I met up with the two other people I was dragging down to bowlers from preston about half an hour late (as usual), and we headed for the train. Kim's been to compulsion once before, so she had a fair idea of what to expect, Stacey however was a first time raver, so I was dying to find out what she would make of it all... Got to Manchester roughly on time, and met up with KRS, we all wandered over to the Spinn Inn, and after spending some pointless time there, we headed off to meetup with caine, After waiting around for a guy who turned out to be a no-show, we decided to go to Caine's house for the afternoon, so we spent a while messing about on his decks, and then I got forced to drink cider. That plan didn't last long. We got ready, added some insignia to my workman's jacket and set off... Now for the interesting bit... We got inside bowlers at around 8:30, and dumped our jackets, and purchased the all important water. The look on Stacey's face was a picture, I don't think that it was what she'd expected, I think she had been imagining a dance floor in the centre of a room with nice sofas and tables dotted around the outside. I looked out across the room, and I immediately felt like I had come home, and all my family were there. Riksy was behind the decks, playing his way through a selection of different choonage, I thought he was pretty good, but he began to slow down towards the end of his set (either that or my head was speeding up). :-) Sarge, sorry, Marge was up next, and the room was beginning to fill up a bit, unfortunately, the mass of party people couldn't get really stomping as quickly as they would have liked, because one of the decks had given up the ghost. Sarge's first four mixes were the best ones I've ever heard him do. hehehe. After the decks were sorted out, he got going, and the crowd seemed to love it. Caine and Kim were with me at the front of the room (Stacey was standing out taking a breather cos she wasn't too well :-( ), and I was stomping away to whatever I heard, and then I felt a tap on my back, and when I turned round, I was asked "Are you on the happy hardcore mailing list?", It turned out that the idea of writing "Bug" and "etype.bog.net" (plus a nice smiley) on my jacket was quite handy, cos I'd been spotted by Sonix. We worked out that it was gonna be difficult to hold a conversation in front of a speaker stack, so we all headed off to the chill-out. After a while, we headed off back towards the choonage, and continued to have a stompy night. Bumped into a lad I recognised from Preston, apparently, he had come down with some of his mates from work, and it was his first event. He was having a good time, and he's learned that a jumper is not the best thing to go to a rave in. heh. Demand and Stu Allan both played safe, but they were still good sets, and kept everyone going strong. Hixxy's set was the best of the night for me, he played an outstanding mix of the most uplifting cheese imaginable, and some more innovative (not innovate. heh.) stuff. My opinion of Hixxy has changed, I never really paid much attention to him before, but lately, he has been doing really well. Top one. Marc Smith was on last, so I had a bit of a mission, but he isn't really my style, and kim and stacey were both getting really tired, so after about half and hour, I went and planted them in the chill-out and then became a pillow/back rest. Throughout the night I had wandered to the techno room, which had emptied a little after Mark EG came off the decks, which was a shame, because it seemed to be really good in there. Anyway, all in all, another top night served up by demand and the compulsion crew. Well here goes with shoutz: KRS - Not entirely all there (as usual) Caine - Cheers for the lend of a sofa and food (again) Kim - Voice recovered yet? Stacey - For being there xxxxx Sonix - For the spontaneous meetup Gemma - For noticing I was actually able to talk (despite my facial expression) Mr. Hicks - For playing a spot on set. "Dance Floor Slammer" - For amusing everyone. Seeya ravin peeps... Bug.
