astraboy

I have a soft spot for Fusion, but the weird thing is, I don't actually know why. The south coast based event has been going for a number of years, but it has only returned to active promotion recently.
Previous parties have been notable by a number of things. Firstly, the way they pulled in the ravers, secondly, the way the atmosphere was top notch from start to finish and thirdly, by the girly finish times, sometimes as early as 2am.
However, this is a problem which the south coast is renowned for. Try to get an all night licence on any other occasion than NYE and you'll be struggling. However, this is solved by moving away from the beach, yet keeping the rave near to its roots.
Enter Fusion's 15th birthday party. Located surprisingly close to Shepton Mallet, or Club Ice in Westbury to be precise. Seeing as it was a birthday bash, there were no excuses for not doing things properly so thats exactly what they did.
"36 DJ's" the flyer proudly proclaimed, but it was not the quantity, but the quality that lept out at me. Leaving aside the DnB and the house room (it held little interest to me tbh), the Olk Skool and Upfront Hardcore arenas were rammed with only the biggest and best in the business.
With the top jocks from RBC, EP, THC, & CLSM headlining, it was looking like a night of top quality music lay ahead, with the MC lineup being just as forthcoming, mostly due to the fact that most of my favourites were listed to perform, such as Storm, Whizzkid, Marley, Casper, Fugitive, Knight and Rude.
All that and I haven't even touched on the Old Skool arena yet. With plenty of DJs that demand respect for their input over the years, Druid, Ramos, Supreme, Vibes and Slipmattwere all namechecked and as such would be spinning on the night.
In a spectacular display of forward planning (not) I managed to get to the night of the rave before working out to get there. It was a surprise to learn about a road trip in excess of two hours, barely half an hour before leaving, but upon picking up my travelling companion for the evening, supplies of the crisps and chocolate were sorted out soon after.
Cut to rumbling into Westbury at about 10.30 and arriving at the club with alarming ease. The Full on funfair lept out at me, but that was nothing compared to what happened after locking up the car and making our way inside. After getting searched and sorting out the entrance, I opened the door of the place was immediately confronted with a packed venue, a kicking sound susyem and a seething mass of Hardcore ravers, all going for it. All of a sudden, the tiredness from the working week evaporated and I had a smile on my face. What more can you ask from a Hardcore Rave?
Best of all two of my favourites were right up there and going for it as I walked in. After a trip to the bar to get the drinks in, I got to where I belonged, right on the dancefloor, as Dougal, Gammer and Smiley worked their way through their set.
As it was the first one of the night for me, it was appropriate that the men from EP kept it euphoric and rushy for their set. Plenty of top end vocals resulted in plenty of goosebumps at regular intervals. Mainstream and upfront to the exclusion of everything else it may have been, but it was also seriously entertaining, especially when "How did I get here", "Through the Darkness", "Cry" and my personal favourite "Tell me a story" got dropped, not to mention Smiley's accompanyment including "Move your body" and "Bo Selecta".
For the 12pm set, Hixxy, Styles and Storm were up next and as The Essential Platinum wound up their set with "Raveheart", The RBC got ready to take over. The Dancefloor swelled noticably with ravers and those aleady in the place made way for the extras anxious to get on it.
Those on the decks didn't dissapoint. With the rave in full green light-party mode, the system boomed and the ravers stomped their guts out while the chaps in control did what they do best. "Do best" roughly translates to playing some seriously feirce tunes, with top notch MC-ing to go with it. Most notable was the inclusion of a large amount of new material to their mix, all of it unknown to me, but interspersed between it was some tunes I did recognise, like "Free your mind" (with a nice acoustic guitar on the remix that was dropped) "21st century rush" (with obligatory live vocals), the awesome (dont try to deny it) remix of "Nessenja" and a tune thats rapidly growing on me, namely "A sound without a name".
After Hixxy, Storm and Styles' time had come to an end, the next set was a mixture of dissapointment and almost ethereal stimulation. Dissapointment that Brisk had not shown up, coupled with the anticipation of what CLSM and Wink could get upto in the next hour.
A lot I'm not familiar with, it would seem. With one of the more inventive sets of the night forthcoming from Wink and CLSM, as well as the one and only MC Rude on the mic. A seriously cutting edge set, with unknown tunes dominating throughout, but that made it no less dancable, quite the opposite in fact. The only tunes I really remember is the sublime "See you on the other side" and "Take control", the rest was totally lost on me, what with my head down and hands in the air at regualr intervals. That, as well as the welcome addition of Casper on the mic were my only memories, not forgetting having to go outside to cool down at the end.
After I had stopped steaming, I made my way back to the main arena. Next up was a bit of a dilemma for me, with Ramos and Supreme and Vibes and Livelee clashing for the next set. I did the only thing a terminally indecisive astraboy could do, split them down the middle. The RSR crew first.
For the second set in succession, it was another progression session for the ravers in the place. With MC Marley in the place and in FULL control as he does so effortlessly, the DJs went to work and dropped a rapid succession of brand new Hardcore. High energy yet euphoric at the same time, the only thing that I can say for certain was it was seriously dancable, especially when Marley backed it up all the way, giving the crowd some "Hardcore lovin" as the changeover time approached all too rapidly.
Even though i didn't want to go, I knew the rewards were worth it. I always have a good time when Vibes and Livelee touch down and a trip to the old skool room was long overdue. When I arrived I knew it was the right decison to make though, cos the Vibes and Livelee Classic showcase was in full effect and a good crowd of Happy Hardcore Affectionadoes were lapping it up. Time to join them.
Both DJ and MC were on peak form for this one and I really enjoyed myself from start to finish. Vibes' tune selection and Livelee's mix of classic and new lyrics blended perfectly and I was in the zone in no time at all. Stomping for england, not stopping for NOWT and a big smile on my face was a prerequsite, not to mention there from beginning to end. Easily done when tunes included "Raindow high in the sky", "Rush hour", "I need your loving" and "Love you more".
