Elation’s fifth event and also their first birthday bash, which sounded like an attractive preposition to me, so I head down to the Chunnel Club in Vauxhall to check it out. When I arrived at the venue, I was taken aback to find police cars, policeman walking around sealing off the road and ravers standing outside in bemusement. It was a bit surreal and at first I was wondering whether the police had launched a raid on the club before anyone has got inside ! But alas, it was only a bomb scare being checked out in the street. Soon it was all clear and things returned back to normal. But as a result the club opened up 30 minutes late and after a pretty strict search by the security, I finally got inside. Security on the night were tight but polite. They had the presence, but generally weren’t too overbearing. First arch I came into was the old skool room, which was looking pretty good. The sound system in there was nice and meaty and the lighting was mediocre I would say. Through the doors on the side and onto the hardcore arch, which I have to say was looking wicked. The Elation crew certainly put a lot of effort into providing the best show for the ravers. There was a big green lazer protruding onto the dancefloor, strobes, bubble machines to rain bubbles down over the dancefloor and lots of UV backdrops. The sound system was a bit weak at first, but became a lot better later on in the night, when the technician came to turn up the bass. Uplift was first on the decks in the hardcore room and played a wicked set and probably my set of the night. He played a mixture of breaks and 4 beat including his own tune ‘Brutal’ and ‘Deep Inside’ by UFO, all impeccably mixed together. Next was HB who played a pretty good set. Dropping a bit more happier then he usually does to get everyone smiling. Playing tunes such as ‘The Big Spill’ (Demo remix) as well as his own tune ‘PH2’ got the dancefloor nice and warmed up. By now the hardcore room was pretty busy. It wasn’t rammed, but the dancefloor at times during the night was pretty heaving. However the overall turnout was below what the promoters needed to break even. I think the lack of old skool heads may have made the turnout lower then what the promoters were hoping for. But still, there was good sized crowd in the venue and both rooms were having it at times. Just past 12.00 and time for Energy in the hardcore room. It was supposed to have been a back to back set with Fury, but unfortunately Fury couldn’t turn up due to family problems, which I was really gutted about at first because I really wanted to see him play. But the disappointment was soon swept aside, as Energy was quality and was up to his usual high standards. Playing a mixture of old and new freeform with tunes such as ‘Evil returns’, ‘Crazy styles’ and the rare ‘Little mermaid’ made it a top banging set. MC Storm was in control of the mic on a small stage at the front, to really get the crowd going as usual. The atmosphere on the night was excellent, real nice vibe between the ravers. I wish I could bottle up the atmosphere on the night and open it up all raves, so all nights have this same atmosphere. The smaller events always have a more close knit atmosphere, where everyone is on the same friendly level. Ham was on next making a rare DJing hardcore appearance. He played a pretty good set and his mixing qualities were very good. He played mainly classic Next Generation tuneage, as well tunes such as ‘Is anybody out there’, ‘I’ve got a feeling’ by Demo and ‘Muzik 99’. The crowd seemed to be really enjoying it and got a good reception from the ravers. Sonic stepped up next to the wheels of steels with his trademark nu style gabba selection. It was nice to hear some Dutch hardcore for a change and even though some people couldn’t take the intense pace, I certainly loved stomping to it. The old skool room next door also had some wicked sets, courtesy of the likes of Charlie Bucket, Ardee, Lukozade, Uplift & Cris.E.Manic. I was popping in there a lot of times during the night to hear the old classics. It would have been nice to have had a few more people in there, but there was a nice buzz and everyone was lapping up the old tunes. Clock struck 3.00 and Ponder was on in the hardcore arch, playing what can be described as a truly hard dance set. Blending in a mixture of NRG (Jon Doe, Lab 4 style tunes), German hard trance and a bit of freeform (old Bonkers stuff). MC Elmo was on the mic jumping around and really getting into the music. I enjoyed the set and it seemed to go down pretty well on the dancefloor. I then decided to chill out, where I saw two lovely young ladies sitting on the floor getting off and getting very intimate with each other in front of everyone. Well, I must admit me and the rest of the blokes did enjoy watching that and something I hope to see more of at raves. Moving on, the man like Sharkey had just taken control of the Technics with a banging top quality selection. Sharkey is one of my fav DJs and tonight he was on top form. Most of the stuff he played was new material such as the ‘Turn the heat up’ and some of the other new tunes sounded excellent. Particularly this wicked fresh breakbeat tune with a Roller coaster ride sample in the middle of it, which really got the dancefloor brocking to the beats. Watch out for Sharkey’s new tunes, in my opinion he’s still the most talented person in the hardcore scene. It was now 5.00, which meant it was time for the last hour. Ponder + HB stepped up to play a classic 94 / 95 selection making it a nice euphoric way to round off the night while the bubbles were raining down on the dancefloor. Dropping tunes such as ‘Ravers Choice 2’, ‘Take me away’ and finishing off with the inimitable '95 style'. Most ravers stayed until the very end, which is always a sign of a good night and a well satisfied crowd. Overall it was a brilliant night, everyone I talked to had a good night and thoroughly enjoyed it. The atmosphere was wicked, music was nice and varied, and the production was quality. I think everyone who went could sense the effort gone into the night to make it the best show for everyone. It’s a shame more people didn’t come and support the night, its events like this which supply the foundations to the scene. Remember, go to the big nights too but don’t neglect the small nights. Respect to Mark, Paul and Ryan...keep the faith ! Big Shouts to: ‘The Dapper Don’ Chedda, Tom U4EA, Lee UHF, ‘The lightweight’ Smithers, Cakes, Charm, Velocity, Danger, Loony, Quincy, ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’ Ardee, Tom Metric, Sweetstar, Dimi, Charlotte, James, Steve, Chrissy, Luke, Casper, Stormtrooper, Merlin, Stardude, Hattrix, ‘The lout’ Paulie, Crazy Chris, Aidan, Tony Res, Wildcard, Beth, Mupster, Phick, Allan Mcgrath, Mikey B, Grob le Frog....hugs to the girls, handshakes to the boys....seeya soon :) Over and out
