astraboy

After making two previous trips to Bedlam, the Long Eaton based event run by Lee UHF, I had never gotten round to doing it "properly". I was always driving DJs or too knackered to enjoy myself properly, both of which mean leaving early and not staying till the end to fully appreciate the night.

On this occassion though, things had finally come together for me to go to the night, stay for the duration, not to mention slack off sufficently at work to ensure I had the energy to enjoy it.

As well as that, the fact it was a rare allnighter for Bedlam (usually they finish at 3am and as such is too far to travel for that kind of finish) as well as the second part of their birthday celebrations. As such I was expecting good things to be forthcoming, I was not going to be dissapointed on the basis of the lineup.

A distinct focus on the "serious" end of the genres spectrum saw Marc Smith as the headliner of the night with a 1-2 set, but as well as that a first ever for Scott Brown and Sy going b2b in the main arena was not to be missed either. Brisk and the welcome return of MC Wotsee to the mic was another notable highlight, not to mention Gammer who was taking the 12-1 set.

Not only that, but a second "Hi Skool of Hardcore" room and a third Hard Techno arena, each with their own talent and lineup completed the deal. Besides which I was also nominated driver for the evening, which meant driving 16 of the London crew to the venue in a specially hired minibus. Well since you put it like that.....

After a relatively calm drive up and an easy find of the venue (right at the Tescos!) We got to the venue at a little before 11pm. I dropped off the crew at the venue, then waved off to park in a nearby carpark. Upon returning to the venue I made my way in (search free as well) and set about saying hello to everyone in the building.

For those that have not been to The Venue before, you will get a shock if you try to get in. Its members only for starters, those without a membership card have to pay a set entrance fee, as well as fill in your address for your membership card to be sent to. Only on presentation of your membership card will you get in without having to write anything down.

When you get in you will find a medium sized venue with four rooms. These have a range of styles ranging from the main arena with huge sound system, together with lasers, full on lighting rig and inflatable mobiles to the smaller arenas which are bar arenas and chill out rooms with no music at all.

My first place to be though was in the largest arena of all though, For DJ Gammer's set. I like this guys sets cos you are never quite sure what he's going to play. Even though he has gotten a little more predictable (not that thats the right word to use) these days, he is more than capable of surprising me whenever he takes to the decks.

On this occasion he had been studying the "Hard" lineup and decided to go mainstream on us to balance the evening out. Well played that man. It was also the best way to start the evening for me, start at the mainstream, move into the darker, harder stuff at the evening progressed. Sorted.

Best of all he played one of my new favourite tunes to open up with. "Make some noise for Hardcore", as well as mixing in "Getting better", "Welcome", "Crazy love" and the new remix of "Now is the time" into his set. This was just what I needed to get into the evening and gammer came up with the goods. I was well up for more by the time he finished.

Even though to get it I had to climb back down the stairs and into the Hi Skool room. With good reason though, cos Paul Zykotik was on next and he was about to give the midlanders a taste of what the London Hardcore can dish out.

Right from the get-go, he went at it as only he can, playing in a similar vein to Marc Smith in the relentless pounding tunes, yet keeping it dancable at all times. Not only that, but his obivious techno and old skool influences were very noticable indeed, with the DJ making sure all of his musical influences got an airing within a Hardcore set.

This was the reason why a sizeable crowd had travelled to see him and he was entertaining them like the professional he is, dropping "Now control", "Stairway to Brooklyn" and "Produce the bass" during his set, whilst MC Gazy J went alongside him on the mic.

All too soon Paul's set came to an end and I was stright back up the stairs for the next set of the night. I had just seen a DJ which was similar in set structure to Marc Smith, now it was time to see the real thing.

Its never a Chore to see Marc on the decks and this is no exception. Recently he has finally been getting the frequency of bookings his talent justifies and every time I see him play out he makes me realise why I am thinking he should be headlining every weekend. With MC Rude taking care of the microphone duties, he got on with rocking the rave in the way he is "Notorious" (Pun Intended!) for.

Best of all, he started off his set with my favourite tune of the moment. MC Ribbz came on the system as "Hardcore Machine" played out and I rolled my eyes to the back of my head as the first rush of the evening overtook me.

It only get better after that as well, with speed and dancability at the forefront as always, Smithy dropped a sublime mix of freeform and his own tunes, including "This is Extreme" and "Are you ready for the ride". Rude was also well away by the time this one came on, inserting "C'mon Kick it" inbetween breakdowns to hype the ravers.

Next up was the main event of the evening. Never seen Sy and Scott Brown go back to back before, but it had to be worth watching, especially with MC Squared on the mic to accompany them. I was also interested to see which sounds would dominate the set, when it opened, my money was firmly on "bouncy"

However, I was wrong from the outset, Sy started of with a couple of new tunes which were almost sedate by his standards, as well as Rude and Chit Chat filling in on the mic while Storm and Whizzkid covered the remaining miles to the venue.