However, Old Skool, good though it is, cannot carry the evening on its own. For that, the only place to be in the main arena and as such I was back there when Vibes had faded out his last tune. Just as well too, with The Geos Crew taking over from the departing RSR crew.
Together with the return of MC Whizzkid to the rave, the party people in the place were just as up for it as when I first walked in and more to the point so was I. Slacking off was NOT on the menu and the DJs and MC were not backward in re-inforcing that message.
This was mostly down to, once again, tune selection. Having heard heard precious few sets from these guys before, I was interested to see what was going to get played out, but in a continuation of the few performances I have seen from them in the last few months, it centred round showcasing their own work, plenty of collaborations with MC Marley, all padded out with choice mainstream tunes. Nice one.
With Whizzkid making time to cane his favoured crowd connection style of micwork, as well as getting Casper and Marley in on the fun, it was safe to say the lyrical side of the set did not go wanting, but coupled with the plethora of new tunes from the Geos crew (which to my eternal shame I haven't a clue what they are called) as well as the remix of "Connexions" and "Power and the Glory" (both sung live, natch) meant it was another set full of sore footed ravers at the end.
However if you think I was going for a girly rest for the next set then think again. D-Ice and reality were on next and I know they got a good track record for getting the party going. From Alexandra Palace, to the Main arena Sanctuary, they know what to do to get a party moving and this was no exception. It was especially compulsive to rave to when MC Whizzkid stood his ground and Mc'd through his second hour.
3-4, main arena Club Ice was not one to hang around, propping up the bar. The music was too good and it precluded the possibility. Some might have been wimping out, but the PROPER hardcore stayed their ground and went for it as D-Ice and Reality pumped out the high end, tunage, centering in around the euphoric and vocal driven sound and coming up with the goods to say the least, especially when they dropped "Soul of an Angel" and "Let the music take you" while Whizzkid caned his best crowd interaction chats such as "Ateam" and "Skillectors".
4am and it was the final set of the night. Best of all it was the proper final set business with Sy and Storm in the place and ready to do the business as only they know how. I always manage to find my innermost reserves of energy to rave to these chaps, no matter how knackered I am. Motivation like this isn't easy, especially on a friday night rave, but the rewards are worth the effort. Said rewards being entertainment beyond comparison.
I know I am pretty much repeating myself every weekend when I review a final set from Sy, but dammit, thats not the point. Review Sy and Storm loses a lot in putting it on paper. The experience is ten times better than I can articulate, especially when there are a large group of diehards by your side on the dancefloor, each and everyone of them with a big smile on their face.
It matters not that I namecheck pretty much the same tunes every week, its the raving to them that counts. In that respect, it was the turn of "Came and Dance with me", "Raveheart", "Dropzone", "I see the light", "Angel eyes" and "Take control" to get me moving, not to mention Storm coming up with the goods, most prominantly with the promise of a "Hardcore
Hit", which is strange cos that is exactly what I was getting. On a weekly basis I score some Sy, load up on the best there is and jack it straight in without a moments hesitation. No different from last week, but its an addiction I cant seem to function without. Gets me leaving the building with a smile on my face, thats for sure.
Things I liked:
Venue - Took me right back to my formative years of raving, this place did. Remeniscent of the Old Corn Mill Exchange up north and all the better for it, with its warren of seperate rooms and even an outside arena. Speaking of which....
Outside arena - Not listed on the flyer, but definitely worth listing here. The outside arena was not just a windy chillout, but an arena in itself. Complete with a Funfair on one side of the building, burger van at the entrance and best of all, a system and DJ out the otherside, it was clear someone had done their homework when it came to the rave AND its ancilleries. Acid house outdoors while you're cooling down? Yes please and while we're on the subject of the music...
Music - Needless to say, I spent most of my time in the Hardcore arena and reaped the rewards. Even though it was less of an exploration into the Hardcore sound than some other events take, for sheer entertainment, it was more than enough to keep me dancing till the final tune.
Ravers - This was the best part of the night for me. The crowd was everything I expected it to be and more. Definitely comfortable in terms of numbers, safe as you like (even with a DnB room in the place) and fully preparred to go the distance.
Things I liked less:
5am finish - No-one wanted to leave at the end and diet coke finish times are a pet hate of mine too. However I have a feeling this will be sorted for next time.
Brisk - A no show from one of my favourites and at the peak time too. CLSM and Wink more than made up for it though, even if "Free Nigel Penguin" was notable by its absence
As I said at the start of this, I have a soft spot for Fusion. Seeing as they have been going for 15 years now (albeit with a bit of a break here and there) they have to be doing something right, cos I have a Blinder of a night every time I go there.
This was no exception. From the moment I walked in I knew I was going to have the time of my life and that didn't let up till the needle lifted on the final tune. Doubly so when I voiced the opinion on the way down that it might be a bit quiet as it hadn't been talked up much in the usual channels. Happy to eat my words now though.
Blinding music, safe ravers and an outside chillout (which is a rarity these days, but I cant remember the last time decks and mixer were out there and playing out Acid House as well) all added up to a night to remember, as well as a continuation of Fusion as a night that has never let me down. See you at the next one, I have a feeling most of you will be there for it.
astraboy.

mickywrx

iTrader: (29)

Wiil have to read this properly tomorrow.

When the beer's worn off.

HIXXY One of the worst D.J's Ive ever witnessed IIRC

Daft Lad

Always been a bit partial to Hixxy myself