For many people, NYE is the most important night of the year. The combination of most of the country putting its party hat on for the night and only the biggest raves going head to head to out-do each other is often a little intimidating. This gets so bad that some people prefer not to take any chances on the basis that it could all go wrong and stay in for house parties instead. Others prefer to make informed choices based on musical variety, previous form and most importantly, where most of my mates were going. Slammin had raised their game from the diabolical performance they displayed at last years NYE with a high quality showing at Shepton Mallet and the promise of a repeat performance complete with man sized soundsystem this time and the same safe security as before. Futurevibe were plugging the Northern gap with a Rave at The Street in Skegness. Apart from an exclusive showing from Scott Brown, their main feature was a near suicidal endurance contest. 19 hours raving was on offer if you were up for it. That left Helter Skelter. They were returning to The Leisure Complex in Milton Keynes after their highly successful Energy04 party earlier on this year. A lot of the aspects of this party appealed to me, in particular its sub 1 hour travelling time from my place, as well as it was the events "turn" to be attended after getting myself to all three previously this year and it was time to start again, but if I'm honest, it was nothing more than the musical variety that made me decide where to go. Not one but TWO HTID Hardcore arenas immediately lept from the flyer. The best thing was the lineup was not "Big names in the main room and smaller ones upstairs" it was spead equally across the two and they both combined to create a sublime mix of near enough every interpretation of the Hardcore sound. Not even the lack of Storm and Whizzkid put me off the promise of that. Looks like I'd found my destination then. In the event, I found myself anticipating the event more than normal. The combination of loads of time off from work and very little to do left me focusing on the rave and nothing else. Eventually it came around and I drove up to the party more than a little excited about what lay ahead. When I arrived a large queue was present, but I was meant to be at the one round the corner and it was a lot smaller. After waiting till 7.30, we were let in after being searched selectively and after that we were in. I wanted to get stuck straight in with the raving, but with the arenas not opening for another hour and a half we had to find other things to do. However, with a full on free funfair and bowling alley on offer, there was plenty to keep us amused. I threw in with some familiar faces and had an enjoyable game and shortly after we finished, the arena opening time was upon us. No messing about here, straight in the queue for the HTID arenas. There were DJs to see and I wanted to see the people on first. The queue moved forward after a few minutes delay and shortly afterwards, I was inside. Just in time to see Robbie Long and Ham start the evening off. I was expecting great things from these two. I was still kicking myself that I had missed their full on breakbeat set at HTID so I was determined to see a second outing and made sure by driving up way eariler than necessasary and jacking in my game of bowling early as well. So it came as a bit of a dissapointment that when I finally got inside and stood there with a "Hit me with those glorious breaks lads" look on my face, very few were forthcoming. Dont get me wrong, the set was very good, but these two, famed for their breakbeat sets, both individually and as a pair, honestly did dissapoint me by going for an upfront set, rather than what I was expecting. Maybe next time eh? Having said that though, their set was respectable enough for the nights opener. Keeping it upfront and mainstream with tunes such as "Crazy Love" and "Just be Happy" is always the backbone of a dependable set. However this was complimented by the completely MC free environment. Allowing the ravers who were coming in at a not inconsiderable rate to truely appreciate the tunes. Only at the end of the hour did MC Ribbz do the respectable thing and get on the mic to compliment the tunes. However, that prompted me to leave the arena at warp speed and get my arse upstairs. Mark EG was on next in the main arena, but even though the flyer had promised his "Fastest ever set", I assumed that Marc Smith's would be somewhat faster. This meant leaving the main HTID room and making the first of many visits to the Freeform room upstairs. When I arrived, Smithy was already on the decks and had been joined by Smiley on the mic. They were entertaining a small but growing band of discerning Hardcore mainiacs on the initmate dancefloor in front of them. I happily joined that crowd. True to form, Marc was going at it like he always does, the perfect blend of freeform and upfront tunage to make the most dancable set of the night. Even though it was only 10pm he was still going full tilt and I was loving every minute of it. Smithy effortlessly had the crowd in the palm of his hand and kept them there with a plethora of top notch tunes like "Are you ready for the ride", "This is Extreme", "Adagio" and finishing on a high with "State of emergency". Smiley was on equal good form with a stong showing of his most popular lyrics. I was a particular fan of him dropping "Bo Selecta" during "Crackwhore". With 11pm rapidly approaching, I needed to be