Even though I was still quite tired from the night before at Bedlam, there was no way I was going to miss Cruze-in. After my first party where I had the luxury of not driving so decided to drink myself into alcoholic oblivion, I was hooked. Even though I couldnt remember a solid 5 hours of it I knew I had to return so when the next party was announced, I made arrangements. However this party was different from the past in that I had the luxury of not driving so I could drink myself into alcoholic oblivion! If you want to blame anyone then blame Deddley. The Essex legend had kindly agreed to swing the 206 of power round at J20 and pick me up, so on the day of the party it was all about getting up there whilst sorting out some cans for the journey and a bottle of tequila and a lemon for the afterparty. With the help of some good company, a few cans and the odd piss stop, we swung off at J5 of the M6 in no time at all. Heading in the direction of Sutton Coldfield yeilded good results and as such we were walking towards the party and well up for what lay ahead. Cruze-In is a party of two halfs, the first, being a free event held in the basement of a rave friendly pub which is about the size of the Carbon Lounge at Air. With a kick out time of midnight and a serious soundsystem courtesy of the one and only Wiggi complimenting the well appointed layout. As well as that, the cream of the crop had been sourced with regard to DJ lineup. Darwin, Gamma, Scottie, Deddley and the one and only Cruze were still scheduled to spin when we arrived. The first order of business was to head for the bar and sort out the drinks! but after that, the serious business of getting on it in NO uncertian terms was met by the first shock of the night. The Rave was Darwinless. For reasons best known to himself, Ben ST was providing the tunes in his stead, but as well as that, he was consoling those who felt the urge to open their wrists at the lack of Darwin, buy wearing a Darwin Mask throughout his set! I only caught the closing minutes of ST and Obie's performances, but I could tell I had missed a blinder when he dropped "Sensory vision" as his closing track. While the DJ's changed over, I repaired to the bar to get another drink and when I returned I found out I was going to be making a few more trips. Why? Cos Gammer, Scottie and MC Gazy J were up next and while their jobs were difficult enough, Gammer seemed to want to up the ante, buy not only going b2b with Scottie, but matching me tequila for tequila while he was doing it!. I was more than happy to oblige, so the clear liquid of life was transported from bar to decks throughout the set, during which both DJs and MC distinquished themselves. The place was going off nicely with plenty of ravers getting down to business on the dancefloor portion of the room, and more partygoers socialising in the other half. It was the former place I was entrenched in, dancing away as if I had had a good nights sleep the night before. Despite only seeing him no 24 hours earlier, Gammer, Scottie and Gazy, put in a performance to be proud of, with the Cruze-in crew getting treated to, amongst others "On & On", "Getting better" and "Walk Away" before yet another surprise. Gabba was the chosen sound for these two to finish off with "Raise your hand if you want to Die" and "Headbanger" providing the closing tunes to a top quality set. Next up was the man I had come up with so quite frankly it would have been rude not to continue what I had started and have a bit of a dance to Deddley's set. Together with a female MC by the name of Juicy who I have not heard before but defnitely want to hear more of in the future, they took the party on a totally different tangent from the previous set. Awesome Hardcore breakbeats formed the backbone of Deddley's set with the only tune I recongised being the fantastic "Walking on the moon". Thereafter, it was set to prove to all the doubters that there is a breakbeat underground, its an awesome sound to get aquainted with and for the best examples of which, get yourself on the dancefloor when Deddley and Juicy are performing. I did and I dont regret it one bit. Hell, it had to be good when I stopped drinking and started stomping as the set wore on. One of the disadvantages of arriving late for a party like this is only hearing a few sets before its all over. The time was 11pm and Cruze had stepped up to replace Deddley for the final set of the night. This was the last occasion of the weekend for me to dance to Hardcore, so I stayed right where I was. I was joined by a sizeable amount of ravers eager to do the same. Cruze rose to the occasion and then some. Going for it on a euphoric and classic tip, Cruze made sure everone on the dancefloor left the place with a smile on their face, dropping a set which made me tingle on numerous occasions, despite being utterly exhausted from the weekend and not to mention being completely pissed as well. Despite approaching terminal drunkenness, I still got up and danced, it was difficult not to when tunes as good as "Angel eyes", "Wanting to get high", "Here I am", "Magic Carpet" "Love of my life" and "Follow me" were getting played. I was loving it up until the final snippets of gabba were played out to finish off the night. Well, finish off the night at the pub at any rate. Like I said, Cruze-in is a night of two halfs, while the free party had just finished, the House party afterwards was only just starting. Where I was slightly drunk before, I was going to take no prisoners once I arrived and as soon as I did I could tell everyone else was in the same mood. I admit to falling in the same "Get so drunk I cant stay conscious" trap, so my night's memories are blurred from about 3am onwards, but what I do remember amongst other things are: Paul "The Legend" turning up, Getting through near on a bottle of tequila, Ben ST utterly spangled and speaking in tounges, Getting Dave Matsui to say "Woah" not once but twice during a very metaphysical conversation next to a cupboard, during a moment of drunken clarity, Coming to on the same bed I came to on last time and finding out it was time to go home. I'm not going to do a "Things I liked" deal this time, cos its not a commercial rave and as such its not fair to pass judgement. What Cruze-in is is a unique chance to get on a dancey tip for the first half of the evening and then get to know the people you see week in week out that little bit better during the second half. As such you appreciate being around them all the more when you see them out next. For a long time I didn't go to Cruze-in, saying it werent worth the trip for the 12am finish. While this is true when you look at it from a stand off point of view, once you have come along and saw what happens at these parties, it becomes ever increasingly difficult to justify staying away. This is why I am going to be at every Cruze-in for the foreseeable future and provided Cruze and Hev are gracious enough to allow you back, I suggest you do the same.
