astraboy

Its always nice to do something different of a weekend, especially if it means going to a part of the country you dont usually associate with raves and going to a party you've never been to before.

Vibealive covers all of the above with an initmate night held at The Pressure Point in Brighton on the South coast. Their sucession of events (every third friday according to the flyer) have brought favourable feedback from the ravers and the dedication of the promoters to keep the event going definitely warranted further investigation.

On this occassion, there was more than a new event to see. Even though the lineup boasted a solid lineup for a 2am finish including Toxic, Vapour and Elmo, the addition of Old Skool legend DJ Druid to the lineup was more than enough to confirm my attendance, especially as a 95-96 bouncy techno set had been promised. As well as that, the plethora of upcoming MC's listed added a further dimension to the party.

Even though Brighton is a trip away, the journey past Gatwick was easy enough, with me rumbling into brighton just after 10. The venue was easy enough to find with The Pressure Point being located on the main thoroughfare to Brighton seafront. I even found somewhere to park nearby and made my way to the venue with all speed.

Upon arriving I was redirected to the upstairs club entrance by the friendly door staff and was directed upstairs to where the music was emenating. After being greeted by Elmo and Vapour who were on the door and dealing with the cloakroom, I went inside and got down to business.

Like I said, Viblealive is a small and intimate gathering which is run by a collective of DJs known as the CUNIT. As such the majority of their DJs are from this group. However, upon entering, it was clear a colective effort had been made with the production and decor as well.

the massed collection of fluro backdrops immediately grabbed my attention. As well as that a large video screen showing footage of early outdoor parties also got the thumbs up as well. Not that it didnt detract from the sizeable amount of party people on the floor already, but it was nice to see an effort had been made.

As well as that, the plumbed in lighting rig owned by the club was also being put to good use, the smoke machine was going ten to the dozen as well, but it was the DJ and the MC at work which provided the vast majority of the atmosphere.

When I got there, Elmo and and Wizard were going b2b on the decks, getting the night off to an early start. None of this warm up set crap, the sounds of Upfront UK Hardcore were getting a proper rinsing and the crowd was loving every minute of it.

Best of all, Elmo spent a good proportion of his set alternating between his DJ and MC persona, taking the opportunity to jump down from the decks when it was Wizard's turn to mix and grabbing the mic to bust out some of the lyrics he is best known for, to say nothing of his ability to beatbox whilst on the mic.

Tune wise it was everything I could want. Well almost. A good proprtion of the set was given over to a lot of my favourite tunes like "Makin me wanna Dance", "Break of Dawn" and his finisher "Really Love you". However I was secretly glad I had to slip out for a few minute and at the same time avoid something rather ominously called "Skipcore". Merciful release or missed opportunity? I'll have to wait till next time to find out.

Next up was the star of the show, justifiably given the peak time set of the night, DJ Druid stepped up next and showed everyone why he was the main attraction. Druid played a much touted 95-96 bouncy techno set and not only was it exceptionally danceable, it was sublime in its tune content.

This man knows how to put together an Old Skool set. Dont ask me why, its just something that does it for me on a personal level and the upshot is I get the pleasure of enjoying every single set this man plays, whenever I see him play out.

The rest of the crowd seemed to agree as there were very few people not on their feet and raving during this hour. The Resident MCs continued their b2b2b session as Druid dropped only his finest tracks including "Panic 95", the immortal "Toytown", "Rainbow high in the sky", "6 days", "Hold me now" and unbelievably "Mind of a lunatic".

For the last set of the night, one of the CUNIT's main men, DJ Vapour went b2b with Toxic for a set which was advertised as the south coasts hardest ever set. I'm not really qualified to judge whether it was or not, but the gabba set the boys finished the night of with was entertaining all the same.

At first I thought it was a mistake, going from euphoric bouncy techno to full on dutch Gabba, but after a short while, I really didn't care. The music the DJs were playing has a certain effect on me and after only a few tracks I was so into it I just didnt want it to end.

The MCs were just as on the case as I was and as the mic got passed a round I stomped harder and harder. Tune wise the few tunes I did recognise were "The world is mine", "Gabbawho" and best of all, a personal favourite which I have never heard played out till that moment, "Rotterdam nightmare" came on and right after the vocals spat out "ROTTERROTTERROTTERROTTERDAM!!!!" The breakdown came in, hard as nails and I went berzerk.

Even after the madness had faded, the promoters were still full of surprises. Everyone thought it was all over when the cheeseathon that is the rip of Bryan Adam's "Livin on a prayer" played out, but the indulgent venue owners let the boys sneak one in and there was only one way to do it justice. A reprise of the biggest tune of the moment, "Makin me wanna dance" sent the party crew home with more than their money's worth for their troubles.


Small events are the lifeblood of the Hardcore scene. I have said it before and this event is the proof of it. With plenty of events to go to of a Friday night, it was comforting to see a healthy amount ravers turn out to go down to their local event and support the Hardcore sound.

Not only was it good to see, but the event itself was well worth the trip from London to go to. Only the friendlest party people were in the place and all of them were up for lots and lots of raving. From the upfront sound, to 96 bouncy techno and back through to a gabba set at the end, the variation was appreciated and danced to by all right till the final tune came to an end (eventually!)

As well that the indulgent security, realistic entry fee and the sensible bar prices (only 1.80 for a bottle of water) all added up to a grinning astraboy leaving the venue at 2 am before heading back home happy. I think I'm going to have to return to this party again very soon. if the next one is half as good I will have a great time.

astraboy.