astraboy

When it comes to birthday celebrations, few can match Raindance in terms of longevity. Every year they hold a massive birthday celebration to mark the events passing of age. This time, it was the 16th. Finally, Raindance was legal

To mark the occasion, there was only one place to go. Raindance has made the SEOne it's home since before the turn of the millineum so it was a bit of a no-brainer that it should return to the venue where its most notorious parties have been held.

The advantage of returning to a venue you are familiar with is you know exactly what you're going to get. In that respect it was no less than the ENTIRE complex being used, with 5 musical arenas incorporating Old Skool, Hardcore, DnB, Breakbeat and the infamous Jenkins Lane reunion arch.

Having missed the last Raindance due to being on Holiday, I knew I was going to be there no matter what, but of course, having a tip top lineup helped and Raindance being Raindance, it was a mile ahead of me.

I have said it before and I'll say it again, I like the way Raindance puts its parties together. A forward thinking mix of "big name" DJs and MCs as well the hottest talent from London and the country with the only entry requirement being that whether on the mic or decks, you must entertain the crowd.

With regard to the Hardcore arena, top of the bill was a rare appearence at Raindance from DJ Hixxy, as well as notable appearences from Seduction, Kevin Energy, Vibes, and Billy "Daniel" Bunter. However Raindance's "bigname" lineup is only half the story, with a good proprortion of the linuep handed over to the likes of Ponder & HB, Lukozade, Crista, Lee UHF and Mixman. Lyrically the rave would not go wanting either, with Wottsee, Elmo, Spenno and Chitchat all listed to MC.

This was only one arena out of five and although I was not planning on spending much time in the Dnb or breaks arenas, I knew the likes of the Demolition crew, and a live PA from the almighty Rhythm Section were acts I was not going to miss in the Old Skool arena and Rob Blake, who so impressed me with his last outing I saw at United Dance, made for compulsary stomping in the Jenkins Lane.

The net result of a must attend party and well thought lineup saw me and a few good friends making the traditional pre rave meetup at the Shipwright arms. I was tired from the night before at Viblealite, but it didnt dampen my enthusiasm in the least. My friends were just as animated about the night ahead as we drank and socialised.

In the event, we stuck around a bit too much and it was 10.30 before we made it out of the pub and into the queue. It was a traditional SEOne queue, big and stretching in different directions from the entrance. I got in the one relevent to me waited for it to edge to the entrance. Dealing with the polite and friendly security on the door is always a hassle free pleasure and this was no different, with a brief yet reasonable search after handing over my ticket and I was in.

I knew time was against me as I stepped inside the rave so I made a beeline for the hardcore arena. The familiar, sweaty red arch greeted , me as I opened the doors, as did the ever present hardcore faithful, making an early start to the evening. Criminally, I had missed Ponder and HB's early (play out then spend the rest of the evening getting "Refreshed") showing, by just a few minutes, but the next DJ to step up made amends in no uncertain terms.

In her second showing for Raindance, Crista was taking the 1130-1230 set and together with MC Chit Chat, was making short work of getting the party going. With only a few performances under her belt, she has quickly developed her own style and set structure and was putting this to good use when I arrived, namely playing a sublime mix of upfront UK Hardcore, together with a choice selection of classic tunes.

With a crowd full of ravers eager to get going, they lapped up what the DJ was supplying. With Chit Chat supplying all the crowd hyping MC talent the ravers could handle, they got the job done in an effortless manner. I, and the rest of the Hardcore arena were in full on greenlight party mode by the end of her set, especially after she had dropped "Music is my Life", the remix of "I'm ravin I'm ravin" and the Luna-C remix of "6days" into her set.

With me all set for the rest of the night, I was more than happy to explore the rest of the venue for a bit. Unfortunately, I only got as far as opening the door to the main arena before my attention was arrested by the Demolition Crew, who were up next in the Old Skool room.

It has been a while since I saw the Demo. crew play out and I rememeber going away seriously impressed with their interpretation of the Old skool sound, so I decided to stick around and let them take me back in time. In the event it was one of my better decisions of the night.

With the place filling up nicely, the assembled crowd were treated to a dark old skool breakbeat driven set from the 'Crew who got on with the job at hand and tore the place apart. I have a real soft spot for this sort of Old Skool, dark, underground and obscure was the name of the game and as such most of the set was lost in a blur of raving. As such, the only tunes I remember are "Enjoy this", "Rush in the house" and, of course, the awesome tune that is "Pennywise".