elsewhere. With Smithy's last tune fading away I dusted sharpish and made my way out of the HTID arenas. The Raindance arena was calling and I couldnt resist the lure of Vibes and Lively any longer. When I got there, the familiar Raindance setup was once more in the arena. The kick ass soundsystem and potent lighting rig were impressive, but they all paled in comparison to Raindance's best export. Its fully transportable atmosphere. I dont know what it is about this party, but from the South coast, up past its various venues in london, all the way through to the time they touched down in Skegness, Raindance always brings an atmosphere that engenders a vibe of being somewhere special. I have never seen any bother at a Raindance party, everybody is enjoying themselves far too much for that sort of nonsense. All the party crew in the place are totally focused on having a good time and enjoying the music. NYE at LIFE was no exception. Especially with Vibes and Livelee in the place. I was expecting a full on Happy Hardcore set from these two, but they gave me something so much better than what I was expecting. When I arrived they were knocking out seriously good early Jungle Techno tunes. Dark underground breakbeats dominated this set and seeing how I missed out on an injection of breaks at the start of the night, I was in my element. I only remember a smattering of the tunes now that I think about it. Mostly cos of Livelee's performance on the mic. Specifically, I can remember him dropping "Never jodge a book by its cover" over "No retreat, no surrender" and "No Valley too deep" over "See the lite", the rest of the set was dominated by me getting down to the tunes and into the atmosphere along with easily the coolest people in the building. I didnt want to leave, but there were important things afoot. I knew I had to be in the main arena of the HTID part of the complex when the midnight hour. This meant leaving the Raindance party at quarter too and making all speed to the Hardcore arena. I got there with a few minutes to spare and Sedders and Rude were just finishing off their set to a packed arena. Literally it was elbow to elbow with virtually no room to dance at all. I gave up trying to get near the front and settled on finding a few friends near the side to spend midnight with. While this was happening, Sedders was rounding off the night with "I adore" and when that played out, we were mere minutes from 2005. Hixxy and Marley stepped up to see in the new year and everyone was focused on what the last tune of 2004 would be. Hixxy surprised me and I think quite a few others by dropping "State of Emergency". Didnt see that one coming, let me tell you. I was just getting into it when it was taken down again though. MC Marley counted us into 2005 and with an almighty cheer, the new year was upon us. Glitter cannons fired off all round the arena as everyone wished a happy new year to the ravers around them, whether they knew them or not. For his part, Hixxy was more predictable for the first tune of 2005 with "Fly away" seeing in the new year. After a few minutes dancing, I realised I needed to be elsewhere. I would be seeing Hixxy tomorrow and besides, the Freeform room was calling me again, who was I to argue? Upstairs, the Nu Energy collective had taken over for the start of the new year and once again, a crowd of ravers on the dancefloor were making the most of the wicked second room by dancing away like they knew they ought to. Best of all, the wicked MC Ethos was on the mic. This guy is just not booked enough and it was great to see him out and on peak form too. Tune wise it is always something special with Sharkz and Energy. This time, the highlight of the set was early on with my favourite fun tune of the moment, the Freeform rip of "Badger, Badger, Badger" getting a well deserved airing. Of course it was accompanied by Sharkey's very own imported rave badger taking his place behind the decks. The rest of the set was just as good with furious BPMs and lots of new tunes dominating the set. As well as the VERY dancable "Overdrive" and Energy's wicked scratching session over the top of it, the set was finished by a tune by the name of "Pig". Its best feature? a steadily rising BPM which increased to sadistic levels. This tune should be sent to Guiness as I seriously feel it could challange Moby for the title of "Fastest tune ever". The next set I wanted to see was back in the main arena. It was a relief to leave the newly crowned "hottest room in Hardcore", so I went back downstairs onto the main dancefloor and got ready for the Quosh boys' double pronged attack. Sy and Unknown took the 1am slot and I was ready for some serious bouncyness. Casper joined them on the mic and together they went for it in a way I could do nothing but dance too. It was so good that tune IDing went straight out the window more or less after they started. I totally lost it during this set and as such the only tunes I can remember are my personal favourites, namely the remixes of "Free your mind", "Discoland" and "Bring me round to Love" and the sets finisher, "Makin me wanna dance". The rest of the set was one of those that are a total kickdrum driven blur and as such I can only tell you it was good. If that werent enough, then the next set would surely finish me off. Another installment in a partnership that has come on in leaps and bounds in 2004, Brisk and Wottsee stepped up to represent Next Generation at the rave. I have seen these two team up across the