astraboy

Every time I go to Bristol I have a blinder. Without doubt one of my top three places to rave in the country. Last time I was there the locals did themselves proud with a sold out Bristol Acadamy and a wicked afterparty at Lakota afterwards. And I dont usually do afterparties.

It got me thinking though, I realised that I don't spend as much time as I should, inside a bristol rave, so I resolved to get myself down there more often. Happily enough, Lakota was one step ahead of me, with an event already in the pipeline.

"Masters of the mic Pt. II" was the name of the rave, but despite the ominous suggestion of a Hardcore version of the infamous DnB event, MC Convention, I was unperterbed. Even the flyer which listed the MCs BEFORE the DJs didnt put me off, cos I looked past the layout and to the actual guts of the event.

The likes of Sy, Brisk, Dougal, Seduction and Breeze were headlining, as well as D-ice and Reality and kickback providing the Bristol talent (which is an important aspect of these events), as well as Clarkee, Vortex and Donovan Smith in the second room, not forgetting Sketchy & Compulsion, Adger and Blite providing the, again, important Bristol connection.

But it was the MCs that were the stars of the show tonight, as such, we had loads of them. Storm, Whizzkid, Odyssey, Smiley, Livelee, Rude, Marley and Magika were all listed to MC for this event.

If that weren't enough then.... oh, who am I kidding? Frankly the lineup was secondary to the location for me. I was going to rave and I was going to rave in bristol and that was it, end of chat, Down the M4 I went. I didn't even care that I was going without company for this trip, I just got myself down there quicksmart, I was looking forward to this one.

Lakota is not located in the nicest part of Bristol, with the haunt of the local working girls being just round the corner being a good example. But thanks to some handy directions from MC Rude when I arrived, I found a quiet place to park and went in after a reasonable search from security.

Lakota's layout is familiar to me, with a converted warehouse on three levels, each on top of each other to provide main, second and third and fourth arenas, together with seperate bar areas where you could get away from the music if you wanted to.

Normally I would have shied away from these places and entrenched myself in the music, not moving all night, but like I said, Bristol is one of my favourite places to rave and one of the main reasons is the social aspect. Ravers and performing artists alike take time out here and more to the point, conversation is actually possible due to the main arena not only being next door, but set up in a way that the music does not intrude.

But chatting and chilling could wait, for now I was there to dance so after saying hello to a few friendly faces in the venue, I went to look what I had come for. It was in room 2 that I found it.

In there, making full use of the best sound system in the building that night were Sketchy and Compulsion, as well as a group of up for it stomping ravers who, like me, were eager to get the evening underway. This was all the justification Sketchy and Compy needed to play a blinder.

They were listed to play a 95-96 set and initially they stuck to their guns and came up with the goods in equal proportions, alternating between some unknown (to me at any rate) bouncy and breakbeat tunes to get things going. However, for me it was the second half of their set which really stood out.

Moving on from the 95-96 rule book is usually a bad idea, but Sketchy and Compy did themselves proud when they played a number of tunes from the 2000-2001 era, most notably becuase those tunes included classics like "Bad ***" as well as the classic "Madworld", in amongst other tunes, including "Sensation", "Lets Fly" and "Love and Devotion". They may have deviated from their intended set a little, but it was a rush filled trip down memory lane for me which provided the perfect start to my night. "Madworld" still makes me buzz like nothing else too, so I was more than happy to see it return

Normally, I like to see the other rooms after taking in the first set, but this was not to be this time. With Sy making an unexpected appearence in room two for a change, he was joined by myself and surprisingly few people, but I didnt care. Its not often I get to see Sy play an old skool set, I was staying put. Right by the speakers.

Despite the addition of some unknown MCs whos enthusiasm outweighed their talent, it was a set full of surprises from Sy with a noticable step down from his usual bouncy preoccupation and instead opting for a nice underground old skool selection.

Clearly not happy with anthem bashing for an hour, Sy played a good, dancable set, with plenty of well known, but underplayed tunage forthcoming, most notably "Out of Space" (always nice to hear), "You had it all", the awesome "He Never lost his Hardcore" and "Music for the people".

