Well this is the first review of mine of a rave for a very long time, and believe me I definitely wasn't going to let Future Dance 5 pass without me having a word on it! Before this event I took the liberty of perusing my previous Future Dance reviews, just to relive a few moments of raving history. As my raving career has progressed, my memory capacity has coincidentally been eroded away, so I am glad I wrote down these memories, as they served to maximise my anticipation for this very special event - Future Dance 5 - The First Birthday Bash. Advertised on the flyer as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the Future Dance crew had a lot to live up to. After a quick pint or two watching England thrash the Scots in the rugby, and a little smoke and mix-up (HB showing us he is the true cheese-meister) at Kev's we made our way to the now obligatory, but ever fun pre-rave meetups at Waterloo at London Bridge. I met up with many raving friends I hadn't seen since NYE - some from even before that - and we all gathered in the taxi rank waiting for our lifts down to the Castle Studios. A rather skilful interception manoeuvre by myself ended up in us getting a quick taxi down Old Kent Road and we were at the venue by shortly after 7pm. A small rendezvous in the B&Q car park to deliver some duty-free Absinthe later, and I entered the venue. As I did so, Johnny and Ethos were announcing to the already growing queue that there were some slight technical hitches beyond their control (namely one of the sound systems had arrived very late) but that people were to enter the venue very soon. I walked into the venue, entering a room that was a complete surprise to me. The previously red old skool room with a large bar dominating proceedings had turned a particularly white shade of, er, white, and the bar had been replaced by a large dance area. There was also a pretty nice sound system in there, completing the transformation of this room into a proper arena. Very nice work lads!! The rest of the venue had also been made over, as only the Future Dance crew know how. Posters of the Go Mental residents in psychedelic paint, and clown outfits adorned the walls (I personally think the charicature of Andy Vinal was worthy of particular praise heh). There were warnings to any sheep that may enter the venue that there would be sheep-dippings to make the venue a "Foot and Mouth Disease Free Area". Also to my amusement were the notices in the toilets pointing out that "If you have taken E, you were unlikely to be able to pee"!!! Brilliant attention to detail that just made this night that extra little bit special. There were so many other amazing parts of the night - without even mentioning the music! The fire dancers; the pleasingly erotic stage dancers (heh, they kept me mesmerised for quite a while); the Russian Massive in full effect; the amazing sound system, the wicked lights, lasers and projection screens; the bouncy castle; the outdoor seating; the friendly security; the well-stocked merchandise stall - all making this night truly spectacular. But an amazing rave, such as this, is not merely the sum of its constituent parts. It has that special vibe, that spark of pure delight that lights when everything just coalesces into sheer brilliance. Future Dance 5 most definitely had this, in abundance! I haven't even started on the music yet!! Robbie Long and Devastate - described as two of the biggest "Up and Runnings" in the hardcore scene at the moment played a wicked set early in the night, that got the crowd pumping. When Vibes and Livelee came on the whole place erupted. Fair enough they may not be the future of hardcore - but the reaction of the crowd just said it all... they still do it in their own special way!! I was going pretty much bezerk at this point - a reflection, I feel, on quite how amazing this night was. Of course, I'm normally quite a reserved, pacific sort of person at raves (heh), but my god I was giving it some by this point!! Druid and Sharkey - now what can I say about this set, except to say bloomin' eck, it weren't half bad. Pure ecstasy in a rave. I'd never seen a place go off quite like it when they stepped up. I still stand by what I said there - i.e. Sharkey is probably still my favourite MC. He, in my opinion, stands above the others mainly cos he doesn't say much on the mic compared to others, but what he does say is just perfectly timed, perfectly created and perfectly projected. A wicked set of "real" hardcore :) Hixxy played another fantastic set of his upfront Raver Baby stuff - I still can't get enough of this stuff. Brisk also played a particularly amazing set of older hardcore, but with that characteristic Brisk speed! A real contender for set of the night was the set from Squirrel and MC MC, if only for the reaction of Cris-E-Manic when MC MC got on stage! What a wicked set of real old skool, mixed to perfection by the brilliant Squirrel. Energy showcased much of the new releases on his label, and the freeform crowd were loving it. In the other arenas I have to make special mention to Loftgroover for a wicked set of hard-as-you-like gabba and Sass for a similarly hard-as-fuck set. I spent most of my time in the hardcore arena, so unfortunately I can't really pass comment on many of the other sets - although I have been informed by everyone that the quality didn't wane during any set! Well, what more can I say? I really don't think I will say anything else, except to say that Future Dance 5 was truly the best hardcore rave I have ever been to. I might be heard to say similar things at other raves, but rarely do I write it in my reviews (if ever). Having had a couple of days of rational thought about it, I really do think that this was one of those nights that shall always be the benchmark that other raves are judged by. For a rave to be half as good as this, it has to be rather special indeed. Thank you to everyone who made this the night it was - a special thank you to Johnny and Peter from Future Dance... it's your effort and vision that has made Future Dance what it is today. A year ago a new concept in hardcore entertainment was born, last Saturday it became the daddy of them all. Future Dance are now the leaders. Big huge hardcore raving shouts to: Kev, Caine, Jexxy (sexy innit hehe), Kat, Nix (grr, I'm an alien), Becki, BeckiBoo, Barking Boy, SiMDMA, Twigg, Andy PLURaver (thank you for the lift!), Nemesis, Jody, Minxx, Fussion, Acidnik, Sam, RaverJo, Viking, Androo, Mupster, Phick, Dodgee, Alarm, Banksy, Gus, Dimi, Nic from OneLove, Pete, Tom, Potfish, Mad Man, Dairymilk Warrior, Ponder, HB, Crissy, Uplift, Tony Resonance and Natasha, Misdee, Billy Bass, Peter and Emma, Paul, Doug, Craig, Jamie (u lizard man u hehe), Peter Ethos, Johnny, Kev Energy, Icekold, Stix, Gordon, James, Andy T, Andy Vinal, Smile-E, AndyM, Padz, Aaron, Devotion, Sam (DJ Dune), Hixxy, Brisk, UFO, SD, Spike, Scottie, Stargazer, shit this had taken me hours and me head is hurting, Casper, Jedi, Stormtrooper, Rewind, Snow, Wildcard, BabyBeth, Lee, Chedda, Jon Diewrecked, shit that must be everyone by now... everyone I met, everyone I didn't meet - see you all at Resonance v Elation - 9th March 2001!!!! Tom Bennett / DJ U4EA
