This was one night I had been looking forward to for a long time. Addiction FM have been broadcasting the sounds of rave over the airwaves for a just over a year. This event was a chance for them to celebrate all the work they have put into the scene. But also a chance for the ravers to come and show their gratitude to them and make sure the Addiction crew have as much support to go on for as long as possible. When I finally got to the Pleasure Rooms at about 11.30, I was greeted by a non existent queue which was a bit worrying. I was thinking whether the night was going to be busy or not, but once I got inside those thoughts were quickly dispersed. After a very swift search by security, I gladly slapped down my entrance fee and headed straight off to the dancefloor. First stop was the hardcore arena, which was impressively decked out. The Addiction crew had gone to a lot of effort to try and give the best show possible to the ravers. Plenty of UV backdrops were draped around the whole room along with a good bassy sound system. When I first stepped inside the arena, there wasn't really that many people dancing. A lot of people were standing around or sitting down on the side, which was a bit of a let down. Why do London events always take bloody ages to get going ??!!! Get your arses on the dancefloor !! DJ Whistla was on the decks playing a wicked selection of nu skool breakbeat sort of stuff. Mainly showcasing tunes from his Sunrise label, the crowd showed plenty of appreciation for the uniqueness and freshness of the tunes he was playing. By the end of his set the arena was buzzing....eventually !! Next up was DJ Soapy who kept up with the high standard of DJing. Playing a nice selection of hardcore fused alongside trance. It was none of this fluffy trance going around the scene at the moment either, this was strictly banging trance, which sounds good to me. There was plenty of noise generated from the crowd and with horns being sold for only £4 on the night, the crowd were very noisy indeed !! The turnout on the night was very good. The venue wasn't rammed solid but it was full to capacity all night, which is a fantastic achievement. The best aspect of the night was meeting people who had come down on the night without knowing who any of the Addiction DJs were, but had come down purely to support the cause. I met people who came down from places as far afield as Wales and Sheffield. Again underlying the point, that the ravers out there are desperate to see new DJs coming through the ranks and are getting sick of seeing the same old faces we've been seeing for years and years. Stepping up next in the hardcore room was DJ Uplift who played a wicked selection, probably the set of the night in my opinion (sorry Chrissy !!). Dropping lots of banging tunes including the very class Evolution 40 tune which has to be one of the anthems of the year. MC Jam and MC Wildcard were doing an excellent job at the front hyping up the crowd to the max. The scene desperately needs new DJs but we also desperately need new MCs to break through as well. Judging by the high standard of MCing on the night, these boys deserve to be in the big time displaying their vocal talents to wider audiences. Next up on the wheels of steel was none other then the Cris E Manic. A class selection of tunes and impeccable mixing had the packed dancefloor stomping mad. 'Music so Wonderful' rmx and plenty of other vocal uplifting tunes got the crowd throwing their hands in the air at every opportunity. After that hour of mayhem, I needed to relax. So I headed off to the old skool room where there was plenty of space (carpeted floor...wayheyy !!) to sit down on. There were some sacred sofas dotted about, which were causing people to have riots over them !! But I didn't sit down for long as DJ Squirrel was on the decks and was playing a wicked selection of old classics, which dragged me back onto the dancefloor. Tunes like 'Way in my Brain' by SL2 and 'Such a Feeling' by Terrorize made sure everyone in the arena had big cheesy smiles on their faces :)) The atmosphere as it always is at the Pleasure Rooms was top. Lots of happy smiley people dancing together as one, all out to have a good time. You really get the feeling of peace, love, unity and respect when you go down the Pleasure Rooms....just how it should be. Back in the hardcore arena, DJ Wizbit was banging out some wicked tunes. An exhilarating selection of hardcore with a strong breakbeat influence was appreciated to the max by the crowd. 'Love and Devotion' by Sy and Demo was just one of many wicked tunes which got caned by Wizbit. MC Storm had arrived as the guest MC and as always was doing an excellent job of getting the optimum performance from the crowd, putting in maximum effort as he always does. Even managing to make the crowd who were crashed out on the side to get off their arses and dance. The usual bunch of casualties half asleep on that car near the front, even got up and danced which is a miracle in itself. It was now 5.00 and the last set was now approaching. It should have been Sy doing the last set, but he was held up somewhere else, so DJ Lukozade stepped in. To be honest nobody really cared about Sy not showing up, as Lukozade played an exceptional set. Playing lots of stomping tunes like 'All I need' by the Visa Label combined with some very impressive scratching had the packed dancefloor screaming for more. But 6.00 came around all too quickly and the night unfortunately came to a close. Storm like he always does asked the crowd if they had a wicked night, and believe me the noise generated by the crowd could have been heard all the way down Tottenham High Road !! Overall it was an excellent night and everybody I spoke to had a brilliant time as well. The standard of DJing / MCing was exceptionally high, certainly put some of the big name DJs out there to shame. The crowd were really up for it on the dancefloor and you could really sense the excitement giving off by the ravers in seeing new faces behind the decks. If we keep supporting them, they'll keep supporting the scene...its as simple as that. I recommend you all get down to their next event as you will not be disappointed. Respect to: Steve, Chrissy, Luke, Matt, James and the rest of the Addiction crew....keep up the good work :)!! Big Shouts to: Kev, Happybounce, Chedda the Heavyweight, Andrew, Jo, Time, Smithers, Cakes, Roo, Justin Vinyl, Tina, Conrad, Rich, Jo, Lloyd, Breaker, Happy J, Snow, Matt and all the Welsh crew.....hugs to the girls, handshakes to the boys.....seeya around soon :) Over and Out
