Future Dance was another brand new hardcore night starting up and this looked very promising indeed, so I headed deep down to South East London to check it out. I arrived at the Castle Studios complex at about 9.30 and even from the outside I could hear the bassline of the music rumbling outside very clearly, which sounded good to me. Quite surprisingly there was no queue at all to get in, so after a quick search by the friendly security I finally got inside. First impressions of the place was that it looked very nice and a wicked sort of venue to hold a rave. The first room you came to was like a bar/chillout sort of room where there was a DJ in the corner playing hard house. But I was after the hardcore not the hard house. So straight through the chillout, lead the doors into the hardcore arena, which I have to say looked absolutely wicked. The hardcore arena was pretty big, had a capacity of about 1,000 with a balcony at the back looking onto the dancefloor. The arena sort of reminded me of a mini version of the Sanctuary. There was a stage at the front where the DJ booth was situated and where the dancers were strutting their stuff on stage. Hats off to the Go Mental crew because the production in there was top class. They really made a big effort in trying to make the place look good for the ravers. There were inflatables, drapings, giant balloons, backdrops etc around the whole venue. The lighting was excellent and the sound system was booming, and I mean booming. The bassline on the kickdrum made everyone’s bodies vibrate on the dancefloor !! The first DJ on the decks was Vinyl who played a wicked set. Playing a mainly banging hardcore set dropping tunes such as ‘Virtual Dreams’ by Elevate and the customary Evolution tunes thrown in for good measure. Certainly a good way to get the crowd warmed up. In fact it took a few hours before the place was eventually full and the dancefloor was fully rocking. What is with the London ravers ??? They always take so long to get the arses onto the dancefloor !!! Next up on the decks was Sharkey who never lets the crowd down, and tonight was no exception. Starting off on a more slower tip and then gradually building up the bpm’s. Eventually progressing into some seriously banging freeform, as the set built up. MC Odyssey was on the mic and with Sharkey playing plenty of Nu Energy tuneage and finishing off with the truly excellent ‘Now Control’ by Helix, made sure the packed dancefloor were loving it. The atmosphere inside was excellent as well. Just plenty of happy smiley people out to have a good time. Nothing but true 100% hardcore ravers, who were there purely for the love of the music. Not like some of the other big hardcore events in the last few years, especially at the Sanctuary where you always used to get your fair share of pissed up troublemakers as well, this was different. There were people from all parts of the country for this event as well giving their full support, which was nice to see. Next up on stage was the first PA of the night. I was so looking forward to this as I haven’t see a live PA at a hardcore event for a good few years. DJ Energy was on stage looking frantically busy behind the various keyboards, monitors etc ready to bust out some wicked Nu Energy PAs, including Nu Energy 12, which I have to say sounded awesome. The crowd were loving it as well, everyone was going extra mad on the dancefloor when the PA kicked in. To all the promoters out there, bring back the live PAs, the ravers love them !!!! Slipmatt followed next on the decks and dropped a wicked set of stomping hardcore. Playing a banging selection with the usual strong breakbeat influences such as the ‘SMD’ remix tune, had the whistles and horns crew going mad. Fair enough, Slipmatt’s passion of hardcore has long gone, but he still knows good and proper on how to rock a hardcore crowd, which is kind of annoying if you think about it. After that, I decided to take a good old wander around, strolling into the chillout room where Slipmatt, sorry I mean Matt Nelson was playing hard house. Which included a hard house remix of ‘Way in my Brain’, sounded quite intriguing, but no way near as good as the original and no way near as good as good old proper stomping hardcore :) It was now 1.00 and DJ Energy was next up on in the main arena and played an excellent set, probably the set of the night in my opinion. Playing mainly a 1994 – 1996 hardcore selection, reviving days of when he first made his name on Dream FM. Dropping tunes like ‘Ravers Choice 2’ (what a tune !!!) and also his very own ‘Hardcore Fever’ had the packed dancefloor loving every second of it….top stuff. It was then time for the second PA of the night, and time for Kaos to fiddle around with the allotted keyboards and monitors, ready to showcase the Go Mental PAs. Vickie the Go Mental vocalist was singing live on the mic and did an excellent rendition of ‘Forever Autumn’. Once again the crowd were loving every minute of it and stomping mad. Go Mental’s number 1 fan, DJ Vibes followed on next. Playing his usual cheesy selection, but not as cheesy as usual, which was better to hear. Dropping tunes like the ‘Rave Theme’ and ‘Techno Wonderland’ had the crowd throwing their hands in the air and got those cheesy grins going in full effect. Time for the last set of the night and time for Mr Go Mental himself, DJ Kaos to grace the decks. Obviously showcasing plenty of Go Mental tunes such as the ‘Don’t Go’ remix and ‘Diamond Eyes’ made sure the dancefloor was packed right up until the very end. Everyone who was there pretty much stayed up until the very last beat, which is always a good sign of a good night. The MC at the end asked the crowd whether they enjoyed the night, and believe me the noise generated by all the whistles and horns nearly raised the roof. Overall it was an absolutely brilliant night. You could really sense the extra excitement given off by the ravers for having a new night inside a brand new venue. Full respect goes out to the Go Mental crew. They really put so much effort into this night for the ravers and it all paid off. If we had more promoters like them, who truly care about the hardcore scene and the hardcore ravers, the scene would be back to its best. The venue was packed, the music was blinding, the atmosphere was wicked and everyone was loving it……can’t wait for the next one :) Big Shouts to: Joe, Paul, Kev, Chedda, Happybounce, Peter, Emma, Carol, Andrew, Jo, Radium man, Conrad, Ryan Sonic, Ponder, Carly, Rich, Jo, Nita, Robin Ardee, Caine, Scott Majestik, Happy J, Tina, Chrissy, Steve, Luke, Smithers, Tom Bennett, Adidas Matt, Ravegirl, Cakes, Charm, Peachy, Chris Rolfe, Ice Kold Pete, Stix, Dimi, Billybass, Misdee, Jonathan, Snow, Stuart, Lizzie, Jon……….hugs to the girls, handshakes to the boys………seeya on a dancefloor soon :) Over and Out
