astraboy

The best night of my life was spent at a Vibealite. NYE 2002-2003 had a profound effect on my perceptions as a Hardcore raver. It was the first time I'd ever truly exhausted myself on the dancefloor, then gone back for more becuase the music was just so good.

It also had a profound effect on which raves have a special place in my heart. Its also the reason why I have had a soft spot for Vibealite and its parties ever since. Being so far north does spoil things a bit, principally due to the fact I cant get to them as often as I would like, but that just makes it all the more special when I do manage to get to one.

On this occasion, I was in a position to get to a Vibealite. Not just any one though, but one of their newly formed "Triple Crescendo Concept" parties. This is a new idea from Vibealite, but its ethics summed up the promotions philosophy to a tee.

Bucking the trend of cramming as many DJs onto the flyer as possible to attract as many ravers as you can, the Triple Crescendo Concept (TCC) centres around quality, not quantity. Carefully selecting a handful of DJs to play specially extended sets (up to three hours in some cases, but never less than 90 minutes) in a venue with three equally sized rooms (to ensure the music dictates your location, not whether its the "Main" arena or not) and with an equally select MC policy to ensure the music does the talking.

This, coupled with the promise of officially licenced Live CD albums, a solid mix of "Big name" DJs as well as underbooked talent on the lineup, as well as the door policy including "Only genuine lovers of Hardcore music will be allowed entry" meant I had to get myself to one of these events. I owed it to myself to attend one of these nights, if for no reason than to attend a rave which has been thought about and carefully created to (and i'm quoting from the flyer here) "Take you on a Hardcore journey like you have never witnessed before"

But as usual, bad timing conspired against me. The first two of the three monthly events that had been planned, co-incided with things that I had already said I would attend. So the last one, taking place on the 23rd of September had to be the one for me. Okay it meant making a few sacrifices, but I was more than willing to slip out of work at about midday, drive for near on nine hours through appalling traffic and be totally exhaused before I even set foot in the place, especially when the lineup was as good as it was.

With Sharkey, Stormtrooper, Rush, Darwin, Fergus and CLSM having 90 minutes a piece accross the various rooms, it was looking good already, but with the addition of Sy, Brisk and M-Zone each having a three hour set to expand on what they are famous for, it was bordering on trouser accident good. Especially when you consider Odyssey and Sharkey were joining the resident MCs on the night.

After negotiating Leed's city loop more times than was strictly necessary, we parked up as close as we could to the venue and headed over. When we got there the queue was only just starting, but by the time the doors opened ( a little late, but whats 15 minutes between friends?) there was a sizeable, not to mention VERY noisy queue of ravers stretching off into the bar next door's outdoor seating.

Eventually we were let in and after a brief search and a hello to Gary Vibealite and the rest of the promotional crew we were inside. Once in, I had a look around. True to word, the flyewr hype was right, MISSION is a three arena club, with each oom being of equal size, roughly the same dimensions as the old Bunker room in Bagleys.

Each room had the compulsary DJ booth, lighting and sound set up, but apart from that, they heach had their own theme. Arena one was the closest to the "Main" arena, with a sunken dancefloor, and balcony areas, room two was more conventional with a bare concrete floor contrasting with the well apointed seating and bar area. Room three was in more of a lounge bar feel with white draping obscuring the ceiling and mirrored walls.

However, despite the nice new club to explore, not to mention the unisex toilets, I was there for the music. In that respect I was only there for the Hardcore. Fergus was well off my personal mark when I arrived, Rush was closer in room two, playing classic Hardcore, but Stormtrooper was hitting the nail on the head in the main arena. Repeatedly.

Playing a distinctive mix of Hardcore, encompassing his love of both break and kick driven tunes, Stormtrooper made regular variations between both and it paid dividends on the dancefloor. The ravers were keen to get going, mostly due to the fact that they got on with raving as soon as they got in the arena! In no time at all a sizeable crowd was loving what the DJ was producing, most notably, tunes like "Blow the roof" and "Run for cover"

Together with MC Friction and Mental backig him up on the mic with a competent and crowd hyping performance (from them both) it was a set which I quickly got into, despite it being an unfamiliar venue which normally means it takes me a while to get into things.

When Stormtrooper had finished, I left arena 1 and got myself into the next one along. Unfortunately, Darwin was late in arriving (another victim to Leed's city loop), so Rush continued with what he had started, namely a top quality 95 set. Entertaining an ever growing crowd, Rush was in his element, playing only the tunes that would get the best crowd reaction such as "life is like a dance" and "Feel the Panic".

Eventually, Darwin, along with the ever attendent CDJay, graced us with his presence. Rush wound up his set and Darwin got on it. This where I had to change my plans a little. In the past Darwin has always come up with the goods for me, but this was not the reason I left the arena. The tunes he was coming up with, whilst uplifting and vocal, were not what I needed right this moment, but unlike most raves, I knew I could take half an hour out still have as much time as most others give me of any given DJ. Into the third room I went.

