Bedlam review - Friday 10th May The Bedlam promoters are always trying new themes for their events in order to please the ravers, and this event was a special techno night. Bedlam is coming up to one year old so is starting to establish itself as a regular fixture on the Yorkshire raving circuit. I arrived at the George IV venue at about 8:30pm after I’d finished work, and when I walked in the first thing I noticed was that the attendance was up from the previous two Bedlam events. As I came in it was Vorny on the decks, playing the last 15 or so minutes of his set. The first tune I heard from him was rock hard, so I smiled and thought that I was in for a good night here. His last few tunes were trance as opposed to techno, but no-one seemed to mind too much. The Bedlam promoters had obtained a new set of speakers for this event and you could tell because the sound system was nice and loud. On sale was a wide range of merchandise including tapes from previous Bedlam events and the odd Uprising one, whistles and glowsticks. I also discovered an arcade machine in the corner with the classic R-type on, which I’d never noticed before at any of the previous Bedlam events I’ve been to. :) Next up on the decks was Bedlam resident Martin Space, who truly is Mr Versatile. In the past I’ve heard him play hard house, older happy hardcore, upfront hardcore and freeform, and here he impressed me again by playing a nu-style gabba set. This was hard and bouncy with a lot of stuff in that I’d not heard before, as well as the “fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” tune. After him came Jake Nicholls and Impact playing back to back, and they played a set with a very old bouncy feel to it. They started off with the original “Live@London” by Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo, and kept it banging all the way through the set. Following these came Species resident Alarm, keeping with the techno theme of the night. He also played a banging nu-style set and dropped the “Inspector Gadget” tune right at the end. :) The night wasn’t to be all techno though, with the last two sets being scheduled as hardcore. First of these was promoter UHF and I knew his set would be interesting when he started off with Shy FX’s “Shake your body”. His set had a lot of new stuff in that I’d not heard before, as well as “Wipeaway” and the wicked new “Crazy styles” remix (brockwild!). There wasn’t one set here which massively stood out from all the others, but this one just got my vote for set of the night. The final set of the night was Uprising’s DJ Spinner, well known for playing bouncy hardcore. He played some new stuff here like “Odomok” and the “I can’t get enough” tune Brisk usually plays, as well as some older stuff like “Bellissimma” and the classic “Jieeeehhhaaaa!” which he finished off with. This was another good Bedlam event with an up for it crowd and the usual dancefloor madness. It continues to stick with its nu-breed policy it has had right from the start, choosing lesser known up and comings as opposed to big names. This especially applies to their set of MCs who are starting to acquire their own reputation from the ravers, considering this is in a region where the Uprising MCs have such a following. With the exception of Domer who has been established for a long while, I’m impressed by the way every single one of them has improved ability-wise since Bedlam first began. Bedlam is gradually building up momentum, and whilst it is still on a relatively small scale the event is setting the groundwork for future success. Think how many of the big events around at the moment started off in a similar kind of way. The next two Bedlam events are a residents night on May 31st for just £1 otd, and their first birthday event on June 7th. Come along and support them! :) Shouts go out to Lee UHF, Martin Space, Jonesy, Dr Watson, Rich B, Part-E, Jake Nicholls, Sam, Scott Potential, J.O. in a state, Trigg, Runna, Shame, Banksy, Alarm, Kerrie, Dean, Cooper and Spinner. :)