Thereafter though, it was business as usual. Storm and Whizzkid arrived in the venue and took over mic duties. Sy and Scott Brown double teamed the ravers with a tag team assault of Quosh and Evolution +.

For the next 2 hours it was relentless, bouncy tune frenzy, with Hardcore stompers coming out of the box one after the other, all of them tearing the place apart as soon as they were put on the decks.

Tunes like "Make it bounce", "Neckbreaker", "Danger Zone", "Do it like they do", "Rock Ya Hardcore", "Definition of a bad boy" and "Makin me wanna dance" gives you an idea what the 2 hour special was like, no let up, no mercy. If (like me) you're the sort of person who just cant stop dancing when the tunes are good enough to justify it, then you'll understand why I didnt get any rest until the DJs and the MCs had finished with me at the end. Even then I couldnt let up. I couldnt cos of who was on next.

Brisk was due to take the rave from 4-5am, but the Next Gen crew was in FULL force on this ocassion with the bespecticled bloke who picked up the mic when he came on.
For the first time since he was laid up, it was finally time for MC Wottsee to pick up the mic and get back to what he was put on this planet to do. MC.

Brisky was as good as he always was, keeping the ravers on the dancefloor with another trademark High energy tune selection, but it was Wotsee that I was glued to the spot to see. His sabbatical has clearly left his vocal talants undisturbed and it showed as he worked back and forth across the stage, making his doubters run for cover as his unique talents returned with no drop in quality, pace or delivery.

Brisky was more than pulling his weight on the decks as well, ensuring it was another hour before I could get any rest from raving by playing "Just be happy", the remix of "Poison", "Crazy Love" and "Higher Love", as well as lots more tunes which I failed to recognise, but had no problem dancing to until pain set in.

The last set of the night wasy to be taken by On:it and Extreme, however although I was well up for spending the final hour raving it down to the cheesy anthems they started off with such as "love and Devotion" and "Come and Follow me", I saw the rest of the bus crew flaking out in the corner. Even though I was happy to stay, I had responsibilities and I knew it. 10 minutes later we were out the door and on our way home.

Things I liked:

Music - The music at Bedlam is always a breath of freash air. Three rooms which include a healthy mix of big names and raw talent ensure anything but an anthem fest. As well as that, any lineup which has Gammer, Marc Smith, Sy Scott Brown and Brisk on one after the other gets my respect for booking my kind of headliners.

Atmosphere - The place was full to the brim of friendly and familiar, as well as not so familair faces. Good party atmosphere too.

Set structure - Sy and Scott Brown b2b for two hours was a stroke of genuis. Never seen that before, but damn did it work. Especially with MC Squared on the mic.

MC Wottsee - It was great to see him back where he belonged.

6am finish - Makes the 2 1/2 journey from london worthwhile, let me tell you.

Things I liked less:

Sawyer - Well his set time to be precise. I was well looking forward to finishing the night with a bit of speedcore, but alas his set was moved to 4am and I missed it. Gutted.

The Venue - If theres one thing holding this night back its the venue. I'll make no excuses, I despise the place. Members only, Crackly sound, hot water only out the taps and that bouncy floor irritates the hell out of me (Nice for the novelty, but ocasionally you just want to dance you know what I mean?). I've been to illegal raves with better facilities than that place.

Despite it being located at a place I hate, I was surprised how little influence it had on my evening. Okay the walls the rave was contained within were annoying but the music, atmosphere and calibre of the entertainment on offer was more than a compensation for such a small matter as its location.

As well as the music (which is always something to write home about when you go to a Bedlam) and the way the lesser known DJs get as many peak time slots as the big names, the best thing about this night was the 100% Unique b2b experience of Scott Brown and Sy.

That one was worth the entrance fee in itself, but the whole night was something special, simply because of the way the extended family atmosphere that Bedlam has cultivated was in full effect on this night. DJs, MCs, promoters, ravers, everyone who is anyone was there and there to have a good time. I definitely did, especially as the night finished at a respectable time and not wimping out at a girly 3am.
astraboy.
Apologies for the lateness, Flu really put a dampner on my work.
Anyways!
Shouts to:
The bus crew: Emmabot (organisation crew)& Dez, Grob Le Frog, Rainbow drops, Dave Skywalker, Lady Angelic, Moonlight Sparrow, Doc-E, Sweetstar, HB, Bedford Caine, Jordi, Coriolis, Moron, Platinum, Traffic_Cone, Bag, Gurning girlie, Oli G, Fishgeffo (legend!), Lee UHF and Lisa, Andy M, Vapour, Elmo, Gim Overdrive, CDJay, Smurf, Hiney, Sawyer, Pikey, Curly (sorry dude, would if I could), Gammer, Sy, Scott Brown, Storm, Brisk, Whizzkid, Wottsee (meant every word I said man) Marc (the legend) Smith, Paul Zykotik, Gazy J, Rude, ChitChat, and anyone else I have forgotten.