astraboy

I was pissed off. I wanted to go out but I was skint and there was no hardcore on anywhere near london. I was getting desperate and was willing to try anything. Then I saw Nekro's post about the Crossbones memorial party and then I noticed how close I lived to the meetup point. In theory it was a bad idea. The only car I had was all ready to go to the paint shop on monday and the last thing I needed was stonechips on the brand new, unpainted front bumper. Still it was a 20 minute drive. That couldnt hurt.
At 10.30, I arrived at meet point. I mooched about for a bit wondering what to do and saw a few other cars were milling about as well. I chanced it as the drivers were fairly young looking and asked if they knew where the party was. Luckily one of them knew one of the DJs and was able to get a heads up on the location. Near Goodwood racecourse. So much for the short drive then For some reason, I was nominated to lead the way, so we set off after planning the route and stopped off a short time later at a filling station for them to fill up. While I was there I got talking to a group of people who turned out to be on the same mission as they were. Better yet they had detailed instructions on how to get to the location. Once again I was nominated to lead. The only reason I got was "You've got a map" However I didn't have a problem with this as I knew where I was going. The only problem I did have was keeping my speed down. I wanted to get there, but people were following me. I had to keep reminding me that there were Fiat Panda's in the convoy which would not keep up with me if I gave it the full moo all the way there. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as halfway there we were speed trapped and had I not been mindfull of the smaller cars I would have got caught. Cheers Panda girl!
Eventually we got to the carpark that was the staging ground to the party. The first downside was that the police were there to greet us, however they zoomed off shortly after, presumably for a date with a KFC bargain bucket as I didnt see any plod for the rest of the night after that. I got my stuff together, locked up the car and went looking for the two I met at the pre meet. Eventually I found them and we set off into the huge forest behind the carpark, with not a clue where the party was.
We met up with a bunch of ravers about 100 strong and together we took various paths into and around the forest, none of them led to the party. people said they could hear generators and see lights, but the elusive bassline which would lead to the party was not forthcoming. At around 1.30, after more than a few comparisons with the Blair Witch Project had been made, someone managed to get in touch with the right person and led us all the way there. It seemed so easy with hindsight, one minute we were wading through waist high bracken, the next we were in a clearing in a small valley, about 300-350 ravers were already in the area and were patiently chatting amongst themselves and building fires while the rig was being setup. It was a clear, cloudlessly dry september night and there was no police in the area. Perfect.
Eventually the tunes started emanating from the reasonably high stacks and the ravers made their way to the clearing as the techno pumped out. Either side of the stage was the stacks, with a scaffolding tower which supported the minimalist but effective lighting rig up top and the decks down on the bottom for stability. While the first couple of tunes were being played the technicians played with the EQs and after no time at all the sound was deep loud and clear.
This was crossbones and for some reason I was expecting Gabba. However I was chatting to a member of one of the old organising teams that brought us in, that in memory of one Brett Youngs who died recently, it was going to be early 90-91 techno all night. Didnt have a problem with that at all Even though it werent particularly hard and, throughout the night I only heard about 4 tunes that I recognised, I was loving the whole experience. Proper underground feel to the whole night with a top atmosphere that I really felt a part of . Like previous non hardcore parties I have attended, I couldnt rush off the tunes like I can at a hardcore event, so I just had to dance till I could "feel" the music and sure enough, after a couple of hours I was away. Blissful feelings of unity and that strangly calming sensation that dancing under the stars gives you all combined to turn an outdoor party into a real rave with that unbeatable feeling that unfortunatly you just dont get at sanctioned events.
Strangely enough, it was just after this that the DJ played "Future sound of London" by Papa new Guinea. Remember that bit about not rushing at non hardcore events? This was the one exception8) Other tunes I recognised were as diverse as "Far out" and the wicked "Just for you London" and this one tune which bucked the old skool trend, a techno tune which used the vocals from P.S.A. Very nice it was too.
Other than that it was mostly unknown ( for me at least) techno tunes, which got progressivly harder as the night wore on.
Eventually, I tore myself away from the dancefloor to take a look around the rest of the site. There was the usual sly bar at one corner of the area, and of course there were the multitude of scary looking blokes selling what they were selling, but the real strange thing for me was a portable kitchen! This bloke had set up an entire kitchen and bar area, complete with hot food and best of all, a bloody menu! You ever in the middle of a forest at 3am and fancy a chicken curry? Well he was there if you wanted him Best of all he had chocolate and crisps, so I picked out a bag of Nic Naks and a packet of jaffa cakes. The price? "Just make a donation" Blinding.
But by far the best thing about this party was the 100% up for it, dont dare me to have a ruck with that hedge cos I'll do it, crowd. The flyer stated fancy dress and the crowd took it to heart. How many raves have you been to which were also attended by: Gandalf the master wizard, a smurf, the 118 runners, a pirate, an american football player, several 1930's gangsters, a cowboy, two riot police who seemed to be part of the most liberal force in the country :wink: , the boilersuit massive, and a girl who had literally hollowed out a a giant cuddly pengiun, climbed inside and come to the rave! Made me ashamed for the first time ever to turn up in just my rave clothes.
All this continued till 5.30, when the night changed pace. The techno was taken down and next up was apparantly a live PA. When I say live, I mean live. The band consisted of a Bass player, a Cellist, keyboard player and a bloke on an electronic drum kit. I really didnt know what to expect as they didnt even announce who they were, they just came on a started playing. What they played was drum and bass. For the first time ever I saw drum and bass played live. It was nothing short of amazing. The drummer managed to keep up to about 160bpm and the cellist concentrated on the riffs. It was a really polished act that was very good and definitley impressive to listen to. I take my hat off to anyone who can drum at 160bpm, cos he was actually doing it too. If that werent enough then the icing on the cake was the way the bass player and the cellist kept the crowd amused while the technical problems were ironed out. By playing the theme tune to Doctor Who!
This was a cracking free party. I'm glad I made the effort to go as it was well worth the trip down to the location for the night I had. Definitley better than the dreary evening in front of the television I had planned. Like I said earlier, this party was a memorial for Brett Youngs who had recently passed away. All I can say is, what a way to be remembered
astraboy.
Shouts to: All the organisers for a wicked night out, the police for not crashing the party and penguin girl for looking attractive whilst inside a giant stuffed toy.

astraboy

Quote of the night comes from one of the 118 runners after I had bumped into him.
Me: Sorry mate.
118 bloke: No problem mate.... Got your number
astraboy.