Another Helter Skelter passes by and what a wicked night this was, probably one of the best Sanctuary raves I have been to. I reached the Sanctuary about 10.00pm to be greeted by a long winding queue. Another packed out Skelter was on the cards. The bouncers didn't even search us upon entry and just let us walk straight through, which was very nice of them. In fact the new look security team is very welcome addition to the Sanctuary. The new security team seem less fussed about hassling the ravers and treat the ravers with a lot more respect then the previous criminal security team. The new bouncers were even wearing bright illuminous green jackets to blend in....true raver stylee !!!! Now I wanted a nice gentle easy start to the evening, so I headed straight for the Technodrome for the sounds of HMS. What a wicked set....true mad mental techno....certainly gave the Technodrome crowd some serious brain pounding, just what the doctor ordered. I then decided to head over to the Sanctuary, which had the stage against the far back wall, perpendicular to the balcony. The production in here was as high class as ever. In fact the production in all the arenas was excellent, the usual Helter Skelter standards were as top as ever. DJ Breeze was on the decks, but to be honest I didn't really think too much of the tunes he was playing. I thought, they seemed a bit wishy washy, they lacked the energy and banging element of a normal hardcore set....I'm sure countless others will no doubt disagree !!! I then had a wonder around the outside complex and had a go on the gyroscope....never ever again. If my head wasn't spinning already, it was certainly spinning now. I needed more then a few minutes to regroup my mind and stomach back to together again....not a pretty site, I can assure you. I then listened to a bit of Darren Jay in the Sanctuary. A wicked set from Darren Jay, an underrated DJ on the scene in my opinion....some serious rolling drum and bass certainly got the junglists jumping around the dancefloor. Meanwhile back in the Rollers, it was time for Force and Styles. The Rollers was rammed full for this set and believe me, Force and Styles did not disappoint. Playing the usual selection of tunes ( Discoland, Feelin' Fine...blah,blah,blah ), the crowd were going absolutely mental and loving every minute. Set of the night for me, the Clacton duo always get the best response from the crowd whenever they play. The next set I checked out was DJ Seduction. But this set took on an extra significance as there were signs dotted around the complex saying that this was going to be Seduction’s last ever hardcore set. Hmmmm....I remember a similar rumour been started a couple of months ago so I wasn't sure whether to believe this or not. But still the Sanctuary was rammed out, full of ravers hoping to catch a last glimpse of Seduction. MC Storm was on the mic hyping up the crowd and certainly brought the best out of the ravers. Seduction's set was nothing special, quite good in parts but nothing memorable though....but who cares....I got the impression over the last year that Seduction was getting ready to desert the hardcore scene in favour of the house scene anyway. Next stop for me was back to the Technodrome to catch the sounds of Loftgroover. Now, I'm not sure what was going on but when I got to the Technodrome, Loftgroover was playing a drum and bass set....and I'm not joking either. Everyone was hoping to hear some banging industrial techno but instead we were hearing drum and bass. Believe me, there were a lot of bemused frustrated ravers wondering what the hell was going on. I'm not sure what Loftgroover was hoping to achieve, but all he achieved was a load of disrespect from the ravers. It's not called the TECHNOdrome for nothing mate....very very disappointing....then again Loftgroover isn't really the sort of person you want to argue with !!! The best aspect of the night was the atmosphere. Its been a long time since I've seen this many happy smiley ravers at the Sanctuary. Everybody came to dance and was out to have a good time. Its been a while since I've seen chatted to and met so many friendly ravers at the Sanctuary. Everyone knows how the vibe at the Sanctuary can sometimes be lacking but the old Skelter vibe was definitely in full effect on this night. Everyone I talked to, agreed with me as well about the improved vibe, I'm not sure why the atmosphere was a lot better then normal....probably because everyone was looking forward to that eclipse thingy or something like that :) Even the Birkenhead crew, who had a full presence as ever didn't cause one bit of trouble all night. Hopefully this new improved atmosphere will remain at the Sanctuary for a long time to come. Meanwhile, back in the Sanctuary, Slipmatt had just stepped up on the decks and was busting out some top tunes. Over the years I've heard him DJ, I'm still yet to hear a bad set by Slipmatt and I don't think I ever will...Slipmatt knows exactly how to keep a hardcore crowd perfectly entertained and tonight was no exception. DJ Sy was making sure the Rollers crowd were stomping non stop. Playing the wicked 'I need your Lovin' remix which certainly got the whistles and horns crew going mental. Even got me singing along in fine voice to the lyrics. It was also nice to see the old skool arena restored back to its former glory. It was rammed solid in here all night and certainly sounded to Dave Pratley that putting a house and garage room there wasn't a very good idea....keep it old skool !!! I then headed straight to the chillout tent to cane everybody's arse at Tekken on the playstations....even won £15 of some bloke who thought he could beat me, no chance mate....easiest 15 quid I've ever made !!! It was then supposed to be Hixxy next in the Sanctuary. But in fact it was everybody's favourite Dougal. To be honest, Dougal's set wasn't too bad, a lot better then I expected. He seem to play slightly harder and a lot less of his watered down cheesey crap. If he keeps playing like that, he might begin to win back the respect from the ravers. But Man Parris was MCing for Dougal and to be honest I was dismayed by Man Parris performance on the mic. He was sitting down on a stool next to the decks throughout the whole of the set talking....well lets just call it jibberish. When really a half decent MC should be at the front of the stage hyping up the crowd as much as possible....not impressed at all. It was now full daylight outside and the last hour was now upon us. Time for Vibes, but no Live-Lee, which was a bit annoying because Live-Lee's name was listed to appear on the flyer. But still Charlie B filled in and did more then a good job of it. The Sanctuary was still rammed full of ravers looking to finish the night on a high and Vibes didn't let the crowd down. There was even some bloke dressed as the Grim Reaper dancing on stilts at the front, which I'm sure must have freaked out more then a few of the bleary eyed ravers !!! Again like Dougal, Vibes seem to play harder then usual and cut down slightly on the cheese finishing off with the 'Forever Autumn' tune, a wicked way to round of the night. Overall I had a truly excellent night, the vibe at the Sanctuary was as good as I've ever seen it and this is what made the night so good and I'm sure everyone who was there will agree with me. I hope this improved atmosphere is carried on to Sanctuary raves in the future. Big shouts going to....hope I've remembered all of you :)....Paul, Carol, Peter, Andrew, Jo, Shiva, Maxim, Jesta, Smithers, Bug, Chedda, Time, Nita, Taffy, Rich, Jo, Stuart, Chrissy, Uplift, Roo, Adidas Matt + everybody else who was at the meetup....hello to you all :) !!!