counrty and it never fails to impress. NYE seemed to bring out the best in these two and they did the business and then some. The set was mostly vocally oriented from what I can remember, with what appeared to be a new remix of "Crazy love" to kick off the hour and continuing in a similar vein with "Just be Happy" and "Angel Eyes". These are only the ones I can remember though, so dont take my word for it. At this point, the dancefloor had thinned a little from the midnight hour and thank god it did. The tunes were meant to be danced to and with a little more room to go around it was exactly what I did. Another hour was sacrificed to the time stealing rave goblin and before I knew it, it was over even though I wanted to continue. Brisk saved the best till last though, with the upfront remix of "No good, start the dance" finishing off the set. After two hours of relative comfort, it was time to return to the oven upstairs. It was all worth it though, cos the Nu Energy Prodigies, AMS and K-Komplex were going back to back for an hour. I had missed too many of these guy's performances over the year and now I had a chance to see them at last. As expected of a product of Nu Energy, these guys played an upfront Freeform Hardcore set. From the outset, I could tell they were determined to push the boundaries of their chosen genre as I didnt have a clue what they were playing. I didnt know what they were playing and it was hotter than hell in there, but you know what? I was still dancing. You dont need to be able to ID tunes to know when they are doing it for you and I was right next to the speakers for the majority of the set. The only time I moved away was to get some more water, otherwise, I was dancing non stop. The only tune I did recognise was "This one's insane, fucking with your brain". Kind of ironic as not only was that tune insane, but so was the whole time I was there. Really enjoyed it none the less. Looking forward to the next one too. By this point, the rave was nearing its final few hours. I was happy to stay for the rest of AMS's and K-Komplex's set, but I knew I had other places to be. I couldn't leave the rave without spending at least a few hours in the Technodrome. Same as last time, the temparature jumped 10 degrees upon entering the sweaty technopit. It was dimly and minimally lit with only a few lights and one laser to call its own. Another thing was scarce, the only people in the place were ravers and two performers. The police and security who were all over the rest of the rave appeared to be too shit scared to go in there. Quite frankly, I can understand why. The place was heaving with sweating, dancing technoheads. Scorpio and Producer were well into their three hour marathon set and Squdgy B was gracing the mic. The tunes were actually quite subdued by the previous standards they had set in previous performances I had seen, but I knew they were just toying with me and building from a base to really get going later. It was also the first time I had seen Squidgy B on the mic as well, with a credible and minimalist performance on the mic holding him in good stead with the assembled crowd. The ravers were the real star of the show here. They were on peak form. No trouble at all, but dangerous amounts of energy to expend and a definite ear for the music. Everytime the DJs mixed in a new tune, the place went ballistic all over again and by far the best sight of the night was the formation of the now infamous Techno mosh pit in front of the mainstage. I love it when that happens. By 4am, Scorpio and producer could contain themselves no longer. The tunes got noticably harder at the turn of the hour and shortly after, the gabba came on, much to the appreciation of everyone in the place, myself included. For the hour I was there, Me, Spike and DJ Poison were going crazy to the tunes the DJ were supplying. Sod IDing, I was dancing as if my life depended on it. It probably did now that I mention it, I doubt I would have noticed if I had slipped and gone down. 4.30 mercifully came and I left the arena. It was almost a relief to get back to the freeform room upstairs with its heat. At least there was Billy "Daniel" Bunter, CLSM and MC Ethos there to calm my nerves when I arrived. After a hour of fierce Techno, The tunes were almost soothing, quite apart from being excellent. This small 30 minute set was crammed full of rushworthy tunes. With me arriving as "Reaching out" was in full flow, to the tinglyness that "Dancing the night away" produced right after, I could tell I was going to enjoy this one. However, even I was not prepared for what was next. Brand new tunage was the order of the day and CLSM came up with a blinder. A brand new remix of one of my favourite tunes (for obvious reasons ), "Drifting away" sounded different with a kick driven backbeat, but no less good. It was even better with MC Ethos bang on it by caining "Smooth operator" over the top. The rest of the set was just as good. From the roar that the crowd produced when John Peels name was checked during the tune of the same name, to the contrasting styles of his closing tune "The Time has come", it was a set that was a definite highlight of the night. Best things come to those who wait eh? For the last hour of the night, I was torn between seeing DJs I knew were going to smash it, namely Uplift and Lukozade and finishing off the night in the main arena. I decided to stay where I was for the time being and see how I felt later on. Glad I did as well, joined by MC