After finally battling past all the ticket touts, me and mates arrived at Bagleys at about 10.00 to be greeted by a long winding queue. Damn, we thought to ourselves, but unlike last time the queue moved along swiftly, finally getting inside in about an hour. The security were carrying out very strict searches on everyone, I would say some of the searches were even verging on sexual assault !! The security in general were definitely the moodiest and the harshest I've seen at Bagleys. There were bouncers everywhere, from the dancefloor, to even under cover security working in the toilets.....always keep your guard up.

As I first made my way up the stairs through the old skool room, 'Music so Wonderful' by Vibes and the Wishdokta was getting caned over the decks. I hadn't even had a chance to take my jacket off or get my horn out and I was already going mad on the dancefloor !!! Now unfortunately I had to walk through the garage room to put my jacket in the cloakroom. I saw Charlie B in there who was going mad on the dancefloor, something you'll never see him do if it was the hardcore arena. It wasn't very busy in there and I was told that it was never really packed in there for most of the night.....what a shame. Looks as though the marketing strategy by the SV management to attract as many garage people didn't quite pay off. First stop for me was of course the hardcore arena. When I first stepped in the arena the 'On a Ragga Tip' remix was being played, so I was straight into stomping mode from the off. Vinylgroover was on the decks and it was a good set by him. Blending in the happy wit! h a bit of trancey. A nice compromise of both certainly had the arena fully buzzing.

The production in the hardcore arena was pretty good. There was a dance platform in the middle of the dancefloor, which I've never seen at SV before. The sound system was definitely a lot more louder and bassier then the last event in September which was also nice to see. Lighting wise, there weren't any lasers in the hardcore arena which was a bit disappointing, what's a hardcore rave without any lasers to stare into aimlessly and play naughty tricks on your mind !! But there were plenty of UV lights around, which made everyone's glow in the dark accessories give off maximum effect. The stage set up as it usually is at SV was basic. There seemed to be very little decor on stage and I also observed there seemed to be very little activity by the stage dancers, but a few Birkenhead boys manage to dance on stage which provided some sort of entertainment for the crowd. The turnout in the hardcore arena was very good as well, a lot better then I expected. The arena wasn't rammed! solid but it was full to capacity all night and slightly busier then the previous SV event which was heartening to see. The hardcore ravers certainly made a clear point to the Slammin' Vinyl management, that hardcore should always be regarded as their number one priority and should be always kept that way.

Next DJ on the wheels of steel was Vibes who was also celebrating his birthday....still doesn't look a day over 40 !! Vibes played his usual mix of vocal uplifting tunes which certainly sent the cheeseheads into euphoria. He even got on the mic to thank the crowd himself for supporting him over the years, which I thought was a nice touch. MC Whizzkid was alongside Vibes and was once again doing a fine job on the mic. Getting the crowd to shout together and interacting with the ravers as much as possible always constitutes the credentials of a good MC. Slipmatt followed Vibes and played a reasonably good set. Dropping tunes like 'Space Invaders' by Scott Brown, which is a very class tune if I don't mind saying. He also dropped Shooting Star, which still after all this time (2 years now !!) is still making the crowds go crazy on the dancefloor.

Force and Styles were the next DJs I checked out and I have to say they were appalling. They decided to play full on Euro Trance which turned many a happy smiley face on the dancefloor into a sour face. The stuff they were playing just lacked energy and thrive which is what hardcore should compromise off. It's a shame because Force and Styles used to produce and play some of the best hardcore tracks around and now they're playing something which not only just sounds alien to them but also sounds alien to the hardcore scene in general. If I want to hear trance, I want to hear it being played by DJs who know about trance music properly. So I did just that and headed downstairs to the techno room where DJ Energy was on the decks playing some banging freeform/techno over the banging sound system. All the techno nutters were lapping it up and with the old campaigner Ribbz on the mic, everyone was more then satisfied.

I needed to chill out a bit from the mayhem so I decided to go for a nice stroll around the old venue. The old skool room was busy all night and certainly had a wicked atmosphere. But personally, I found it difficult to really get into the music down there because people kept walking past and the size of the room means its very difficult to really find a bit of dancing space for yourself. The sooner the old skool is restored back to its former glory back in the third arena the better for everyone and I hope the SV management have begun to realise that fact. Outside which was just a bit cold, everyone was frantically searching for a sacred bit of brick wall to sit down on. It amazes me how some girls can wear next to nothing and stay outside for ages without feeling the slightest bit cold....but heh, who's complaining :) !! The atmosphere as it usually is at Slammin' Vinyl was blinding. Lots of happy smiley people out to have a good time. Even if the security have got moodie! r, the ravers are still friendly as ever.

It was now just past 3.00 and time for me to check out the drum and bass furnace which was rammed to the rafters as usual. As usual the temperature in there was reaching near boiling point. Brockie was on the decks alongside Skibadee and these two ripped it up fine style. Non stop rolling basslines certainly had the crowd throwing the hands in the air screaming for rewind after rewind. Brockie even dropped the old classic 'Original Nuttah' by Shy FX which got me singing along to the lyrics and I'd like to say my impression of UK Apachi wasn't half bad either !! Meanwhile next door in the hardcore arena, Sy and Unkown had just taken control. For me this was set of the night, a wicked set by the Quosh boys. Played all sorts of banging stuff and surprise surprise they dropped ' Dreadland' again !!!.....but its such a class tune, everybody just stomped mad on the dancefloor. The third part of the partnership, MC Storm was bouncing around the stage and did a fine job of hyping up! the crowd. I like to see MCs moving around on stage, transferring the energy they show on the mic towards the crowd. Some MCs out there, like Charlie B and Man Parris, just generally stand around and do nothing, but Storm always gives maximum effort. He also seemed to have cut down a lot on screaming to the crowd like he used to do and the whistles and horns crew quite deservedly showed maximum appreciation towards him.

The music on the night, I thought was good, nothing amazing though. There were no sets I heard which really captivated my imagination, but there were quite a few new tunes I heard being played for the first time which was refreshing to see....more of it please. The last hour was now approaching and it was time for Dougal. He played strictly happy and not a trance song in site, which made a big contrast to his set at the last Skelter. It wasn't a bad set by Dougal, a bit lazy in my opinion. Most of the stuff he played was from 1997/1998, dropping tunes like 'Feelin' Fine', ' Eye Opener' and 'My Way' the original, which got everyone to hold their hands in the air. As the long song was dropped, Storm asked the crowd if they had a good time and the noise generated from the ravers was more then deafening.....enough said.

Overall it was an excellent night, a lot better then the previous event in September, which seemed a bit subdued in my opinion. The atmosphere and vibe at this event was one of the best I've seen at Bagleys and everyone was really up for it on the dancefloor. Slammin' Vinyl at Bagleys has always been one of the most highly rated events around and tonight was no exception. Bagleys was full and the turnout in the hardcore room was once again very good. I hope this will spur on the SV management to make their organisation even bigger and better for the new millennium.

Big shouts to : Joe, Paul, Kev, Peter, Andrew, Jo, Chedda, Happybounce, Smithers, Time, Radium, Jaimie, Carol, Caine, Rich, Jo, Conrad, Chrissy, Uplift, Adidas Matt, Roo, Stephy, Eleanor, Katy, BillyBass, Sash, Charmy, Cakes, Andy the Rugrat, Happy J, Lloyd, Tina, Maxim, MC Storm, MC Whizzkid + all the other USH crew who was there on the night....hugs to the girls, handshakes to the boys.....see you all soon :)

Over and out

- Slammin' Sam (sam@ush.net)