Tasty is not a regular night. The parties held at Mass down in Brixton are thrown when its time to throw one and not on a regular date. However, when they are thrown, there is no messing about. All three rooms of Brixton's Mass are put to use and the party crew, both ravers and clubbers descend en masse to the venue. Until recently, Hardcore occupied the smallest of the three rooms, we were never going to take over the main arena, buy there was little surprise when it was announced that a move to the second arena on the top floor was announced. As well as that, the linuep in the Hardcore room spoke volumes as well. I like the way Bunter puts his nights together, with a distinct focus on creating a night with a complete spectrum of Hardcore music on display, from the cheesiest happy sounds, through to energising freeform and everything in between too. As well as that, there was another change planned for the third arena. No Trance at all, but a "pure anthems" party zone, promising tunes from 88 - '05, the only thing connecting them all is that they will make you smile and dance. Dont know about anyone else, but that sounds good to me. I'd definitely have to spend some time down there. Usually, the earlier I get to raves, the better, but thanks to a previous engagement at Walthamstow Dog Track for Grobs Birthday, I turned up at midnight, a little worse for wear, but at least standing and wearing my rave clothes. Definite improvement over last week if nothing else. Even through it was after midnight, there was still quite a queue on the door. After sorting out my entry with the friendly laydee with the clipboard, I was given the usual pat down for weapons by the ever safe security and I was in. I knew I had wasted enough time already, I was straight up the main stairs and and into the main arenas. A seemingly endless set of stairs later and I put my head round the door of the Hardcore Arena. Wow, just a little on the busy side then, The place was nice and full with loads of the Hardcore Faithful rocking it down to the tunes on the system. Best of all, I had arrived right in the middle of the Vibes and Livelee show. Its never a chore to see these two play out and doubley so on this occasion cos not only did they drop a selection of the Happy Hardcore classics they are famous for, but also a choice amount of new material, produced by the man on the decks and Hattrixx Having had an advanced preview of this stuff and came away more than impressed, I was interested to see how the ravers would would react when it was played out in its preffered environment. "Rave is a mystery", "Rave is still a mystery", "I know" and the Gammer remix of "music is moving" were all played out to a hyped and rocking crowd, assisted in no small part by MC Livelee on the mic, dropping classics like "Never judge a book by its cover", as well as new lyrics which I didn't quite catch. When it all ended an hour later, I was hungry for more. However, even though Darren Styles was up next I knew there was somewhere else I needed to be. As Styles kicked off his set, I made my way downstairs to the third arena. The Former Hardcore arena had lost none of its appeal, especially as the big stacks that gave its its volume were still in the area. In fact the place was just about as full as it was when we were down there too. Astmosphere was remarkably similar as well. Now that I think about it, the only real difference was the music that was being played. A real downturn in terms of BPM and tempo, but it made no difference in terms of impact to the crowd. When I got down there, event promoter, Billy "Daniel" Bunter was on the decks and the party crew in the place were loving every minute of what he was coming up with. In keeping with the "Party zone" music policy, he played a set of crowd pleasers from throughout the catchment years. 88 or 05, I dont think the ravers would have cared they were having such a good time. I was well away by this pont too, Dont ask me why I like these sort of arenas cos I dont know, but the nostalgia induced by Bunter and his set was defnitely a highlight of the evening. This was re-inforced when the place went ballistic when "You got the love" came in, as I never thought I would enjoy dancing to "You Sure do" as much as I did either. After Bunter had finished his set I made my way back up the stairs to see the next DJ I had made the journey for. I had seen him less than a fortnight ago, but I didn't care. I knew CLSM would keep me more than entertained, all i had to do was get my arse up the stairs. After reaching the top and going iside I saw him and Spenno start off the set to another packed dancefloor. The three main parties in the transaction taking place went for it as one. CLSM, for his efforts played down the bizarre behaviour on this occasion and concentrated on to tunes instead. With no complaints from me at all, he dropped "Music is moving" and "Dido R.I.P.", not to mention remixes of "Timebomb" and best of all "Dominator" as he worked through his set. Maintaining his place in my personal hall of fameas one of the scenes most rounded DJs. Throughout the set, Spenno was in full effect too, accompanying the music in his own easygoing style, as well as his better known chats such as "Back to Reality" and "I wanna be famous". As for the crowd, well I was too busy going for it to notice their reaction, but you'd have to be deaf not to appreciate a set from CLSM, so its a safe bet to assume the rest of the ravers were dancing as hard as I was. Next up was a second hour for me to be entertained by Billy "Daniel" Bunter, this time doing a Hardcore set in the same arena I had spent most of the evening so far. After a few minutes of Chit Chat on the mic to cover for lateness, he was joined by the eventual arrival of Storm and Whizzkid to the rave. There were no phone boxes about, but they