As a lot of people know there was a lot of confusion running up to this event. All sort of stories were flying about of how only just over 3,000 tickets had been sold and how the Rollers and the Technodrome had been shut off. Well I’m afraid to say all those stories were true. The main Sanctuary lineup was staying the same and the original Rollers lineup had been moved to the room upstairs. The old skool and techno arenas had been scrapped completely. But nevertheless this was the eve of the new millennium and I was determined to have a good time whatever the circumstances and I managed to do that. I arrived at the Sanctuary to be greeted by a quite a long queue, obviously people wanted to get there nice and early. News about the changes was already filtering through the queue and a lot of people were understandably quite upset by what had happened. But having said that, most people just shrugged it off and decided they were determined to make a night of it. It was only really the techno ravers who were very upset about what had happened and I don’t blame them, especially those who travelled from miles away to be there tonight. There was also no signs put up anywhere inside or outside the venue explaining to the people why all these changes had taken place, which I think was the decent thing the HSO management should have at least done. There were only a few small timetables stuck up here and there showing what the revised schedule was but no explanation whatsoever about what was going on. After being searched by the security who weren’t too bad on the night, except for the ones in the maroon bomber jackets who are always extra moody, I finally got inside about 8.00 just in time for the first set. The main Sanctuary arena was impressively decked out as it always is. The stage was at the far end of the arena running perpendicular to the balcony. There were no podiums on the dancefloor, which was a bit strange but the lighting, decor and lasers seemed to be all in place. The sound levels however kept on fluctuating throughout the whole night. Sometimes the sound levels were very good and very loud. Other times the sound levels were very poor indeed and had no bassline at all, meaning you couldn’t even tell what songs were being played. I’m not sure what was going on but I found this aspect very disappointing because Helter Skelter events always used to have good sound levels all throughout the night. The first DJ on the decks was DJ Breeze who played a good set. Admittedly I’ve never been a big fan of Breeze in the past because he usually plays a bit too slow for my liking. But this set was slightly faster and certainly got everyone jumping and made everyone forget about the initial disappointment of the night. MC Whizzkid, who is one of my favourite MCs was getting everyone hyped up and getting the crowd to shout out together. ‘Eye Opener’ was dropped in at the end which really got the hardcore ravers warmed up. I then headed to the room upstairs. As expected this room was rammed solid all night and was very hot indeed. Brisk, undoubtedly the DJ of the year in my opinion, had just taken control of the decks and was busting some seriously excellent banging hardcore including the wicked ‘Elysium’ which got everyone stomping mad, just perfect :) The Sanctuary was rapidly filling up. I noticed that there seemed to be more hardcore ravers about the place then drum and bass ravers. Though it was mainly the drum and bass ravers who were taking advantage of the free drinks offer, which is not the sort of offer I like to see at raves, particularly when it pushes up the ticket price by quite a bit. I’ve never seen so many cans of beer scattered on the dancefloor at the Sanctuary. But having said that, despite the amount of alcohol being consumed, I personally saw no trouble caused by anyone. But I did hear some reports of trouble being caused by the usual idiots. In the main arena, Vinylgroover had just stepped on the decks and started playing some old skool, which I thought was a bit strange. But still, the packed dancefloor were loving it. He then started playing some hard house sort of stuff towards the end of his set, perhaps showcasing to the ravers the way he is hoping to take hardcore into the future. The hard house got a mixed reaction from the crowd. Half the crowd seemed to love it and the others didn’t seem to like it so much. I personally like hard house and I think it should be definitely be played more at raves, but in its own separate room, not in place of when hardcore should be played. It was 11.00 and time to head upstairs again as Slipmatt had just taken control. He played a wicked set playing mainly old hardcore classics particularly ones from 1995 / 1996. Dropping classics like ‘Toytown’ and ‘Partytime’ sent the temperature of the rammed crowd through the roof. As 12.00 was slowly approaching and the atmosphere was building and building, there was still no sign of Force and Styles who were scheduled to play the midnight set. But 12.00 came around all too quickly and everyone went mental when it did come around. Everybody started hugging the people all around them and the noise generated from the crowd was deafening. Slipmatt played ‘On A Ragga Tip’ remix as the midnight tune, which got everyone really going mad on the dancefloor. But then everyone realised that Force and Styles were actually playing in the main arena downstairs despite what it said on the revised timetables around the venue, very annoying indeed. But still I headed downstairs to catch Force and Styles alongside Junior. They were playing all the classic anthems such as ‘Pacific Sun’ and ‘All systems go’ ( what a top tune !! ) which had the packed arena really going for it. But still, despite the earlier confusion to who was playing where, everyone was smiling on the dancefloor. I then decided to go for a wander outside, which was busy as usual. The usual funfair rides were there, especially this huge one which really got your head and stomach spinning beyond belief.