For a night near on 2 1/2 hours away, I am sure making a regular thing of going there. Bedlam is probably the only party I make such a long trip for on a regular basis, but there is a good reason for that. Musical variety. Since its inception, Total Bedlam has worked hard, not only to bring the most talented DJs to the party, but to also represent the underground side of Hardcore music while they are doing it. Its no half hearted gesture either, with lesser known DJs rubbing shoulders (not to mention set times) with the big names and providing a much needed yang to the mainstream sound's ying. If that weren't a good enough reason for attending, this was another special occasion. For those that took trouble to get in touch, their reward was 100% free entry to the event. Thats right, for the price of an email, you could get into the party for precisely nothing. The only drawback was the lack of the "OMG its ****** ******!!!" on the lineup. Superstar DJs were notable by their absence on this occasion, but for those with an ear for the music and a eye for the DJs that always play innovative sets, this was definitely one not to miss. In this respect, it was almost a joke that you didn't have to pay to get in. With the likes of Robbie Long, Gammer, The Doctor, Lee UHF, On:It, Infared, Sketchy and Sawyer all listed to spin, it was a safe bet that almost every interpretation of the Hardcore sound was going to be getting an airing. If that weren't enough, a long awaited set by CDJay's lovechild, Darwin was also promised. Those amongst the crowd (me for one) who were anxious to hear his interpretation of the upfront sound were going to be rewarded tonight. Besides which, it was Dezmond's retirement set. Those of you familiar with his rather unique brand of set delivery and structure, well, you weren't going to go away dissapointed. It all saw me and the one like Dave Skywalker heading north on the M1 in the Astra of power for a date with The Venue in Long Eaton. An uneventful and surprisingly quick journey later and we swung the motor into a carpark and walked to the rave. Getting in was free, both in terms of door tax and unwanted attention from the easygoing security. After checking our names on the door, we were in. Once inside, The Venue's familar layout saw me return to the bain of my existance, that 'kin bouncy floor. However, each time I go back there I find another section that dont bounce. Tonight was no different and I set about enjoying what I came all this way for. First up in the main arena for me was DJ On:It, alongside MC Keyes. I weren't sure if this was the first set of not, but after only 15 minutes, I didn't really care. Top nothc tunes were the order of the day from the man on the decks and they more than got me in a party mood with distinct euphoric edge to the selection, such as "Through the Darkness", "Find the feeling" and "Come with me" all getting a play out. At this point its worth mentioning that I had gone without Hardcore for nearly a month now and not only was I loving being back where I belonged, but I was getting back into the swing of things too. I was helped along the way by the next DJ, barely visable above the decks, but producing a set ten feet tall, *Lisa* was up next and I was all set to rave to her music for the first time ever. As the crowd on the dancefloor swelled as the evening wore on, Lisa worked her way through her hour and kept the party crew in the place dancing. Another set which centred on the uplifting side of things, Lisa kept the main arena entertained with an upfront selection of tunes including "Do we have to say goodbye", "I dont want to be alone", "Be happy" and "Fade away" I was well away by this point and by the time Lisa had finished her set I was more than ready for the next DJ to carry on her good work. Handily enough, one of my favourite DJs was on next and while I had an inkling the rest of the lineup wouldn't dissapoint, I KNEW this guy would flip my switch. Robbie Long has been notable by his absence on recent lineups and its a shame as he is damn good at what he does. In this instance it was make me rave like a lunatic for a solid hour in front of the DJ Stand. The weirdest thing is I'm not even sure why he made me go off like I did. Maybe it was the frequent subgenre hops he made, from bouncy, to breakbeats through to good, solid four to the floor tunage. Or it might have been the single tune I recognised throughout his time behind the decks. I know it sounds a bit daft, going mental for an entire hour on the basis of a single tune ID, but when it's Ham's "Close Attention" its more than understandable. Whatever it was, he and Gazy J on the mic certainaly came up with the goods. At the end of his set I had to go get some air and cool down for a bit. Despite going for a rest, I was only gone a few minutes, Lee UHF was in the place and as soon as I was able, I made my way back to the main arena to see what the man of the moment could come up with. He, alongside MC ChitChat on the mic went for it for their set, showcasing both aspects of the evening by alternating between well known tunes and underground music. Throughout his set there were aspects that were completely new to me, as well as making sure the the party crew had their occasional "I know this one" moments with the anthemic side of the music. This was evident within his tune selection, "Xtreme", the remix of "Timebomb", "bodyache", the remix of my personal favourite tune of the moment "The call" and "Dark like vader" all got dropped during his set, not to mention numerous high quality lyrics from the one like Chit Chat on the mic, making short work of maintaining his trademark confident control of the rave. For the next set, it was the curiosity of the night. Darwin was up next, together with Obie on the mic, for a showcase of his music, which, I was assured by a certain shirt wearing skinhead, would blow me away. Having said that, it was obvious there was a lot of people thinking along the same lines as me, with a gaggle of curous ravers in front of the DJ stand as Darwin began his set, all in it was a curious experience. On the face of it, it was just another DJ playing an upfront trance based euphoric Hardcore set. It had all the elements required of one, the solid 4/4 bassline and the vocals that made you go