managed it anyways, getting their MCSquared hats on in no time at all and quickly getting into the groove of going b2b, reversing each other lyrics and bouncing off each other like they are famous for. Bunter was in the same generous mood on the decks. Mixing tunes in and out at lightning pace, he gave the ravers a taste of the upfront with a varied and unusuall tune selection. He alternated between the rough and the smooth with the sedate selection being covered with "Heart of Gold", "Heartbeatz", "Round in my head Baby" and "Reaching out. However, he more than compensated the hard steppers in the crowd with "Crack whore", "Crazy Love", "Dancing the night away", the remix of "Bodyslam" and best of all, the campaign winning "John Peel is not enough". Lastly, he finished with anthemic "You're Shining", while the two composites of of MCSquared damanded some noise, which the crowd were more than ready to supply. Replacing the promoter for the 4-5 set was the DJ I had seen not 24 hours earlier. However, this time it was a solo set, not to mention the fact a certain MC Whizzkid was on the mic. The only place I was syaying was rooted to the spot. Might have a bit of a dance as well Although my memory has erased itself of the particulars of Scott's set, that more to do with me raving throughout rather than a lack of innovation, with his trademark 3 into 1 tune intro and the obligatory gabba finish, what my memory lacks in specifics, it makes up in good memories. Starting out with a few tunes of the bouncier orientation which I cant remember to save my life, Scott then moved into the more popular contents of his record box, dropping "I Adore" and "You're my Angel". Whizzkid was in his element at this point, making his characteristic connection with the crowd, it was like each and every raver on the dancefloor had one of their mates gunning the mic, big smile on his face, clearly enjoying his work. It goes without saying he was getting more than his fair share of returns on his more popular offers such as "The A-Team" and "Pump Pump". For the Raminder of his set, Scott spent the last 15 minutes on the more percussive side of his set, that right, glorious Gabba all the way with "Lets get Dirty", "Do you like bass?" and the timeless "Boomstick to finish off with. For the final set of the night, there was only one way to do things proerly and Sy and Storm were on hand to make sure there was no margin for error. Even though I was feeling pretty bushed by this point, I weren't going to move for anyone, let alone have a girly sit down. As soon as the DJ stepped up and ripped into the bouncy goodness he is famed for, I knew I was in for a good time. When Storm got on stage and issued orders to dance like crazy to the Power Hour, like a Hardcore General rallying his troops, I knew there was going to be a preponderance of raving. When it all got underway it was the best way to finish off my weekend, End of Chat. Playing an undenyably crowd pleasing party set, the bouncy euphoric selection was clearly the way to go with even the most bone tired of ravers getting up and dancing. From the original stuff, like "Shine on", "Makin me wanna dance", "Rock Ya Hardcore" and "Slide away", to his trademark glut of remixes such as "D.E.V.I.L", "Let me be you're fantasy", "Pacific sun" and my personal favourite "Set you Free". Finally, Sy ended the evening with a new remix which has only been about for a few weeks, but is already making the party people move. "I'm Ravin I'm Ravin" finished proceedings in the Hardcore Hyper Zone and the place emptied out of tired bt satisfied ravers. Things I like: Atmosphere - Its difficult to put my finger on it, but Tasty has its very own brand of atmosphere when it touches down at Mass. Something to do with the lack of musical bigotry and everybody visiting every arena during the night. Definitely something different, not to mention unique to Tasty. Security - They'e done it again. Super safe and not intrusive in the slightest. You cant get a fag papaer between them and SEOne security, but thats no insult and definitely nothing to be ashamed of. Second arena - First time raving to Hardcore in this arena, it was nicely full and very loud as well. Multicoloured laser in the place too. Yum. Third arena - The "Party Zone" ruled. It weren't as busy as Jenkins lane over at Raindance, but the music was just as good. Things I liked less: Sound - Particularly in the second arena, the sound was a little on the harsh side. Even with Earplugs in, my hearing was ringing at the end of the night. Confrontational Dickheads - Yeah, threats of physical violence are just what you need when you go raving, nice one. Despite getting hassled, I still had a good time at Tasty. I particularly liked Hardcore's new home and the Third arena playing only the finest party tunes., not to mention the coolest people in the land being in all three arenas. It was all summed up when I walked into the Hardcore arena when I arrived. Loads of people, all of them having a great time. It didnt let up till the end either, with only the wimps going home early. The PROPER Hardcore ravers stuck it out till the bitter end, then went home with smiles on their faces. The Short amount of time I spent hanging around before I got overtaken by the music and a compulsion to dance only confirmed what a cracking rave Tasty was. I dont know when the next one is (You never do), but if the lineups as good as this one, I'll be there for sure. Shouts to: Cresta, Saiira, Matt, Kas and Zazz, Dan_j, Eva (bristol crew), Deddley, Gillian, Buzz_b & Gareth, Martin, Stu_8, Barticle, Lady Angelic, Ninney (been too long mate!) Lord Peter, Mayhem, Skampy, Sian, Paul the legend, Bean, Bubble, Monkey Boy, LB, Spenno, CLSM, Styles, Kev Energy, Bunter, Sy, Scott Brown, Vibes, Livelee, Storm, Whizzkid, ChitChat, and everyone else who I have forgotten.
