Hardcore Heaven rammed out their last event at the Sanctuary back in February. I was reliably informed that it was 1 in 1 out at around 1 am back then, therefore, their second party, with more of a knowing nod to the techno fraternity, as well as a more varied lineup in general, promised to be even better. It turned out to be ten times better than the February party. I got there later than I usually do at around 11pm. I was expecting a queue of huge proportions, but was pleasantly surprised to see a bit of a queue and it moving along fairly swiftly. The search was firm but fair, with a rub down for weapons and a feel of my wallet being the extent of it. After that I handed over my ticket and I was in. Once inside, I saw the layout of the main room had changed. The main stage was over the far wall from the entrance, but the DJ was still way out right in front of the crowd so everyone could see what he was up to. The MC was relegated to behind the DJ, but he had a massive stage to wander about on so it didn’t matter. Decor was different to last time with huge lighting rigs on the ceiling and on the main stage as well as a kick ass multi coloured laser. The only thing missing was a couple of bubble machines, but the night was none the poorer without them. Scott Brown was on the decks when I arrived and as usual it was gabber time. I have this weird problem with Scott's sets. I can listen to them on tape packs and really enjoy them, but I cant dance to them at raves. Dont ask me why, cos I dont know, but this night was no different so I hastened to the bar and sunk a couple of redbulls to pass the time. I clean forgot that Demand was on upstairs, otherwise I would have been up there like a shot, but I like standing at the back for a bit at raves, soaking up the atmosphere and the spectacle before getting into the night so it was all good. After SB was a DJ clash that saw me split between the rooms. I spent the first half in the main room, dancing to Hixxy's set, then hastened upstairs to take in Kevin Energy's efforts. Hixxy's set was cracking. As usual i cant remember for the life of me what he played, but one I do remember was him overlaying "thou shalt not forget" over this feirce gabba tune. Wicked. Storm was tearing it up on the mic as well. It was a shame to leave, but I really wanted to see Energy's set. Up in the sweatbox, Energy was whipping the crowd up into a frenzy. Hard and fast freeform sent the atmosphere soaring, as well as the temparature I managed to stop dancing for a few seconds and felt the floor flexing up and down as hundreds of hardcore stompers went crazy. Odyssey was on the mic for the first bit and was then joined by Sharkey later on. One tune I do remember him playing was "Freedom" which was cool. Just about the only thing in the arena that was though I was starting to run out of energy towards the end of Energy's set but I wanted to see In effect as I've never done so before. Unfortunately I was totally shagged out by the time Energy's set was up so I had to go have a sit down. A few bottles of Lukozade inside me and it was back upstairs into the furnace. Something had gone wrong while I was away though and the tunes were piss takingly quiet. I could barely hear them, even though Storm's efforts on the mic were at the normal volume. This made the set more of an MC showcase than anything else. I'm sure the tunes were good, I just couldnt hear them. Storm made up for it though with some blinding MC'ing. It was quiet apt when "Turn up the music" came on toward the end and someone behind the scenes did exactly that. buy the end of In Effect's set, the rig was fully operational. After In Effect, it was the turn of Sharkey to shake the place up. His set was a total blur to be honest, but I remember him playing a Marc Smith tune with some top notch MC'ing over the top of it. "Wicked MC" I think it was. I know it was excellent though, cos it was the only set of the night where I had to wring out my Tshirt and gloves afterward :) After the 3am meetup it was was straight into the main room for Sy and Storm. What a set. Really enjoyed it. For sheer polished performance you just cannot beat Sy and Storm. To put it into terms I can articulate, you have to go back to Formula 1 in the 1990's. I.E. you get a Williams Chassis and a Renault engine together and you have a guaranteed winner. Pretty much the same with Sy and Storm then :) One other addition to the HH experience, was a third outdoor arena. Well to be precise they had got an old double decker bus and kitted it out with a sound rig. They opened the floor to up-and comings to play at hardcore heaven (which is safe as fook in its own right) and then let everybody aboard. I was only on there for a few minutes as I'm a tall barsteward and the floor was a bit low, plus the whole bus was groaning under the weight of 100 spannered ravers chilling out inside. Wicked idea though. Even if Gill and Jerome told me they were caught red handed trying to hotwire the b*****d!!!!! When I went back in and saw Dougal was on the decks. I tried so hard to remember one of the tunes he played but I failed miserably. All I remember is that it was a brilliant set with loads of vocals (which I like, lots ) and nice uplifting breakdowns. Smiley and Marley were on the mic for this one and once again were on top form. Everything snapped sharp for me during Dougal's set. I was having the time of my life and it was all over too soon. Pity, cos it was a wicked set. Final set of the night was down to Styles, He set the tone right at the start by playing the wicked "Black Magic Bad Magic" tune. The rest of his set was dominated with Storm and Whizzkid going b2b on the mic. It was a shame to leave as I had to go half an hour early and the whole night had shot by in a flash. What a night. This event was as close to perfection as I have seen at a rave. Top lineup with some much appreciated variation, innovative ideas (I.E. the bus!), having it crowd (never saw a drop of trouble all night) and kick ass production all combined to make one of my favourite raves this year. I cant wait for the next Hardcore Heaven at the Fridge. I will definitely be there. Shouts to: cor blimey, here we go. Davespice, Jack, Wendy, Grob, Carol, Sharkey, Chris, Kevin Energy, Tenz, Sykee (totally twatted again), Kickin_k, Doc-E (almost the wettest person there), Fishgeffo (defintiely the wettest person there), Mad vic (nice to meet you), DJ Storm, Wottsee (respect for attending the meetup!), Smiley (same for you dude), Jordon Spenno, Scott Devotion, Koochy, D-ice (Messssssy!!!), Paul Zykotic, Happythoughts, Gurn-E, HB, Ponder, Mayhem (boilersuit massive!!!), Brad 23456355324654324454245, Whizzkid, MC Storm, Bedroom raver, Slammin Sam, Nuclear raver, Andy M, Dan Desire, Cris E manic (f**kin waterpistol ), Pir-8, Kinky Kat and her friend, Smithers, Moonlight raver, Kazzer, minigatz.....Right thats it, I've done amazing to get this far so I'm not gonna push my luck any further.