In the third room, CLSM was supplying what I needed, namely a minimalist kick driven tune selection, with very little in the way of breakdowns. It was dark, obscure and seriously entertaining to listen to. For a solid half an hour I went for it infront of the system, the cabinets more than up to the job of pushing out the volume and the DJ providing all it could handle. I didnt spend long in there, but it was exactly what I needed at that point, thereafter, I went back to the second room.

Darwin had gone nowhere physically when I returned, but musically he was a huge distance away from when he first started. Entertaining a sizeable crowd of ravers, all of them hungry for the rushy euphoric sound he was meating out in spadeloads. Lots of tunes which 30 minutes before I couldn't handle, but now I was fully in the zone, thanks to CLSM, could more than happily accomodate.

Together with Friction and the south coast MC who must have travelled further than anyone else in the building, the three of them melted into a single unit, Darwin going for it and showcasing cream of the JAL/RFU selection and the MCs doing the same on the lyrical tip.

By this time, the patented Vibealite atmosphere was soaring around the buildings rafter, each and every raver in the place was having it, helped in no small part by the tunes Darwin was busting out in quick succession. Tunes which are rapidly gaining in popularity and airplay such as "Equlibrium", "Take a ride" and "Into the blue sky".

Next up was the start of the main attractions of the night. it was 1am and simultaneously, M-zone, Brisk and Sy kicked off their three hour sets in all three rooms. This was the reason I was there, to see what the DJs, all of them consumate professionals, could do with more than the 60 minutes to play with.

First up was an hour in room one with Sy at the controls. I knew I was in for a treat when I had to fight my way into the arena to get on the dancefloor, but once I got there, it was all worth it. Oddyssey and Sharkey had joined them on the mic, making sure both of the DJ was well appointed on the lyrical front. However it was the DJ that everybodie's attention was focussed on.

Musically, Sy can whip any given arena of ravers into a fenzy with a normal length set, but with an extra two hours under his belt, he was clearly having a go at seeing how far he could push his dayglo'd guinea pigs. To this end he played a set crammed full off ALL the tunes that he likes, including ones you hear every weekend like "Rock ya Hardcore", the remix of "Let me be your fantasy" and "Do it like they do" and others that are relics of Sy sets of the past, such as "Roofs about to blow", "Kick it" and "Shining down".

The only thing that was missing from this set was Sy's usual partner in crime, Storm. However, international commitments meant he could not be there and his shoes were abely filled with Odyssey and Sharkey. Odyssey keeping it professional and upfront by letting loose "Touch of Deja Vu", and Sharkey making his intentions for the night clear by caining "Messed up, mashed up" during the first hour.

It was difficult to tear myself away from a performance of this calibre, like I said, Sy ALWAYS gets me moving when he plays out and this evening was no exception. However I also wanted to see Brisk, so I fought my way out of Room one and set about seeing what Brisk could come up with.

When I got into Brisk's arena, the temparature was noticably cooler, which was a bonus as it meant I could dance that much harder without overheating. This was handy as Brisk was hard at work when I arrived, knocking out a full on Gabba selection and I always go crazy when the Dutch sound comes in.

But if you think Brisk was settling into a rut then think again. With MC Friction by his side, he played an hour containing numerous genre hops, none of the tangents he went down were badly received, least of all by me. Like I said, he was spanking out some seriously hard Gabba when I got myself in there, but sticking to his guns was the last thing on his mind, No sooner had I worked myself into a fenzy with a distorted kickdrum, then the switch was made to some awesome bouncy techno.

This got me SERIOUSLY excited, with limited opportunities to listen to the bouncy sound of old, I gor as close to the speakers as possible, going for it like there was no tomorrow, let alone a 5 hour drive home. But much as I liked what I was hearing, Brisk was one step ahead of me yet again. One hop into the upfront sound later and it was tunes like "Ravers groove" that I was dancing too. this lead to numerous leaps back and forth from bouncy to upfront and back again. Even then there was surprises in store, when out of the blue, he dropped "Midnight Resistance", Why? Becuause he had the time to delve further into his record bag and he could. Great stuff.

All too soon, the second hour of the three hour triple header came to an end. I wanted to stay, but Sy was calling me for the final hour and I weren't going to argue. As soon as I got in there (Eventually!) and I saw the place was just as busy and having it as it was when I left, I knew I was in the right place for my final hour at the rave.

Sy was in the zone for the final of his three hours. This was a specially extended "Power Hour" set and he had the entire place eating out of his hand when I got back in. The heat told me all I needed to know when it came to how much energy was being expended, I made amends to up that figure as much as I could.

The tunes helped. As with his first hour, it was a sublime mix of his upfront tunage which gets me moving on a weekly basis and select tunes from "power hours" of the past. The assembled ravers (and me) were loving every minute of it, as was Odyssey, left on his tod to do the mic business while Sharkey did his best to drown himself in Tequila at the bar with Stormtrooper.

