This was United Dance's first event for 8 months so a lot of people arrived at Bagleys wondering in anticipation what the night would be like. Would it be good, would it bad, would it be full, would it be empty??? These were just some of the questions that was going through me and mates minds when we bought our tickets. Well, I'm glad to say United Dance did not disappoint and certainly sounded to the ravers that they are back. Bagleys was rammed full and the atmosphere was blinding. After the long and familiar walk up York Way and after battling past the ticket touts we descended onto Bagleys. There was a long queue outside so I knew then that there would be a fair few people here tonight. Judging by the people I was chatting to in the queue a lot of the people were ex-ravers who had come tonight to see whether United Dance was as good as it used to be. After a strict but fair search I finally got inside and first went to buy loads of lollipops from the bar as I had my chewing gum confiscated. I'm sure all the ravers inside would have paid up to 10 pounds for a piece of chewing gum, because I certainly would have. It's an essential item for ravers for those who know why :) The first arena I checked out was the hardcore arena, which was in the middle arena this time, with the drum n' bass in the main arena on the left and the garage (boo hiss!!) arena on the right. There was also a house room downstairs which I never got to see, how unfortunate :). The first DJs I checked out was the Ratpack. Now people in the past have often criticised the Ratpack for playing the some tunes over and over again. Believe me they certainly kept to the script !!!! They played the usual selection of records , 'Urban hype', 'Searching for my Rizla', 'Captain of the ship' etc. Funnily enough, despite having their critics they always get the crowd really hyped up and everyone ( me included ) ends up singing along to the words of 'Captain of the ship' and 'Searching for my Rizla'. Everyone loves them deep down, errr....I think. Anyway, the DJs and the MCs in the hardcore arena were situated at a stage along the wall facing the exits, so all the ravers could clearly see all the DJs and MCs. The production in here was up to a high standard with quite a bassy sound system and good lighting to go along with it. In fact the production overall was very good in all the arenas ( more UV backdrops would have been nice though ) and everything that was mentioned on the flyer was certainly there on the night. Next up on the hardcore arena was Force and Styles playing a 1996 hardcore set and as always they got the crowd stomping around. For once in a very long time they didn't play 'Feelin Fine' or 'Paradise and Dreams' in their set. I'm sure they were dying to slip it in but it wouldn't fitted with a 1996 set, but they did play 'Heart of Gold' the original which certainly got the crowds reaction. The next DJ up was Dougal who was sporting a new shorter haircut which was certainly a lot better then his crappy old haircut. Now in the last few years a lot of people ( me included ) have criticised Dougal for playing too cheesy and his popularity has withered a bit, but recently he has started to play slightly harder and cut down on the cheese. Tonight was no exception he played a storming 1997 set which certainly got the crowd jumping. Could Dougal have turned the corner?? Its time to give the guy a break, his even gone to the point to get his sacred hair cut shorter, something ravers have been crying out for years. The all round vibe on the night was very good. Lots of smiley friendly people about and no hint of attitude whatsoever. Everyone chilling outside was chatting to each other and getting to know one another. The security were also safe as well, they kept a discrete presence and left the ravers well alone once inside. The security treated the ravers with respect and the ravers gave respect back to the security. I wish security at other rave venues especially ones in some place called Bletchley would take notehint hint. Back inside the madness of the hardcore arena, according to the flyer it was supposed to be Brisk playing a 1998 / 99 set but when I looked up to the stage it clearly wasn't. In fact it was Vinyltrixta playing back to back with Breeze. At first I was a bit disappointed that Brisk hadn't shown up, but Vinyltrixta and Breeze more then made up for it. They absolutely smashed it !!!!!! These 2 DJs are two of the most underrated DJs in the scene at the moment but most of the rave promoters tend to overlook them. Its about time the promoters started booking some new fresh faces at raves instead of having the same old lineups for every event. After that wicked set it was time for the set of the night for me, Slipmatt back to back with Vinylgroover. These two certainly got the packed arena jumping around and got the crowds reaction especially with Storm on Charlie B on the mic. Slipmatt and Vinylgroover were supposed to be playing a 1996 set but clearly hadn't read the script. In fact they played 4-beat classics ranging from 1995 up to 1999 and the crowd loved it. In fact, I think the crowd would have preferred to hear more of the upfront stuff instead of all the hardcore anthems, but nevertheless everyone was stomping around. Time to check out the other arenas. First stop was the drum n' bass arena and this was rammed solid all night. With DJs like Andy C and Brockie playing blinding sets, the drum and bass fans were more then satisfied with the nights entertainment. Surprisingly, the attitude in here was very good as well, with no attitude about at all. Everyone here came to dance and have a good time. I then decided to pass through the garage arena ( boo hiss!!! ). I took one look, and saw too many serious looking faces and too many black shoes being worn. Not for me. I then decided to run straight back to the hardcore arena where there were lots of happy smiley faces and lots of people wearing trainers. Just my scene!!! Vibes was up next and again as always played a wicked set. It was supposed to be a 1995 set, but again Vibes detracted a bitlassics along side the new stuff, dropping classics like 'Follow the sun' by Triple J alongside 'Toytown' which got the whistle and horns crew going mental. Even though the hardcore arena wasn't packed to the rafters, it was full to capacity all night for all the DJs, again underlying the point to United Dance that hardcore has played a big part in the past, present and most definitely the future of their events. They should never forget that. The hardcore arena was buzzing all night and when Storm asked the crowd whether they thought United Dance was back, the response from the crowd was deafening. The last set of the night was Sy playing a 1994 hardcore set. This set was one I was looking forward to all night and Sy didn't disappoint either. Dropping classics like 'SMD1', 'Music's So Wonderful' and 'Ravers Choice 1' the crowd were just loving it. It was a nice sight to see to see all the experienced ravers dancing in unity next to the newer ravers to all the classics of yesteryear. The arena was still full, even some of the drum n' bass ravers came in to dance to some of the hardcore anthems being dished out by Sy. We know where their loyalties lie. They're all hardcore deep down. The only annoying thing was when the lights were turned on inside the arena 15 minutes before the end, which killed the atmosphere a bit, but everyone continued dancing nevertheless. Overall it was a brilliant night and I'm very glad that I went. Although not as good as the last Slammin' Vinyl ( which will be very hard to match ) United Dance certainly proved to all the ravers who came, they are most definitely back and that hardcore will play a key part in their future. Big shouts going out to: Peter, Kev, Joe Retro, Adidas Matt, Roo, Rich and everybody else who was at the meetup ( sorry if I haven't mentioned your name!! ). Hello to you all !!!!
