Fruit club is a strange party, similar to those occasiona where you hear a word in conversation and its totally new to you, then you hear it 4 times over the next week, making you wonder how you've managed to get through life so far without it. Fruit Club is similar because althought I have been reliably informed that it has been running for near on ten years now (albeit with a short break) I have only come to realise how much of a part of the regualr events it is recently. Bridging the gap between big and medium sized events nicely, Fruit Club always touches down in the same place, The Brunel Rooms in the centre of Swindon and always on the same night, Friday night. In the event, this party was the final Friday night Fruit Club, with the rave moving over to Saturdya therafter, but that was still to come and this event was not one to miss becuase of it. With three arenas on offer, all under the same roof and coverig Hardcore, Old Skool and the all important Jellybeanz experience, the party was similar in structure, but very different in terms of content. Fruit Club always makes a point of mixing in the biggest names, as well as underbooked talent in its lineup. To this end, the themes "Pirates of the Core" party was all there when it came to the DJs and MCs. Those in the know will appreciate what was on offer when the more namecheckable aspects of the rave included Seduction, Darren Styles, Scott Brown, Faydz, Sy, Unknown, Ramos, as well as Fastrack, Thumpa and *lisa* backing em up all the way. Of course, no party is without the MC lineup and in this respect, it didn't go wanting, mainly due to to the fact that Storm, Whizzkid, Rude, Chitchat and CK were all in the place. However, the best part of about the party was it was in two halves. Musically it was all there, but as well as that, there is a rotating and quiet bars to prop up and have a chat with the party people when you're taking a break. Definitely one of the more sociable raves I like to go to and it it all added up to me hurtling down the M4 after work and chucking a right at J15. Pulling in a parking up, we walked to the venue, saying hello to the likeminded people we saw along the way. A respectable queue presented itself on both sides of the door and once we had negotiated it, search free as well, we were in. No messing about here, it was straight up to the main arena. It was where I was going to be spending most of the night afterall. Fruit Club Prides itself on transforming the Brunel Rooms for each of it's events and this was no exception, with serious amounts of fluro charged Backdrops, which nicely co-ordinated with the the plumbed in lighting rig, as well as reacting like a barsteward with the lorry load of UV which was being discharged in the venue. However, i was there for the music and the music alone, with the first offering coming from someone who I have been hearing a lot about recently, *Lisa*. Rapidly expanding from where she first started and getting results while she's doing it, *Lisa* was laready well into her set when I turned up. I was not ready to get it on just yet, but the early starters in the place were already on the dancefloor and stomping to the music while I was content to watch from the bar with my friends and have a few bottles. Even though I weren't dancing, that in no way detracts from a set to be proud of. 100% MC free and all the better for it, *Lisa* mixed in plenty of diversity, with a lot of her efforts being lost on me. However, the eclectic set featured Upfront, Freeform, Mainstream and Underground, as well as more specific tunes I did recognise including "Feel so Real", "On and On" and "Rock Da Spot". One thing was for definite, the steady stream of ravers entering the venue getting the best possible reception. Next up was the 11-12 set, with Fastrack taking over from *Lisa* with MC Scottie B on the mic. Although I was still feeling the music, I was still not quite ready to go for it just yet, however, that soon changed when Fastrack got going, with plenty of recognisable tunes punctuating his hour at the controls. The real mark of how good his set was, was not what he played, but its effect on me. Like it or not I was compelled to get myself on the dancefloor. I not even sure when it happened, but the start of the set was spent propping up the bar and the end saw me going for it to "Rock Ya Harccore", "Slide Away", the remix of "6days" and best of all "Run for Cover". By now the party had really got going. The system was fully in its stride and the place was a sea of movement, from the left stack, all the way over to the right. Handily enough, the next DJ was more than capable of making the most of what was on offer. Seduction and Storm were in the place and ready to do what they do best. Its been a while since I've seen Seduction play out and as such it was refreshing to rediscover the way he does things. Best of all, it was one of my favourites, nice and bouncy all the way and plenty of tune remixes to boot, with "Let the Beat Commence", "Time to pump it up" and remixes of "Pacific Sun" and "Let me be your Fantasy" all getting dropped. A birthday set is always something special and Storm was determined to masure it was. Quite aside from making his first set of the night notable by including "All about beats, all about bass" and "We Don't Care", he also made time to give the ravers the chance to wish the man at the helm their best. So he did. And we did. With my appetite whetted for the bouncy sound, there was only one place to be and as such I ducked out of the main arena and made my way down the stairs. When I got to the Old Skool room, Thumpa was already in the place, as well as MC Chit Chat on the mic. This was Thumpa's last set before he hung up his headphones, so quite apart from getting down to only the finest bouncy techno he could pull out of his record bag (which is always worth travelling for), it was also common decency that saw me get on it. The sound system was also set to more sensible levels this time too. I've been in the place where it's literally been making my ears bleed with the volume, so aside from not making my fillings rattle loose with sound, it was also letting me enjoy the music. And top quality it was too, with the tunes I like the most (without a doubt) getting the playtime it deserved at last. The was only one thing to do, get as close to the stacks as possible and rave to the music. With the mic duties in the capable hands of MCs ChitChat and Knight, Thumpa went for it, mixing in plenty of stuff I had not heard before, as well as more familiar tunes such as "All out of Love", "Rip it up", "Not meek or mild" before going totally batshit with a 190bpm finish. I had planned