Quite often, the best raves are not raves at all. Houseparties often go one step further than raves with regard to atmosphere, enjoyment and general messyness, as well as an overload of the music I love. The only difficult thing about getting to houseparties is getting an invite to the good ones and transport there and back. Fortunately when it came round to Cruze in, everything was sorted well in advance. A personal invite from the promoter, DJ Cruze himself, is never a bad way to start, but when a certain DJ Deddley offered to drive me there and back, meaning I wouldnt have to spend another weekend clocking hundreds of miles behind the wheel, and more importantly, I could have a drink or two once I arrived. The only other thing I had to get out of the way was some tedious get together at some fleapit of a pub in some god awful northern town in the middle of nowhere, called Sutton Coldfield of all things. Even the name sent a shudder down my spine and I knew it would be everything I hated when the mining tower hoved into view..... Okay, in all seriousness, Cruze in 8 is the focal point of the night, with a free party being held, yes, in a pub, but in the bottom room of a pub away from the normal drinkers. Starting early and finishing at 2am, its aim is not to showcase the biggest names in the scene, but for the easygoing crew you get at all the best raves to get together, while being entertained by those illuminted enough to spin for the party, in return for entertaining a VERY up for it party crew. It all saw me, Ravegirl and Deddley and his missus piling up the M40 and getting into Sutton for about 9ish. We were too late to see the early sets (with apologies to Paul Z), but the evening still had a lot in store for us as we entered the pub. Going into the back room and before we negotiated the stairs we said hello to a friendly promotor and Hevhog. After that we made our way downstairs to the party. A room about 20m x10m greeted us. It had been split into two with the first hald being the dancefloor and the second being a bar/sitdown area. A good proportion of the Wiggi Soundsystem had been set up on the dancefloor which was thumping like a goodun and a group of ravers who had arrived earlier than us were already into the swing of things. On the decks when I got in was the first DJ for me, a b2b with Wiggi and Double Decka providing the music and Jutt and Dizzyvibe on the mic. As more and more people made the trip down the stairs and filled the venue evermore, the DJs and MCs took the arriving ravers on a journey through the Hardcore sound. Variation was the key here, with everything from "Elysium", to "I'm a junglist" getting dropped. No complaints from me either as I love that last tune to bits. As well as that, the other tunes I recognised included "Deep inside", "Fly away" and best of all the criminally underplayed "Wanting to get high". Next up was meant to be another b2b with OliG and Lee UHF going halfers, but due to transport problems, HMS UHF had not docked at Port Cruze when the appointed hour arrived. Oli took the executive decision to play solo, then split the set in half should Lee get there in time. This meant a rare solo set from OliG. I havent seen him do a single set for a while, but I knew what I was in for well before he stepped up. Freeform all the way. Fantastic With Oli in control, the BPMs went sky high in no time at all. Even though I was getting drunker by the second, I saw the crowd who were still capable of dancing were lapping up what Oli, Gazy and Jutt were producing. I was also getting on the same wavelength by sinking to Vodka Redbulls to get the energy to dance. A combination of this and top tune selection such as "Freedom", "Pig", "Sci Fi" and "Double helix" (I think) saw me dancing as soon as I was capable. Fortunately UHF had managed to get to the venue in time to split the set, so Mr. G graciously moved to one side for the second half of their slot so Lee could perform alone. Having seen what Lee is capable of in the past, I knew sticking around was defnitely a good idea. Lee proved me right as well, with Jutt and Gazy J still on the mic, he took the assembled ravers down UHF street with a showcase of his own personal interpretation of the Hardcore sound. Whilst not as frenetic as Oli G's selection from the first half, it made up in dancability for what it lacked in pace, with "Deeper and Deeper", the upfront remix of "Timebomb" and best of all the awesome "Hardcore Machine" all getting played. Next on the decks was Mr. Stuart and Strange Dave, however I must be honest and say I didn't catch very much of their set. The place was going off alright, no problems at all, but there are two parts to Cruze In and the social side is just as much fun as the musical side. Chatting to friends and getting drunk whilst recharging my batteries at the same time paid dividends when it came to the final set of the night. This was what it was all about. The final set of the night belonged to the promotor and him alone. DJ Cruze stepped into the box for the final hour and despite being absoloutely hammered, I joined the rest of the ravers on the dancefloor and got on it for the last time that night. Dropping a varied party set to end his night, Cruze was on it throughout his set and that fact alone attracted the majority of the crowd in the place towards the stacks and onto the dancefloor. To entertian his crowd, Cruze opted for the best of everything, with the upfront being handled by "Crazy Love", the happy Hardcore being covered with "Hardcore fever" (Tuuune!), the harder edge nodded with "Fuck my best friend" and the current vogue for remixes of well known classics more than sorted out with "pacific sun". As well as that, the closing moments of the set(where no-one was going home early for anything btw) were deftly handled with "Sensory Vision" keeping CDJay happy and "Still the one" being right at the end. Unfortunately it was not the end for me. It was just the start of the descent into the black hole that is alcohol poisoning and stumbling around Cruze's place. I'd love to review that, but I cant remember anything apart from regaining consiousness at 5am, disconvering all my alcohol had gone and being told we were going home. By that yardstick, I must have had a blinder Things I liked: Atmosphere: I knew near on all of the ravers in the place, as well as most of the DJs and not forgetting the promotor. The only other place you get that sort of atmosphere is in a houseparty and I couldnt get enough of it. Attendance - Just the right amount of people in the place, with 102 being the official door count when I asked. Nicely filled the place and was primarily responsible for the former being so good. Music- The DJ lineup was full of known and not so know DJs, but the music they played was something else. Nice and varied, with plenty of genre hops to keep the party crew on their toes. You could tell it was varied cos when Cruze started playing the upfront stuff, people were gagging for it. Why? cos they aint heard it all night. Wicked. Afterparty - The main problem with a 2am finish is where to go afterwards, Cruze and Hev sorted this out by opening up their house for the safe ravers to continue/get drunker/crash out/etc. Nice one Dizzyvibe - First time I've seen him on the mic and I was impressed, with his voice scratching in particular. The bar - For getting me drunk. Things I liked less: The Bar - For getting me drunk. CDJay - For finishing me off with green aftershock. Git. The bedroom floor - for making itself inseperable from my face for a good few hours. Even though I felt like death the morning, afternoon and indeed evening after, it was still well worth travelling for two hours to get to this bad boy, I had a great time, from what I can remember. What I cant remember, however, I can only apologise for. If I did anything terrible (esp. to Wiggi) then I am sorry. However, what I'm not sorry for is going to Cruze in and having a great time. I timed my drunken behaviour to commence from the moment I walked into the afterparty, to keep the nicely drunk behaviour (and dancing) to the rave. While it werent the biggest rave I've been to, or the one with the "biggest" lineup, the intense party atmosphere and what seemed to be a handpicked crowd of only the safest people you see at a commercial rave definitely made up for it. A hundred of the people you want to party with were in the bottom room of that pub that night and they had it where it counted when it came to being up for a wicked night out. I thank god my memory blotted itself out 30 minutes AFTER leaving the venue as I wouldn't want to forget the supercool and safe atmosphere that was there from the moment I arrived till the final tune dropped. Houseparty or rave? why not go to Cruze in and have both? Oh, and a great time while you're there, if you can remember it that is.
