For a rave I have never even heard of this time last year, The Fruit Club has rapidly grown in my personal estimation. Going from a complete unknown quantity to a reliable rave which can always be depended on to deliver in terms of quality, diversity and most importantly of all, a good night out It had been a while since the last Frit Club, but when the flyer came out, promising yet another night of discovery, I knew the only place I had to be on the night was on the M4, heading towards Swindon. This one looked especially good, with the event being subtitled "Raveheart" which was evidently all the excuse the promotors needed to set up a full on England V Scotland DJ battle, complete with multiple 90 minute b2b sets from both sides of the border and the occasional kilt thrown in for good measure. Not to mention a supporting lineup of only the very best the UK Hardcore scene can offer. If that werent good enough, the Old Skool in arena 2 had been replaced with a comprehensive Techno lineup, ranging from the biggest and the best, to the up and comings, hungry for their shot. And if it was raw talent you wanted, the Third arena had been, once again, occupied by the Jellybeanz crew. These guys can always be relied upon, not only to bring their residents to the party, but anyone with creativity to display. Besides, any flyer which lists Sallie and Sarah as one of the attractions gets my vote, so even though I was more than a little tired from the weeks work, I got ready to go out, then headed to the various people I needed to pick up. Belting down the M4 a short time later, we were a little later than I would have liked, but that was nothing a little toe down and a good recolection of Swindon's one way system couldn't solve. We arrived and parked up, wasting no time at all. Once we had got our parking sorted out, we made our way round the corner and into the Queue. After being greeted by the friendly, clipboard weilding Zoe, we were allowed in and after a brief search from security (none for me, light for my friends) we were in. I knew we were in for fun when we climbed the stairs and got wind of a Drum & Bass tune pitched up to an insane level. The main arena could wait, I was straight into the Techno room to see what I could of Sawyers set. This guy knows his stuff when it comes to the dark side and he was also the reason why I had made every effort to be there early. However, Sawyer was deep into his set by the time we arrived, with not only hard as nails tunes on the decks, but a small and appreciative crowd on the dancefloor. I had no problems joining them. Aside from the DnB Pitch-a-thon, Sawyer kept it four to the floor for the rest of his set. Even so, he got progressivly deeper and darker with pounding kicks and disturbing vocals being the mainstay of his set. The System in the second room was perfectly suited to Sawyer's tune selection too, with the bassline shaking the second room to its foundations throughout the DJ's time in the arena. The set was MC free and all the better for it as Sawyer dropped "Inside Howard Stern's wallpaper", "Whats the Score" and "Are you awake now" during his set. Next up was my first trip to the main arena for the evening. I knew I was in for a visual as well as musical treat, Fruit Club never scrimp when it comes to decor and this party was no exception. Mad Fluro decor was everywhere in the main arena. From weird backdrops of landscapes and faces to dayglo plants dangling floor to ceiling. Not forgetting the 8 foot long dayglo fish suspended above the main stage. Some of it was a little too low to avoid clouting your head as you walked past, but it weren't a problem in the least. On the contrary, its always nice to see an event making an effort in this department. All that was sidelined though when I saw who was up next. Wasting no time getting the evening underway was Hixxy and Storm, making an early start on the ravers in the main arena. At the sight of these two on stage, the dancefloor noticably swelled and I was amongst them. Hixxy also seemed to notice this and in responce, pulled his bet party set out of the bag. Going for it on a crowdpleasing and euphoric tip, the substance of his hour was set with an early showing of the HTID remix of "Injected with a Posion" and quickly followed with an rapid succession of crowd movers of equal quality. "Rock Ya Hardcore", "Slide Away" and the new remix of "Pacific Sun", "Come with me" and not the Storm showcase with the dropping of "Dark like Vader". However the real highlight for me was a brief excursion back downstairs with "Under Control". Conversation stopped and stomping commenced when that one came in. Next up was one of the nights main attractions with Brisk and Scott Brown taking over for the first of the evening's cross border clashes. With Rude Whizzkid and Wottsee refereeing the match, the DJs got down to business. The first 15 minutes set the tone for the face off. This was no gimmick at all, they were taking no prisoners and actually trying to outdo each other. This was evident by the way the comparitivly sedate start with "Angel Eyes" gave way to the high energy bouncy stuff before the third tune was out. And so it continued. Evolution battled Next Gen as each tune was answered with yet another slammer. "Rock this party" was answered with "This is how we do it", a new remix of Iron Maiden's "Sweet child of mine" redressed the balance, which was then upped with "In your life" Finally, an uneasy truce was called as things were getting a little daft. A shift to vocal based Hardcore was made with "Just be happy" and "Higher Love" being the last tunes I heard before I left the war room. The lack of gabba at the end may have been something to do with me slacking off downstairs, but I went downstairs to follow the Dutch sound anyways, especially when it was Marc Smith dishing it out. I had been waiting for this set. Smithy's work has always moved me, and although he has dropped occasional gabba tunes into his sets, this was the first time I had seen him playing a genre specific set. First off, dont ask me to name tunes cos I aint got a clue what he played. However, with Smithy on the decks and Ribbz on the mic, you dont need me to reel off IDs to tell you how good it was, you can come to that conclusion yourself. The only thing that distinguised itself from the blur of distorted kicks was lots and lots of stomping on the dancefloor. The crowd responded to the melodic and riffy tunes by packing