tingly at all the right moments, however, one thing seperated it from ALL other upfront sets I have heard. Every single tune I heard was 100% new to me. As far as I recall, I did not recognise one tune from his entire set. He might have slipped in "Electric" whilst I went for a toilet break, but somehow I doubt it. This is what made it so strange. The structure and sound of the music was familiar, the specific tunes were 100 % new to my ears. Its not very often you can walk away saying "I've just listened to a 100% new upfront set", but I did just that at this rave. Of course, I made a beeline for the DJ after the set and asked him exactly what he dropped, from this I managed to work out Darwin's personal highlights of this voyage of discovery consisted of "Maybe", "Summer Breeze", "In the End" and "Climatic moments". After that, the next DJ had his work cut out, but I was confident Gammer wouldn't let me down. With MC Friction on the mic, he made sure his set was a steady progression from the sedate at the start, through to the extreme at the end. I always like these sets as they represent a real musical journey which I'm more than happy to embark upon. What really floated my boat was the way he made the switch from one to the other. It was quite strange in all honesty, with "Mind blowin" being played out when I went into the toilets to fill up on water and "Feel so real" being dropped as I exited. From then on, it was back into the harsh intensity, all the way to the end of his set. Needless to say, I was rocking it down right till the end. It was at this point, it occured to me that I had not spent any time downstairs, in either the second or third arena. It was underlined what I had missed when I came downstairs and saw The Doctor finishing off his gabba set in arena 2. It was a pity I has missed most of it, but the last two tunes more than made up for it, as "Payback" and "Boomstick" signalled the end of his set. Thereafter, it was the end of the musical journey for the night for me. Sytronik played the backing score to my final hour at Bedlam, but it was not a set I could get up and dance to (through no fault of his own though), no it was an hour of Bedlam's randomness that I had to contend with. Working out (amongst other things) that Lianne was a pint girl (Stella and all), having a random battered women make faces at me through one of the openings to the next booth we were sat at, getting lapdanced by her while her bloked looked on, finding out that Dez had been "Fasionably late" for his last ever set, the list goes on and on and it made a fun night even more interesting. 4am and we were out the door after a top evening out. Things I liked: Music - Bedlam never dissapoints on this front and this occasion was no different. Underground DJs and Hardcore rave music to match. Some of them did go upfront and mainstream, but they were in the minority and more to the point, what they did play evened out the night nicely, as opposed to dominating it as usual. Entry - Free party! I tuned up and was allowed in for free. You cant ask for much more than that. Sound system - Previous visits to The Venue have left me disapointed about the wheezy sound system. However, on the occasion, it was nice and loud, along with crystal clear. Production and Decor - Its easy enough to miss this, but I quite like the way the place is decked out, the plumbed in lighting rig and big, selectively used, green laser are all highlights, but for this party the best bit had to be Tron playing out on the video screen. More Tron at raves please! Security - Safe, hassle free and non intrusive all night, nice one. Glosticks - I'm not usually one of the glowstick massive but when a random bloke pitches up beside you and gives you two for free, well I weren't going to complain. Things I liked less - Hot water from the taps - More of a pain in the arse than anything else, because if you hold it in for about a minute, hot turns to cold and your waterbottle goes from empty to full thereafter. Attendance - apparantly there were 190 unused free spaces on the guestlist at the end of the night. Only thing I can say to that is their loss. The Main arena - for being so good that I only spent a few minutes in the other two arenas *Shakes fist at main arena's goodness* Getting "lapdanced" - One word. Yikes! This night was a direct answer to those who moan non stop about the lack of variation within the Hardcore scene. Mr. UHF put his money where is mouth is and put on a free party showcasing the jaffa orangy bit of Hardcore. The stuff that is not put on a plate for you, the stuff that is hard to find. Normally it is, but this time the promotor went out of his way to make it easy for you. A free entry party smack bang in the middle of the UK, filled with DJs who are known for what they play rather than who they are. They didn't dissapoint either. I only think I heard one tune played twice throughout the entire night and that was the new remix of "Timebomb". I'm prepared to let that one go though because its never a chore to listen to that tune. Even over and over again. The rest of the time? It was Hardcore rave music how its meant to be played. Dark, underground, obscure yet upfront and fresh at the same time. From a musical tip alone that makes this rave a winner. Those with the education and foresight to attend and appreciate the music for what it is will know what I'm talking about. CDJay was smiling at one point ffs, so thats all the authority I need. Icing on the cake to my weekend this one. The very next day I attended the biggest Hardcore rave for quite a few years, but even that was overshadowed by the raw creativity on display at Bedlam. If you like your raves cutting (nay bleeding) edge, then get yourself to the next one. Shouts to: Dave Skywalker (lift massive) ShazzaSpannered and Tina Baby (Afterparty massive), CDJay (Smiling crew), Kayleigh, Number 2301, Emmabot, DJZee (pleasure to meet you),Potfish (geezer!), Shauny C, Ben-E, Bag, Mad Maz, Gurning Girlie (Townie) Deddley, Legs, Raverbaby no1, Muff, Bouncing Buncheez, Ponder, Dave Matsui, Matt Wildcard & Lauren, Gim, Immz, Moron, Wizbit, Jamie & Lianne, , Lee UHF (thank you), *lisa*, Gammer, Robbie Long, Darwin, Sytronik, Sawyer, Sketchy, Illicit, Doc-E, Dezmond, Gazy J, Chitchat, Obie and anyone else who I forgot.