I would have to explore the place at a later date, what with the Hardcore arena calling me back, cos Lukozade was next up and I was not going to miss him. It had been a while since I saw Luke go upfront and I was expecting great things from him, together with Wottsee by his side. I was rewarded by being in the right place at the right time by a set they could be proud of.

This was the set that really did it for me. The most infuriating thing is I can remember very little about it, apart from it being amazing in every department. One thing is for for sure, I spent a solid hour in constant motion, dancing like a raver posessed, totally wrapped up in the music and the way the MC blended it with his voice. As such, the only tunes I can remember are "magical rainbow" and "I am", but let me tell you, that was only a small part of his set, I only wish I could remember why I loved it as much as I did. I'll let you know if the rave pixies return that particular memory, till ten you'll just have to take the sets greatness for granted.

Unfortunatly i was unable to tell you what the next DJ, Lee UHF came up with for his first set at Raindance cos I weren't there. Although I am a fan of Mr. UHF's work, I had never seen Rhythm Section before, let alone see them play out live. Reluctantly I left the Hardcore arena in Lee's capable hands.

The first thing I noticed was that the PA was totally live, with the keyboard and music matching up perfectly when the performing artists, secondly that the artists themselves were enjoying the night just as much as the ravers, and thirdly that the PA was being hosted by the one and only Robbie D, but for now it was all about the guys behind the keyboards.

They had a job to do and in that respect they excelled themselves. Starting off with some new tunes for the assembled masses, the PA broke new ground with this fresh material as the ravers got into the sound like it was 10 years old. After that, with thier appetite piqued, they moved into more familar ground.

I'm afraid this is where my IDing skills let me down, as the only tune I know they play was thanks to Paul letting me know it was called "Emotion", but the names of the tunes were incidental to how much I enjoyed them. Surrounded by like minded friends, I let the music penetrate the depths of my mind, where I could truely appreciate it and love it for what it is. I kept this up till the PA finsihed and Robbie D demanded the crowd give the Section the respect they deserve.

No time to waste at all once I had finished with the Old Skool room for the night, I was into the Hardcore arena like a shot. Like I had said earlier, it had been a while since Hixxy had played out at Raindance and I wanted to see what he was going to do about making amends for his long absence.

Together with Wottsee on the mic, the set started as it meant to go on, with Hixxy showcasing the upfront sound he has championed over the last few years. It was less of a party set and more of an education to the Raindance ravers who had not seen him for a while, with only the most upfront tunes like "Getting better", "Dark Like Vader", "heavens above" and "crazy love" getting a look in before he finished off his set with some brand new tunes i have never heard before, then terminated his set with the apt playing of the remix of "4am", just as the time matched the tune.

After this it was a distinct switch for me, with a long overdue move to the Jenkins Lane arena being on the cards. Come hell or high water, I always make time for this arena. Without doubt the most authentic reproduction of how it used to be when it all started, right down to the video screens playing genuine videos of the events of the past.

Even better, Rob Blake was on the decks when i got in there, making a start to his two hour set as well and my friends were already there, clearly in the same frame of mind as I was. Rob made a start to his set as the jenkins lane crew got down to business, dancing and remeniscing.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few tangents to his tune selection, not happy with a full on old skool house set, mixing in a few well placed garage tunes. Before you all start, this was the real early stuff, the stuff with a real lack of bling and an overload of musical quality, before it was all ruined. I dont know about anyone else, but I was enjoying the opportunity to dance to tunes like "Push the feeling on" as well as the music I was there for such as "Break for love" and "where love lives". So much so, I didnt emerge for two hours. Felt like five minutes though.

At this point in the evening, i was starting to feel the burn. Two nights of non stop raving werew starting to take their toll in the form of very sore feet, but I knew the cure and it involved going into the Hardcore room. As I entered, all feelings of tiredness evaporated, I had just seen who had stepped up to the decks.

Wizbit, in an emergency replacement set for the late arriving Kev Energy and Sharkey was joined by a late appearence from MC Spenno and set about pluggin the gap as only they know how. Wizbit knew exactly what to do and dropped just what I was looking for. Upfront, vocal, breakbeat Hardcore. Fantastic.

Even though it only lasted about 15 minutesand totally unknown, Wizbit proved why he is as innovative as he is and I look forward to seeing him again. For now though, it was all about the freshly arrived Kev Energy with Sharkey in tow. MC Spenno stayed exactly where he was though, marshalling the ravers and inviting them on a "musical journey", before letting the DJs get on with it and go b2b like the well oiled machine they are.