the place out and dancing on any available platform. With a Gaggle of Trainspotters watching his every move, Marc and Ribbzworked their way through the set. I had totally lost it by this point, raving to the music as if my life depended on it. This was one of the definite highlights, but it went off the scale when he slipped in a few bouncy tunes at the end. After the Maddness downstairs, I made my way back to the main arena where Seduction and Whizzkid were enetertaining yet another packed dancefloor. I only caught a few minutes of this set and the time warp I had been in downstairs had held me longer than I thought. However, I did catch "Getting better" and "Bass is kicking" while I was there. After Sedders had finished up, it was the turn of another up and running to take his place behind the decks. Cakes, also known as DJ Flyin' stepped up, along with Wottsee on the mic. Together they put on a show to be proud of. The dancefloor was as rammed as ever as Cakes made it clear he was just as talented behind the decks as he is in the studio. You can forget your anthem bashing, this was a real progression session. With the later arrival od Whizzkid to join Wottsee b2b on the mic, Flyin' showcased his own, new and underplayed material to the ravers. This included "Free at last", "the remix of "Energy Rush", "Walk into the sunshine" and finishing off with the remix of "Come and follow me". The way the place was going off throughout his set suggested it went down well with the party crew in the place, especially as Wottsee and Whizzkid were going full tilt from start to finish. Dropping only their most popular lyrics, including Wottsee's "Lyrical master" and Whizzkid's "End of Time". The second round of the England/Scotland face was due for the final set of the night. Sy and a second outing from Marc Smith stepped into the ring with an eager audience of ravers waiting for the bell. Storm took over the mic to referee proceedings. What better way to finish off the night? Two of my favourite DJs in the place and the best MC for two years running on the mic. It may have been the end of the night, I may have seen all three many times previously, but that didn't mean they were out of surprises just yet. This was emphasised as Smithy took off at a tangent with some much needed breakbeat tunage. In a rave dominated by the 4/4 sound it was a tactical manouver to fox his opponant. Sy Quickly rallied though and commenced his set with the new remix of "Let me be your fantasy". The following 90 minutes shot by with alarming speed, with both DJs pulling all kind of tricks out of the bag to stay one step ahead. Sy goes for the ever popular "makin me wanna dance"? Marc answers it with his own floor filler, "Gravity". Marc starts getting busy on the mixer, chopping up the tunes? Sy returns it with a scratch attack on he can produce. Storm was in the zone for the final set as well, proving, if nothing else, that he is at his best at the end of the night. He busted out lyric after lyric and made sure the crowd were on their feet until Sy took the crowd to the end with the final tune, the remix of "I'm Ravin, I'm Ravin". Things I liked: DJ Battles - Not only was there the attraction of an English/Scottish set to, but to prove it weren't just another flyer gimmick they were given 90 minute sets to really make the most of it. Techno in arena 2 - The old skool was ditched and the harder edge replaced it. Coulnd't agree with that decision more. As for Marc Smith's Gabba set, oh my word.... Sound - One of the advantages of the Fruit Club constantly touching down at the Brunel Rooms is the delecious sound systems installed there, room one and two. Loud is not the word. Attendance - Busiest Fruit Club I had been to, the ravers in the place had the stamina to stay till the end too. Its always good when a large crowd is in the place, but when they are of the noisy and stomping ilk its 10 times better. Diversity - Not only were the biggest DJs in the land there, but up and running talent was well represented too. Its a testiment to the promotors selection that Sawyer and Flyin' played absoloute blinders too. Oh, and the dancers were the best ever. Apparantly Things I liked less: 5am finish - Bah, 6am is where its at and the place was rocking come the end of the night too, why finish early? Losing track of time during Marc Smith's set - It made me forget I had to go see Bedford Caine in the Jellybeanz room. Arses. Lateness - this was responsible for me missing a good proportion of Sawyer's set. Must. Drive. Faster. What a way to start the weekend. This rave had everything you could ask for. Atmosphere by the boatload, blinding music, delivered by well known and not so well known DJs, through a huge sound system and complimented by talented MCs. The cream on the cake was the diversity and atmosphere though. It weren't a case of the party people raving only to the biggest and best DJs and floor filling tunes.. The promotors had the foresight to book DJs with more talant than reputation as well as the confirmed crowd pullers who proove their worth on a weekly basis. The Jocks had the guts to delve deeper than the tunes that are heard at every event with fresh and unusual material abounding. The MCs were definitely of the crowd hyping variety and made sure the ravers were motivated throughout the night. Lastly, the crowd had the savvy to stay on the dancefloor and keep itself hyped from start to finish, letting the quality of the music dictate their pace, not who was listed on the lineup. The only thing I can compare Fruit Club to is the wicked United Dance parties back in 2001 at Bagleys. This rave took me right back there as it had all the ingredients that made those nights such an experience. One of the better parties of the year, that one. Every now and again, you go to a rave where everything comes together. It all just meshes perfectly and you realise you are in the middle of something special. This was a perfect example. The next one is mid August. I cant wait for it. Shouts to: Kas, Mupster (driving crew), Immz, Vapour, Compulsion, Sketchy, Chickpea, Mel (nice to see you again), Mr, messy, Obie, Gurning girlie, Welsh Pikey & Mrs Welsh Pikey, Matt Wildcard, Tony Wizbit, Legs, Hiney, Bag, HB, Sykee, Bubble, Rob JPS, Sallie, Sarah, Sawyer, Ribbz, Rude, Zoe (Thank you both), Storm, Whizzkid, Hixxy, Scott Brown, Sy, Marc Smith, Sawyer, Flyin, Brisk, Seduction, Wottsee, Bedford Caine (sorry dude) and anyone else I forgot.
