I had been looking forward to this night for a long time because I've always heard about the legendary Destiny nights on the South Coast. The fact the Manor is closing down in a few months time indicated to me that I better get down quick before I lost the opportunity to experience it. Not the mention the fact that it was my 21st Birthday....waheyy !!!!! The Manor has to be the most isolated club I ever have been to, its literally situated in the middle of nowhere. Nestled in the middle of a forest outside Bournemouth, a real country retreat. But when I did eventually get there about 10.00, I was amazed by the appearance of it. It is an 18th century mansion and looked very grand indeed. Me and my mates joined the short queue and didn't even get searched. The security seemed quite polite and kept a reasonably low profile on the night which was nice to see. When I got in, the place looked even better from the inside. I don't think I've ever been to a venue as nice as the Manor. Chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, painting on the walls etc..it made the place look too luxurious for holding a rave, but heh....who's complaining :) The first arena I checked out was of course the hardcore arena which was situated downstairs and was quite big as well. When I first stepped in here, the whole arena was already packed out and in full swing. Destiny's very own DJ Nexus was on the decks and was playing a blinding set of 1995-1997 hardcore anthems and certainly got the crowd stomping mad on the dancefloor. Dropping tunes like 'Harmony' by F&S and 'Party Time', it was probably the set of the night for me. MC Marley was on the mic which was wicked to see because I used to be a big fan of his when he was with Ramos, so it was good to see him back to doing what he does best. I then decided to go upstairs to the drum and bass arena which was big as well. Ray Keith was on the decks and was playing a wicked set of hardstep business, certainly got the drum and bass ravers screaming for a rewind at every opportunity. It was rammed solid in here all night too. In fact at times, the whole venue seemed to be over packed. But in these hard times the scene is going through, when clubs are closing and events are stopping, seeing a night like this over rammed to the rafters didn't bother me too much, in fact it was very heartening to see. Pratically all the Destiny ravers are from the South Coast and are a loyal devout following who haven't got sick of the sounds of rave unlike other parts of the country. The crowd in general seemed to be slightly older then an average raving crowd, there was a more mature feeling to the night. There seemed to be more smartly dressed people there as you'd find at other rave venues, I guess this was probably the influence of the smart surroundings. Sometimes the atmosphere seemed more like a club atmosphere instead of a rave atmosphere, which was a bit of a let down. But there were still plenty of people dressed up in their finest raving sportswear and the vibe was good throughout the whole venue, lots of happy smiley faces out to have a good time which is what counts the most. There was even Darth Vader and one of his stormtroopers walking around the venue with lightsabres dancing with the crowd....must be a South Coast thing !! Meanwhile back in the hardcore arena, Easygroove was on the decks alongside his longtime MCing partner in crime Robbie D (was he in Milli Vanilli ?). Easygroove was one DJ I used to listen to when I first started listening to rave music, so I was looking forward to his set. He dropped all sorts of tunes from early breakbeat stuff to a bit of classic happy and even a bit of ragga jungle to really mix things up. It was a wicked set because unlike so many old skool sets you hear these days, he played completely different old skool tunes instead of the usual selection of old skool tunes like most DJs tend to play. Robbie D was class on the mic which his unique combination of humour and rhyming skills. He even made the DJ stop the music for a few minutes so he could slag off Diana Ross and accuse her of being a heroin and crack trafficker :)!!?? Next up on the decks was Vibes to push up the BPMs, I mean really push up the BPMs. Vibes played the hardest set I've ever heard him play. No way near the usual cheesy selection, but more of a bouncy hardcore selection with a lot of euro influence in the selection. In fact you'd be forgiven for thinking it was someone like Brisk behind the decks. But it was definitely someone who had a Vileda supermop on his head bouncing around behind the decks, could only be Vibes. Respect to Vibes for playing it different, he was one DJ I used to criticise for not doing enough to help the scene progress, but judging by this showing, he's trying to change it. Yet more evidence that the clubs provide more chance for the DJs to really experiment with new styles and push the scene in new directions, the big events just don't achieve that. MC Storm was on the mic, doing a good as usual, he didn't seem so pushy this time and the crowd responded to him very well. Time to explore this wonderful venue I thought. There was a trance room downstairs which was busy all night and they were playing some wicked tunes in there, in the words of a great English philosopher....it was pukka mate !!! The production in all the arenas was of a very high standard . Excellent bassy sound systems and good lighting were to be found in all of the rooms. A nice surprise was how good the air conditioning was in the venue which meant eventhough everyone was dancing literally shoulder to shoulder for most of the night, everyone could dance comfortably without getting too hot and sweaty. M-Zone stepped up next to the decks in the hardcore arena and played his usual wicked selection of hard house/trance sort of stuff. Building up gradually throughout the set as he expertly does, right up till the end when the crowd are fully hypnotised by his techno sound. The last hour was know approaching and it was time for the sounds for Quosh, Sy + Unknown back to back. These two are always good when they play together and once again they got the packed dancefloor fully buzzing. They played a varied selection of 1997 1999 classics, dropping the wicked 'I need you Lovin' remix and of course 'Discoland'....well it wouldn't be a proper Sy + Unkown set if they didn't play that. MC Storm was there as ever to make sure the atmosphere never relented and it was an excellent way to round off the night. But there was a big disappointment in terms of the lineup. On the flyer it said that Slipmatt, Dougal, Hixxy and Ribbz were due to appear as well. But if I'm not mistaken, neither of them showed up. I'm not sure whose to blame, the promoters or the DJs themselves. But if 4 big names who are listed to appear do not show up, that is simply unacceptable. I know a lot of ravers I was talking too on the night were very disappointed with the no shows. Overall I had a wicked night, probably not as good as I thought it would be due to some disappointing factors but it was still an excellent night. I hope the Destiny crew find a new venue for their nights because judging by the amount of support they have, they have the potential for being around on the rave scene for a long time to come. N.B The last of Destiny at the Manor is on the 29th October....highly recommended :) Big shouts to Kev,Andrew,Jo :) Over and Out