After Sy had finished with me upstairs, it was time for me to get into the main arena, to find Sy taking to the decks down there too! Not to worry though, its never a chore to hear two hours from this man, especially when the second hour is a progression from old skool to upfront and most especially when Storm and Whizzkid have their MCSquared hats on, not to mention a mic each.

This was the set that really did it for me. The peak time set of the night and all three of the people in charge were in the zone throughout. The crowd were up for it in no uncertain terms either, with LOTS of crowd response as the collective works of the DJ and MCs worked the ravers into a frenzy. Including me.

The music was primarily responsible, with the likes of "Hold me Forever", "Rock Ya Hardcore", "You're my angel" and the remix of "Let me be your fantasy" all getting dropped, but it was the co-ordination between DJ and micmen which really got the place going. Storm for his efforts getting his best response with his "Dark like Vader" chat, but Whizzkid didnt even have to speak to get his best response, with the sum total of his actions being to dangle the mic over the crowd being all that was required to bring the place down.

Lastly, the tail end of the set was populated with "Set you free", Makin me wanna dance" (accompanied with the most vocal singalong from from the crowd all night) and finishing off with a new tune which I've been hearing a lot of recently, "on and on".

Another hour where I was staying put in the same arena but there was a damn good reason for me to be repeating myself. Breeze was up next and I cant remember the last time he let me down, so I stayed put. Storm and Whizzkid did the same on the mic and despite the crowd thinning out a little it was in no way due to the music, cos I, as well as the rest of the ravers hard enough to dance to more than one hour of music were loving every minute of it.

The main guts of Breezes set was everything you'd expect from a professional like him, lots of Upfront UK Hardcore with plenty to get your hands in the air to and feel the rush. The highlights of this set included "Dark like Vader" with Storm backing him up all the way on the mic, "I got a feeling" avec Whizzkid dropping "I cant stop these tears" to accompany it and the stompathon that "Feel so real" generates everytime it comes in.

But it was the inclusion of "Nightmares" that really flipped my switch for this set. Not only does it make use of MC Whizzkid's Lyrics of the same name, but the most incredible riff I've heard for a long time is also an aspect that saw me get my head down and go for it in no uncertain terms. This as well as a shedload of new tunes which I had not heard before made for one of the better sets of the night, its become a regular thing to expect from Breeze, not that I'm complaining of course

Unfortunatly, I was about to encounter one of the set backs of the night. The system in the main room which had been kicking out serious volume all night took a turn for the worse, to the extent of making the next set virtually unlistenable. It was a shame as it had been a while since I'd seen Seduction and Smiley play out together, but I needed to make a move anyways, so it was back upstairs for me.

I weren't even sure who was playing at this point, but it werent Hardcore, thats for sure, with a nice bit of Acid Techno to break up the night being a welcome addition to a night which I had thought was 100% Hardcore. As is usual with techno sets, IDs went straight down the drain as I edged closer and closer to the stacks which by this time were chucking out serious volume, as well as some serious tunes including the one with the Eminem vocals "No-one listened to techno" and "Do you believe in me?"

Before long I found myself back in the bar though, spending more time in there chatting and catching up with friends than I've done in the last 6 months when I've been at a rave if I'm honest. However I was more than happy to do so, until the Vibes and Livelee show kicked off in the main room. Chatting could wait, I was back in there like a shot.

The recent change with Vibes' sets of late was more than evident in this set, with the classic tunes taking a back seat in favour for his new production work. Its difficult to describe the genre his tunes fall into, with them being pretty much unique and not falling into any catagory apart from euphoric dancable party music. Tell you what though, it defintiely gets me moving, as well as the new lyrics that Livelee has come up with of late which made short work of the set I managed to see, before ending.

As it turned out, the next set was the final one of the evening. Compulsion, in his second appearence in front of me that evening went back to back for the final two hours with Dandy Crouch and MCs Odyssey and Angel on the mic. Even though I was pretty much exhausted by this point, these guys came up with the set of the night for me, compelling me to stay right through to the bitter end and asking for one more.

The only constant throughout all this was Compulsion. Dandy had to leave early so only went b2b for the first hour. Odyssey did the same, going before the finish. Even Angel, who I have to say complimented the set nicely with confident, minimalist and understated micwork let a few people have a few minutes and was nowhere to be seen at the end. Compy was there throughout though, producing an astounding set.