In a near suicidal moment of rashness, I decided to go for a sprint finish. It was 6am and I had been raving for about 14 hours, but I wanted to dance to a full hour of Freeform so I did. Well, as much as I could anyway. Mind you it was easy to move yourself to the music when it was as good a quality as Energy and Sharkey were producing, as well as MC Spenno going for it as only he can, dropping his famous "back to reality" lyric as the music men played, amongst others, "So damaging" and "Check this out".

For the final 7-8 set there was only one way to go. The Vibes and Livelee show duely turned up and continued down the path I have seen them take in recent times, dropping the old skool cheese and going for it upfront, with regard to both the DJ and the MC's new material.

However it was not to be. With a cracking start in the form of "Autumn Days", closely followed by a selection of his new work including "Your love is lifting me" and more identifiable tunes like "Through the darkness, the security descended and closed the arena early. It was a gutting way to end the night. I was exhausted, but I had come this far and wanted to see the night through to the end. Nevermind.

Things I liked:

Raindance - It had been too long since my last Raindance, it was great to be back.

Lineup - Raindance's lineups are always different, innovative and rewarding. This one was no different.

Sound - Even though it was a bit shakey for some of the earlier sets, the system in the Hardcore arena performed better than in the past, which has to be a bonus.

Atmosphere - Particularly during Lukozades set, the atmosphere in the Hardcore arena was typical of what Raindance is all about. The rest of the rave was just as lively too.

Security - As usual, Security on the night were polite and non intrusive. Infact the only time I saw them was at the end of the night.

Things I liked less:

Heat - An ever present problem in the Hardcore arena, one which has not gone away either, despite the addition of cooling fans onstage. It really does make the ravers wilt as the night wears on.

Hardcore arena - Shutting early werent on the flyer. Neither was Vibes and Livelee only managing 5 tunes before it all coming to an end.

Stagedancers - Okay, the 'Narni Shakas might be nice to look at, but would it kill them to smile everyonce in a while? As for some of the other "Dancers" on the main stage, someone really should tell them to get rid of their cellulite and love handles BEFORE getting up on stage. Ugh.

As Raindance gets another year older, I love going back there all the more. Its not the perfect night out, with the heat being its most enduring problem, but hating the red arch is all part of the Raindance experience and besides, its the music I was there for and in that respect I felt like it was my birthday, it was that good.

I dont know how Raindance does it, but every time I am there, I witness the FULL spectrum of Hardcore rave music, from the breakbeats, to the occasion gabba tunes, with the Upfront, underplayed, Bouncy, Freeform and breakbeat all sandwiched in between. Attending Raindance really does make you wonder what other promoters are playing at, with Raindance effortlessly managing a full house each and everytime, yet other promotions shamelessly concentrating on one to the exclusion of all others.

However, I dont begrudge them their one sided music policy, cos if they had the same spectrum that Raindance has then it would take something away from what Raindance is all about and I wouldnt want that at all. But its not the best bit, no, the best bit is the awesome music selection in the Hardcore arch is exactly one fifth of the total output that Raindance gives you on the night. Okay, some of it may not to be my taste, but the parts that are (Namely the Old Skool and Jenkins Lane arches) makes the Rave experience that is Raindance all the richer and more enjoyable.

Most other raves you will find me entrenched in the Hardcore arena all night. Not Raindance. Raindance is all about exploring the various musical arches and reaping the rewards you'll find thering. And I love it. The next time the Raindance content of my blood gets low, I'll see you there. I'll be the one with the big smile on my face.
astraboy.

astraboy

Shouts to: Grob & Lisa, Ravegirl, Paul Z, Cris-E-manic & Dan Desire, Kickin_k, Bedford Caine, Covergirl and Mr Covergirl, Matt wildcard, Lauren, Moonlight sparrow, Traffic_cone, Jordan Lost soul, Sarah Wiles, Mike Moron, Moz, Coriolis, Dave Skywalker, ShazzaSpannered, Legs, Bubby & Urban, Disrupta ("I'm not going!" "Ticket mate? 15 quid?" "Yeah go on then" ) Ed-E, Jenny Bornhardcore, Paulgads, Ronnie, Miss T (nice to meet you), Niki, Wobblyegg, monkeyboy, MC Trev, stu8, martin, drakien, Rich Illicit, grant Epidemik, Mark_E, Frank, Lee UHF, Energy, Sharkey, Lukozade, Ponder, HB, Vibes, Crista, Wottsee, Rude, Spenno, Chitchat, Flashback, Strict, Tony Wizbit, Richard Raindance (thank you) and anyone else who I've forgotten.