I was too busy to notice it though, I was too invloved in raving to the tunes. The whole night had shot past and I wanted to make the most of the final hour. Odyssey was on another trademark marathon mic mission, dropping only his finest lyrics such as "Daydreamer, Nightwalker" and "Hungry for the mic", whilst Sy was hammering out tune after tune, including "Shooting Star", the remixes of "Discoland", "Pacific Sun" and "Like a Prayer", whilst upfront tunage was abely sorted with the inclusion of "Makin me wanna dance" and the MC Marley special "Look at all the ravers". Finally Sy brought the night and a set of titanic proportions to an end as the ravers danced to the final gasps of "You're my Angel" till security demanded it taken down.

Things I liked:

Set structure - Minimum of 1 1/2 and all the way up to three glorious hours, it was about time this was done.

Music - As a result of the above, the DJs went beyond their usual sets and played, to a man, absoloute blinders. Lots of interesting and unusual music was played out. What I go raving for. Fantastic.

Atmosphere - EVERYONE in the place, bar none was up for a party. The place was nice and full and completely ******** free. The atmosphere in the room one was especially good with everyone going for it from start to finish.

Aircon - The venue had a full on aircon set up and it was working hard throughout the night. Okay it got a little overpowered in room one, but that was only becuase it was rammed from start to finish. Room two and three were nice and cool though.

Enjoyment - Its been a long time since I've enjoyed myself as much as I did at this rave. Unadulterated pleasure from just being there. Fantastic.

Sound - Supremly loud in the first room, with lots of clarity too. There were moments when the second room was a little low on the bass front, but in terms of quality it had few equals.

Things I liked less:

4am finish - The place was packed and rocking come closing time, its a pity it couldnt go till 6. Especially as I had come so far.

Realisation - I knew it was going to be good and in no way did it let me down. Why didn't I go to the first two? D'oh!

Travel time - serious road trips were required from the southerners to get there. getting there took in excess of 9 hours including picking everyone up and with no traffic it took me 5 hours to get home. Worth it though.

I'm going back to the next one. Thats all there is to it. For me to ask no questions about going back to Leeds for a 4am finish gives you an idea of how much I enjoyed this rave. Everything was absolutely spot on from start to finish. The music, the atmosphere, the whole event was astounding and I am hooked.

I am going back for the Christmas Crescendo without hesitation. I said to Gary Vibealite's face when I was leaving the building soaked in my own sweat and I'll say it again here. That, was what it was all about. The Triple Crescendo concept? Nah, this is the ORIGINAL rave concept and Vibealite have it down to a tee.

Where DJs are booked to pique the crowd and more to the point, are given the space and TIME to do so. Even 90 minutes would be enough for most, but three hours are given to the most creative DJs to really spread their wings. Hell if Brisk can fit in Upfront Hardcore, Gabba and Bouncy techno into the one of the three hours that I saw him for, imagine what would have happened if I had stuck around for all three instead of splitting Sy's three hour set down the middle to see him? To say nothing of the sublime music M-zone was coming up with on the occasions I was PASSING through his arena. Playing Cafe Del Mar at a Hardcore Rave. The man is a genius.

When you can't decide which sets you want to see but can easily see all of them if you just calm down a bit and work it out, then you know you are onto a winner. I dont know much, but I know I am onto a winner here too. It was great to be back at Vibealite and I am going back to the next one. As long as they keep their musical scruples then I will attend. Three hour sets are the future and I saw em here first.
astraboy.

astraboy

On a personal note, this is my 100th rave review. Bo!
*lets of cannon*
astraboy.

astraboy

Shouts to: Iwolf, Mad Kev (nice to see you again) Sarah, CDJay, HB & Gaby, Bedford Caine, Lee UHF, Dave Matsui and his crew, MC Trev, Scott Brown, Smash, Benson, Gingerjim, Number 2301, Clipper, Lindsay, Brisk & Briskette, Sharkey, Stormtrooper, Sy, Odyssey, Friction, Obie, CLSM (hand over head to find the seat massive), Darwin, Piranaha, Gary Vibealite (thank you) and anyone else I have forgotten.
astraboy.

davegtt

AB, out of interest, Where do you hear about the raves? Ive not listened to rave (or happy hardcore) for a few years now but put a tape on the other day and brough back some good memories Just wondered if theres a website somewhere letting you know of the next gatherings etc....

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

www.chavscum.co.uk

davegtt

astraboy

very funny.
maybe if you want listing for RnB nation, but not hardcore.
For all your hardcore needs, try the site where the originals of these go.
www.ush.net
astraboy.

rgv_stu

i think your wasted on here.......cant you write for a mag or summot ??

davegtt

Think he does Stu, IIRC he posted a while ago about a couple of mags he does for

Daft Lad

Astraboy, read your write-up on Sharkey in Raving Times I think it was called? Top stuff mate

astraboy

Ravin' Eye mate Cheers very much for the feedback. But I also heard from Sharkz himself a few days after it came out. You know you're in the zone when his mum likes it
astraboy.

Chip Sengravy

Patt@firstime

PMSL