders, Cakes, Sallie, Mini Sallie, Sarah, Tansy, Xtra-C, Niki, Overlode, Mossleman, Immz, MC, Trev, Jay Hughes, Peter, Emily, Mikey and the rest of the SAFE Birkenhead crew, Lee UHF, Lisa, Lauren, Emma, GingerJim, Mad Vic, STS Dave, Spenno, Welsh Pikey, Mini Smithers, Big Smithers (But which is which?), Hixxy (thank you!), Styles, Sy, Thumpa, Cris-E-Manic, Marc Smith, Kev Energy, Ant & Dec (AMS & K Komplex), Gammer, Ham, Storm, Rude, Whizzkid, Odyssey and anyone else I forgot.
06 March 2005, 07:23 PM
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mutual thing. I explained to her that I was starting to resent the way she was treating me so we decided to end the relationship so it didnt ruin our friendship. Remarkably mature decision for me as it goes, must be getting old.
I am now single again though so i am now giving up raver girlfriends for lent. Might last more than 4 months that way.
astraboy.
I am now single again though so i am now giving up raver girlfriends for lent. Might last more than 4 months that way.
astraboy.
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