Scottie B on the mic, the set was a blinder and while the crowd in the second room werent massive, all of them were throroughly appreciative of what the artists had to offer. This included me right from the outset as their first tune was one of my favourites, the upfront remix of "Injected with a poision". It got me dancing and the rest of the set maintained that status quo with tunes like "New Zealand Story" and "This is Extreme" getting another outing. The two best things about this set? Well the first has to be Luke's very nice scratching over the tunes and the other is definitely Scottie B's most arresting freestyle moments throughout the set. They were definite assets. So much so, I didnt want to leave. I set myself an ulitmatum. Styles and Breeze downstairs had one chance and one chance only to entice me away from the second room. If the tune they were playing when I entered the main arena weren't something VERY special then I was back upstairs like a shot. I left the Freeform room and the boys from the south coast were caining the upfront remix of "Follow me". Game, set and match to the RBC I think. I got myself onto the dancefloor asap. It was the final 30 minutes and I werent wasting any time. Neither were the performers on stage. Breeze and Styles kept it upfront and euphoric and Odyssey was on top form as they both took the rave and put it to bed. The dancefloor was full of people with the same idea as me, not wanting to waste any time. Even Sallie and Sarah the stage dancers were giving it all they had for the sprint finish as the DJs pumped out tune after tune. The "History of Syles and Breeze" set was more or less a continuation of what they usually play tbh, but I weren't complaining. Lots of uplifting tunes to finish off the night is always a good way to go so I was there with the rest of the Hardcore surviviors, raving our hardest to tunes that made me rush. "24-7", "You're Shining", "Heartbeatz" and "Sing me another love song" gives you an idea of what we were raving too and even though the lack of a last tune due to someone going down right at the end of the party didnt detract from a set to send you on your way with a smile on your face. It was just a pity it ended on a whimper instead of a bang, but at least I saw the bloke who collapsed ok and on his phone outside. Could have been a lot worse. Things I liked: Musical variety - This was the best thing about this party. Dont like it in the main HTID room? Then there is always the HTID Freeform room upstairs. Then the Raindance room. Then the Technodrome. All of them stuffed with top acts as befitting NYE. You were guaranteed not to get bored at this party. Sound - Once again it was seriously loud and very well balanced. I particularly liked the speakers on the upper HTID level which precipitated dancing on two floors of the main arena. I also suspect that the standard system had been upgraded somewhat :) Atmosphere - Top notch party atmosphere all night long. Only saw a tiny amount of trouble once during the night, but Bubble and security deserve a huge big up here for being bang on it straight away and sorting it out there and then. Thereafter it was non existant. Free stuff - Not only free set times on entry, but a free funfair, free bowling and free laserquest as well! Aircon - Last time the Main arena was roasting hot. This time it was nice and chilled out there. Yum. Entrance queues - Didnt have to queue long to get in at all. Okay I was in the side queue, but I didnt hear anyone else complaining either. Things I liked less: Aircon - The main arena was as cold as the second room was hot. I spent most of my time upstairs and I lost a stone during the course of the night. It cant be healthy. Food prices - I know food is not the biggest seller at a rave, but charging 5 quid for burger and chips is bordering on criminal. Laserquest - For some reason this was closed on the night. Probably for the best TBH cos as soon as the lasers started flying, the game would grind to a halt as everyone would probably have started reaching for them. Gurn.net arena - I feel so sorry for these guys, twice they have had their party at Milton Keynes shut down by environment officers for being too noisy. I was reliably informed that once they had pulled Gurn's licence they then went back to their offices and spent the rest of the evening raping small furry animals. Then smearing their naked bodies with the entrails. Allegedly. This was an excellent night out. I know a lot of people pin a lot of expectations to a night like this, for no other reason than its NYE. However, Helter Skelter and all its individual arena organisers excelled themselves. Apart from a few (very) minor niggles, they were bang on target for the entire night. Music, atmosphere and sound are the three most important componants of any rave and these were all at 100% for the entire night in every arena I went in. Hell, the Technodrome had a full on mosh pit going for most of the time I was in there and in my experience, only the very best parties generate those. For a night with such high expectations, LIFE delivered in every way they were expected to and then some. Dangerous levels of planning and organisation showed why these people have a reputation for being this good at what they do. If nothing else is meant I knew I had made the right decision about where to spend my NYE. A party cant get much better if you reach the conclusion that there is nowhere you'd rather be can it? Bring on the next one as well, I can't wait.
