There are certain things that I want to do and feel the need to do when I go raving. The latter is usually something that is forced upon me and I "Have" to do it. Moreoften than not its simply so I can say "I was there" In years to come. Tribal Gathering's Warehouse party last summer was a good example, The last ever North is a better one. Last year it was announced that North was coming to and end. It would stage is 100th and final event in Febuary at its regular haunt, Lakota in Bristol. Being totally ignorant when it comes to the techno scene, the lineup meant little to me, but my mind was made up, I HAD to be there. When I actually received the flyer, I was even more determined. Ignorant though I was, names like Clarkee, Sharkey, Vortex, MarkEG, Producer, Smurf and Ribbz all lept out at me. The promise of a 1 hour special of classic tunes at the end of the night sounded interesting too. That was it, I was going and that was the end of it. Tickets were a must for this party. I had phoned the info line a few weeks before and been told that it was 60% sold out already. Trouble was the tickets outlets were all clustered around the southwest and Northwest. London was completely outlet free which made picky barstewards like me, who prefer to go to the rave with a paper ticket in their hand, short of options. Luckily, I found myself in Bristol about a week before the event. I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, I was straight down the record shop and sorted myself and two of my mates who were coming down with me. On the night and with tickets ready, myself, Paul Zykotik and Lady Angelic blitzed out of London at about 7.30. An "Enthusiastic" drive later and we arrived in Bristol just before nine. We parked up and made our way to the venue. A small queue greeted us and we joined the back of it. Security were mostly friendly and the queue moved quickly. All we got was a brief pat down for weapons and we were in. I had been to Lakota before, but never when it was this busy. I had to fight my way to the main arena there was so many people there. When I got there I wasn’t disappointed. The main stage was dominated by two huge projection screens showing trippy visuals and computer graphics. They were backed up with a plumbed in lighting rig and a green laser. The DJs were located way up top on the left. There was also an arena full of ravers going for it left right and centre. Similar efforts had been made with arena two, but it was the Gabba room that really blew me away. Cardboard cutout fish were suspended from every point on the ceiling, as well as netting and seaweed!. All of this was bathed in UV lighting, making it appear like you were raving in a fluro seascape. Very cool indeed. However it was the music I was there for. Like I have said before, Techno is still a bit of a mystery to me. Ask me to name a tune or a sub genre and I'll be baffled. However, I know what I like and I found it in arena two. Wragg was on the decks and was playing my kind of tunes. It was fast, musical and very, very dancable. Me and Paul Zykotik got down to business and danced to the end of his set with the rest of the friendly ravers in the arena. With lineups plastered all over the walls, Planning the evening was easy. Sharkey was on next in the Main arena and it was obvious he was well up for a party. He also had a job to do and rose to the challenge by maintaining the pace set by the last DJ, then gradually increasing it till by the end he was at hardcore speed. It was the only way he could get away with dropping "John Peel is not enough" at a techno rave but by the time he was finished, the crowd were so up for it that it didn’t matter what he played just as long as it was FAST! After Sharkey's set, I knew exactly where I had to go. Clarkee was next up in the second arena and even though I have never seen him before, I have heard enough tapes to know I would be mad to miss it. When I had negotiated the mass of ravers who had the same idea as me, I saw that not only was the god that is Clarkee on the decks, but he was joined by MC Ribbz on the mic. I totally lost it during this set. Dancing non stop from start to finish, it was what raving is all about. No anthems or big tunes that I recognised, just wall to wall underground techno from two of the best in the business. I didnt have a clue what was playing so I cant name any tunes, but with these two entertaining me do you really need to ask? Christ it was good. When Clarkee had taken his last tune down I thought the night couldn’t get any better. It was only midnight and I thought I had seen the best of the night already. Then I walked into the main room and saw Chris Liberator I changed my mind. When I got there I saw who was MCing. More b2b business, Ribbz, Sharkey and Si the Sigh, provided the lyrics to go with the techno and god it was good. The crowd was going crazy as the DJ and the MCs worked their way through the set. I was loving it with bells on too, especially when "One night in Hackney" as dropped. Never heard that tune before. Love it to bits now. Later on, it was the turn of the promoter to grace the decks. Andy Vortex stepped up to play his final set at his party. At first Vortex took the pace down a peg or too, but to be honest it made a nice break after the hectic pace of the previous two Jocks. During his set he gradually returned to the faster speed till by the end it was back to where he had taken over from. Couldn’t tell you a single thing about what his set consisted of, but what I can tell you is that I was well into it by this point. Well into it. After that the night gets a bit hazy. The main memory I have is partaking in a MarkEG-a-thon. Mark played one hour in the main arena and another hour in the second arena straight after. At this point in the evening I must have decided to stick with what I know and Mark didn’t let me down in the slightest. Yet again, I can’t name any of the tunes, but it doesn’t matter. I was happy dancing away to what was on offer and of course, watching the DJ going crazy behind the decks. Now theres a man who loves his music. For the final set of the night, the promoters had something special planned. Every North resident had just two tunes to finish off the night before the next DJ took over. Classic tunes from the entire North era were played as every DJ said goodbye in their own way. Tunes I recognised were Moby's Record breaking "Thousand" and the timeless "Powerjam". The arena was packed right till the end of the set and even though I was tired as hell, there was no way I was going to be taking a rest. No way in hell. To further up the ante, during the last few tunes Ribbz and the head of security brought out a box and started flinging tapes from the previous North events into the crowd. Immediately there was a huge scrum of ravers at the front of the arena and just for a laugh, I joined in. It was a real crush at one point, but eventually I walked away with a Sharkey/Tormenter tape. Very nice it is too. Eventually, the indulgent security called an end to the night after allowing a 25 minute extension to the published finishing time. The techno got taken down for the final time and a cheer from the crowd signified the end of both the event and the musical odyssey that North had taken me on. Things I liked: The whole thing. From start to finish and all the way trough. Never been to a North before, now I'm kicking myself I didn’t do it sooner. Mere words cant describe how good it was. MC Ribbz. Never really heard him in his element (At a techno rave) before and I left seriously impressed. He put in some hardcore mic time and his minimalist style complimented the music perfectly. Looking forward to seeing him MC again. The decor. Last party and all that, but no corners were cut at all in production. Especially liked the decor in the Gabba room. Security. Chilled all night, no attitude and a 25 minute extension to the party. Fancy a Job at the Sanctuary lads? Things I liked less: The toilets. Four blokes toilets for the entire rave, no locks on the doors and no bog roll later on in the night. Oh and only one cold tap too. Hmmmm. It was the last north, yet there were no North Tshirts on the Merchandise stall. I don’t know about anyone else, but I had brought money along specifically for that. I cant go to another on This was a cracking way to end the institution that is North. The whole place knew it was the final time for this party and the result was a crowd so up for it that its difficult to put into words and an electric atmosphere that didn’t fade all night. Everybody did the decent thing and stuck it out right till the final tune was dropped and applauded when it was all over. I don’t know if every North is like this, but if it took killing the event to generate an atmosphere that good then it was almost worth doing just for the sheer spectacle. Almost, but not quite. Good as it was, it doesn’t change the fact that on the basis of just one party I'm sorry to see it go. Given the opportunity, I'd be at another like a shot. North 1997 - 2004. R.I.P. Shouts to: Paul Zykotik, Lady Angelic, Immz, Mozz, Lauren and Tansy, Thumpa, Peachy, Nuclear raver, Sharkey and Chris, Smurf, Raz power, Hardcore heaven, Oli G, and anyone else who I've forgotten.