to sacrifice Breeze's set in order to catch Thumpa's (its not every day you hear bouncy techno after all), but upon returning to the main arena I noticed two things. Firstly, the place was still packed and rocking, but also that Breeze and Styles had decided to go b2b for two hours together with Storm and Whizzkid on the mic to compliment matters with some MCSquared goodness. I may as well come out with it straight away, this set was my personal favourite for one outstanding reasons. It was down to one tune with is my absolute favourite from the PBC stable, "Angel". Its criminally underplayed though and in recent months has disappeared altogether from regular rave playouts. Not tonight though, with a full on remix getting dropped to an appreciative crowd and at the centre of which was an astraboy covered in goosebumps from head to toe, the rest of the set could have been overshadowed, but that was difficult with "Connexions", "Save me", "24-7", "You're Shining" and "Free at last" all included on the playlist. Speaking of which, the next DJ also benefitted from the man who gave the live performance of the last tune I mentioned. With MC Whizzkid standing his ground while Storm, Styles and Breeze made way fro Scott Brown to take their place. One of the more consistant team-ups within Hardcore, Scott usually works with Whizzkid when the opportunity arises and as such it has develped into a highly polished double act. Both the DJ and the MC are more than capable in their own rights, but together, they always come up with the goods. Doubly so with this set, with Scott's trademark sound evident from the outset. His own brand of upfront, bouncy and, of course, Dutch Hardcore were all represented and did the business in no uncertain terms. While Whizzkid backed him up on stage with all the lyrics he is known and loved for, Scott got on it and busted out tune after tune in rapid sucession. Another set which saw me immersed in the music and located by the stacks doing damage to my leg tendons, it was all about the masses on the dancefloor going for it while the DJ tore through his set list, of which included "This is how we do it", "Takin' Drugs" and Elysium. During this time, MC ChitChat had taken over from Whizkid and, fresh from his set downstairs got in front of the sizeable crowd in front of him and rose to he occasion like the rising star he is. Doing what he does throughout the set and hyping the ravers like a goodun. As well as that, the tail end of Scott's set was, as always, dominated by the Dutch Hardcore Sound. This time it was especially fierce and it was all the more noticable when played through the full on sound system. Best of all, the tune selection was top notch, with "Lets get dirty", "I feel hardcore" and the "Evil Twin" remix of the classic "Boomstick" all getting dropped. With the time nearing 4am, it was time for the final set. There is only one way to do this properly and that was with Sy AND Unknown, together with Storm on the mic. The "Power Hour" is always something that gets me moving and I was clearly surrounded by those who thought the same as the dancefloor filled with the party people anxious to go for it for the finale. And what a set it was, with high energy, bouncy tunes being the most prominent and bouncy in the extreme being the preffered subgenre. "On & On", "21st Century Rush", "Raveheart", "Take control", they all got a look in and were definitely stomped to, of that you can be sure. Storm was also in full effect for the final hour too, making sure the ravers went home with a smile on their faces is what he does and it was more than evident that he was enjoying his work, from the live accompanyment of "21st Century Rush", to the lyricism both old and new with "Just Accept it" and "Thought Control". Finally, the rave was brought into its penultimate moments, with the sublime inclusion of "Cry" before Storm thanking everyone for coming. With that, there was only one thing left to do. Sy and Unknown dropped the remix of "Pacific Sun" and the party played out while everyone in the place who were still on their feet going for it till the end. Things I liked: Venue - It may be leaning towards superclub compared with my personal favourite of dirty warehouse, but that means icy cool aircon on tap and a ceiling groaning under the weight of the in house lighting and production rigs. Not forgetting its trump card..... System - I have a lot of time for the Fruit Club sound system. About as professional as you can get with serious amounts of volume too. Want to feel the music? Just back up against the stacks and let the pressure waves from the kicks wash over you. Attendance - Fruit Club's attendences have been steadily increasing since i have started attending, with this night being a good example of that rapidly expanding figure. Although most of them were content to stay in the main arena at the expense of the other two, that meant the place was nicely full till the end. Lineup - Like I said, a nice mix of big names and underbooked talent as well as the biggest names in the land. All of them came up with the goods too and I really enjoyed myself froms start to finish. Security - Easygoing yet professional and well aware of how to deal with policing a Hardcore rave. nice one. Things I liked less: 5am finish - Not a fan of these at all. Whats wrong with going the extra mile for a man sized finish? Got to Saturday - This is more of a personal gripe than anything else. But with Fruit Club being one hour from my place, it was nice and easy to get to, particularly after work on friday. Dont get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the Saturday raves, but I'd be lying if I said I weren't going to miss friday nights at Fruit club. I really enjoyed this rave. it was exactly what I needed. After a VERY difficult week at work, I needed somewhere reasonably close to home to go out and have it Hardcore. My working week had left me irritable and Fruit Club was the Panacea. Once I was in the place, it was all there. Surrounded by my friends in a venue awash with my chosen music, grumpiness was rapidly overtaken by HUGE euphoria, assisten in no small part by the friendly party crew, each and everyone of them on the same wavelength. This was what really did it for me. By the end of the night the event was more of a big houseparty than a commerical rave. People openly pissing about and having a laugh at the back of the arena while the ever indulgent security looked on, laughing is a good example. When you walk out of a rave feeling like you're mates with everyone in there then you know something has gone right. Cool night out in every sense, I'll see you at the Saturday Launch party. astraboy.
