After not being able to go out last week, I needed to fill the gap till summer sensation next week. There was no hardcore in london though so Grob suggested I go to the EQ with him and Paulo Zykotic. I only found out it was a psi trance night about a day before I went, but its never a bad thing to broaden your musical horizons so off I went.The venue was the EQ in Hackney wick. As we approached, we saw other ravers making their way to the venue so we knew we were on the right track. When we got there there was no queue so we went straight in. Security didn't even search us and we made our way down the tunnel to the ticket office. 15 very reasonable squid on the door later and we were in. Once we were upstairs, we went into the main arena. I've only been to the EQ once about 3 years ago for a drum and bass rave so I was pleasently surprised to see a proper effort had been made in the main room. Loads of weird backdrops were complimented by even stranger mobiles hanging down from the ceiling. Cool oil gel lights were everywhere, as well as stretched dayglo fabric all over the ceiling. Two serious lasers were doing the do all night. The music was interesting as well. As someone who had never been to a psitrance night, I really didn’t know what to expect. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a reasonable quick bassline so that meant it was danceable. The different thing was the way the music was danceable. With hardcore I find I am waiting for the next big tune so I can go mental to it cos I know I love it. With this it was more of a case of “getting into” the music. I suppose the best way to describe it would be a cumulative effect, the more you listen to it, the better it becomes. The really good thing was the way the night was wound up the further the evening progressed. At the start was the really soft end of the scale. Obiviously the night got harder and harder the more it got on, but it was done in such a way as to be just barely perceptible. It was as if the DJs had all sat down and decided the best way to wind up the evening and what tunes to do it wind it up real subtle like. Comparing it to the real mish mash you get at some hardcore events, it was a really nice touch which deffo made me enjoy the evening better. As well as the music there were some cool stalls selling mainly UV clothes, fresh mushrooms and nitrous oxide. Each to their own I suppose. I particually liked the fluro t-shirt with the Intel logo with “Techno inside” instead . The only really noticeable part where the tempo was really upped was when Astrix came on at 4.30 for a live PA. Defenitly the best part of the evening, I really enjoyed his set. Hard fast and very, very danceable, he played a blinder from start to finish. Not that I got a chance to see the finish, that is. The only bad part of the night was the incredible heat within the EQ. It was a wet heat too which meant that everyone got soaked to the skin. Its not that I don’t mind heat, you go to a rave, you expect to get hot, The venue opened up the emergency exits to help the party people cool down as well, but it got to a point where I was dancing for 20 minutes then spending 10 minutes cooling down, then going back for another 20 minutes. The other thing that really went down well for me was the incredible diversity of the crowd at the event. Everyone from every walk of life was there, the Ben Sherman crew, Massive Rastas, Dreadlocked hippies, Goths, cyberkids, skins, even one or two hardcore ravers etc, I remember someone saying that around 80% of the attendees spoke English as a second language and I can believe it too. But that’s the best bit though. Even though the crowd were all so different, everyone was chilled out and absolutely determined to enjoy the night 100%. Anyway, Things I liked: One of the promoters handing out free olives at the end of the night, The venues rather personal interpretation of the licencing laws, The visuals guy going round with a bubbling gun and randomly bubbling the ravers, The easy going vibe of the party people, Things I liked less: Getting shot in the eyes by the full power of the laser. (more bad luck than anything but it was a shock I can tell you) The heat (big up to the organisers for doing all they could though) The urban decay around the venue (got a bit scared walking back to the station) The good bits far outweighed the bad though, cos I went there for a change but ended up really enjoying myself anyway. I’ll definitely be back for another one cos of the high quality tunes and the really good atmosphere. When you compare it to some of the more organised events with superstar DJs being the main attraction, this was more of a “Rave” than they could ever hope for. Shouts to: Grob, Paul Zykotic, Mark(bluelight crew and stomping nutter), Lisa, The visuals bloke with the bubble gun and all the random ravers I waffled to.