…..never ever again :) The burger van was also there, dishing out free burgers and hot dogs to the ravers and there were many ravers taking advantage of that offer. But one thing I found particularly annoying was that there was no chillout tent at all, which meant it was very difficult to actually relax properly as the ground outside was often wet and muddy to sit down on. Everyone, despite the rearranging of the arenas, at least expected some sort of chill out area to be there. Meanwhile back in the Sanctuary, DJ Sy was on the decks with MC Storm alongside him. A good set by Sy with his usual impressive trademark scratching. But I do think his sets seem to have become a bit too predictable for my liking over the last year. This time last year, Sy was amazing. In 1999 he seems to have let his standards slip a bit. But he’s still one of the best DJs around and hopefully he can return back to his very best for 2000. He dropped tunes like the usual ‘Joining of the Clans’ and ‘Kick it’ and the crowd were loving it. With MC Storm on the mic commanding the crowd, the whistle and horns crew were making as much noise as humanly possible. It was now 2.00, which meant it was time for Dougal to step up to the wheels of steel in the main arena. I have to say Dougal played the best set I’ve heard him play for years. He played good cutting edge hardcore, hardly any cheese and not too trancey like he played at the previous Skelter. This set was mainly nice fresh hardcore particularly Evolution stuff which got the crowd really going. I thought Brisk’s set was outstanding earlier on but I always give Brisk set of the night at most of the events. So instead, I think Dougal deserves set of the night in my opinion, as I haven’t heard him play so well for ages. The last 3 sets I’ve heard Dougal play have all contrasted completely with each other. I’m not sure he knows which way to turn, but if he keeps it the way he played tonight, I’m sure he will start to win back the respect of all the ravers of which he has lost over the last few years. The hardcore was now shifted back upstairs and time for Hixxy whose set I was really looking forward to. He didn’t play any of the usual wishy washy euro trance, this was strictly banging hardcore and it was wicked to see Hixxy dropping some proper banging tunes like he used to. Showcasing some new tunes he’s been making with U.F.O, the crowd certainly showed their appreciation and I hope it signalled to him to start making more off the banging stuff instead of the slow trancey stuff which never really proved that popular with the ravers. On the whole the trance sound which was so prominent in the scene over the last few months, particularly at the previous Skelter was virtually non existent on the night. It was mainly banging stuff all the way and I hope it stays like that for the future. The atmosphere in general was very good in the whole venue considering what had happened. Most people were determined to make the most of the night and have a smile on the face. Admittedly there were quite a few downhearted ravers who found it difficult to raise a smile and quite a few people decided to leave early. But still the dancefloors were busy all night and the atmosphere was good so the majority of the ravers had a wicked time. The Ratpack had just taken control of the Sanctuary dancefloor and played their usual array of classics. Playing ‘Captain of the ship’ and finishing off with their wicked ‘Clipper’ tune had everyone more then satisfied. It was the only the proper time of the night that the drum and bass ravers and hardcore ravers danced properly together. Brockie alongside MC Dett soon dismissed that though as they were next on stage. But I really fancied hearing some rolling drum and bass, I was always like to catch at least one set of drum and bass to break up the night if I go out raving. Brockie played a wicked set, not as jump up as he usually plays but still a good set. It was now 6.00 and time for the last set. The Sanctuary dancefloor was like a swamp judging by the amount of debris and discarded drinks that were on the floor. But still it was time for Vibes alongside the one and only LiveLee who was making one of his rare appearances. Playing plenty of Go Mental tuneage and finally finishing off the night with the brand new remix of ‘Don’t go’ by DJ Kaos which went down well and sent the packed crowd home in high spirits and off to collect their complementary box set. I personally didn’t feel that emotional at the end, like I was expecting to. It just seemed like a normal hardcore set to finish off the night. I was a bit disappointed Vibes didn’t play some more classic hardcore tunes with it being the last ever Skelter set, now that would have really got the emotions going, but still it was a good set. Dave Pratley got on the mic right at the end to explain personally to the crowd what had happened on the night. I suppose he made a fair point in saying how lots of the NYE nights around the country particularly the big events went wrong on the night. Overall it was wicked night and most people I spoke to had a good time as well, everyone just made the most of what was there. But I still can’t help but feel sort of disappointed in the way the night turned out. I was expecting this night to be one of the best raves I’ve ever been to, when really it was far from that. It was made sadder by the fact that after so many excellent nights organised by HSO over the last 10 years, this was definitely not the way they wanted to say goodbye to the ravers. Then again, also right at the end, Dave Pratley dropped a hint that he might not be completely leaving the scene after all, we’ll just have to wait and see what he means. But considering the circumstances surrounding this event, it was still a wicked night and glad that I went. Big Shouts to: Joe, Kev, Peter, Andrew, Chedda, Radium, Caine, Jo, Emma, Jaimie, Jon, Taffy, Beth, Chris R, Tina, Happy J, Gum, Steve, Cris E Mashup, Luke, Roo, Adidas Matt, Dave Majestik, Nita, Lisa Limegirl, Mikey, Amit, Johnathan, Eleanor, Smiley Smithers, Stompy, Time, Carly madraver, Matt, Alix….…...hugs to the girls, handshakes to the boys….…..hope you all had a good one :) Over and Out