Every avenue was explored, no stone was left unturned. He started of with injecting a bit of fun into the party with tunes like "The call" (a personal favourite), while Odyssey slipped "Chemical to the Brain" to compliment it, but from then on in, it was a voyage of discovery all the way.

The best bit about it was he was not limiting himself to Hardcore, with offerings from DnB with Pendulum getting a look in, as well as some upfront breakbeat tunes. Werent too sure what to make of this tbh, but with Compy keeping it innvoative as well as getting very busy with the turntablist tricks one thing was for sure, I werent going to get bored.

Quite the opposite, in fact. I was having the time of my life with the Hardcore that formed the backbone of his set. Even that was unconformist, with everything from the fluffiest of tunes (See "Cutting Deep") to the occasional gabba tune (Re: "Boomstick" and "Pull it to the left" getting dropped, keeping Adey Gabba1 happy in the process), as well as the toughest freeform you can think of and not forgetting the 180bpm random **** thrown in as an afterthought.

All of it brought the set to an end at 6am with security demanding "Do we have to say goodbye" being taken down. But Compy didnt take any notice and stuck one last tune on before it all ending and the ravers going their seperate ways.

Things I liked:

Location - I know I've not shut up about it, but thats because its true. Bristol rules. No *********, no aggro, just up for it party people who want to rave hard. I cant get enough of it, not forgetting:

Atmosphere - One of the advantages of everyone being on the same wavelength is the atmosphere it generates, this night was particularly intense. Every time I was down in the main arena, I was blown away by how up for it the party crew were.

Atmosphere pt. II, This was one of the best aspects for me. Those that know me know I prefer to rave than chill out, but this is the difference between Bristol and other raves, meeting up with people you haven't seen for too long and taking time out to chat is just as enjoyable as going for it all night.

Venue - Okay the bogs are unspeakably dirty and the area a little rough, but I still like going to Lakota. Its nice to do a dirty rave venue everyonce in a while, I felt more at home than in some of the superclubs I've been in recently, let me tell you.

Sketchy and Compulsion - This guys came up with the goods for me not once, but twice. Okay Sketchy was a bit too pissed to play out for the closing set, and Compy werent far behind him either, but something kept me in that rave and dancing to the final tune and it werent the nice carpets or comfy seating. These guys showed everyone what Bristol was capable of that night

Things I liked less:

Sound - This was weird. I know this system can perform, it damn near knocked me off my feet during the HH afterparty with its sheer volume, but it was not as healthy this time with an apparant problem with the bass, with only a few notes playing before it coughed, them came back a few notes later. Its a shame cos I know its more than capable, I hope its back on its feet the next time I come back.

Missing Clarkee - Gutted!

What a night out. Bristol does it again. Unparralelled atmosphere and music combined to re-affirm why I love coming down to that part of the world. This was underlined when at 5am I was ready to wimp out and go home. But Compy kept me on the dancefloor and stomping by playing blinder after blinder in a non stop display of what Bristol raves are all about. Thereafter, 5am turned into 5.15, then 5.30, then 5.45 then bugger it I may as well stay to the end.

If a rave is good enough to keep me on the dancefloor and going for it till the end despite being exhausted then it has to be good, but thats the best thing, I know I werent the only one feeling this way that night. I know this because stomping maniacs filled the dancefloor all night long. Helped in no small part by the DJs and MCs who, to a man, excelled themselves from start to finish. As well as that, the social aspect kept those who didnt want to dance chatting all night and those who fancied the best of both worlds flittling from room to room.

What a night. Any rave where I dance myself to destruction to such an extent that I cant make it back home without pulling over to get some rest otherwise I'll fall asleep at the wheel has to be good. I've got to go back as soon as possible. I'll be the one tearing down the M4 with a big grin on my face at the start of the night and back up the morning after with the same expression on my face.
astraboy.

Chip Sengravy

Thaaat'll be the coider! proper job!...AARR!

paul-s

astraboy are you going to slammin' at shepton mallet next week? It's massive !

astraboy

heh, what you think mate?
see you there
astraboy.