astraboy

Whether you like it or not, the fact is the Sanctuary is closing down next month. Cue a rash of events all promising "Last evers" at the venue before the righteous bulldozers tear it to the ground. It made sense for Uproar to host the last ever Hardcore rave there. MC Rude and Seduction's promotion which was a year old on the night of the event has rapidly gained a well deserved reputation for pulling out all the stops for every party they put on. No wonder the buzz surrounding this event was so palpable.

Of course the lineup helped as well. Not ones for slacking off and letting the fact that it was "the last ever hardcore rave at the Sanc" pull the crowds in, the lineup promised more than it had done on past events, an acheivement in itself from previous Uproar parties.
What drew me to the rave was none other than a lineup consisting of a a sublime mix of styles. Vibes and Livelee for their final Sanctuary performance, Hixxy and Sharkey playing b2b for the first time in years, Force doing a rare upfront set, Kev Energy and Marc Smith b2b for the first time ever, CLSM b2b with Billy "Daniel" Bunter, the sheer fact I can reel off that sort of lineup, still have loads more that I havent mentioned and not even scratch the surface of the techno room upstairs tells you all you need to know. This party was not to be missed, whether you were into the upfront sound, wanted to say goodbye to the Sanc, or just interested in making the sweatbox floor bounce one more time.
The only thing that was hindering my attendence was a lack of a ticket outlet in the locality. However the Uproar crew had it all under control with a "virtual ticket" service. Send an email with your full name and contact number and you received a reference number back. This guaranteed you entry into the rave with not a single penny to pay extra on the night. As one of the weirdos that prefer to travel to the party with a paper ticket in his hand, I decided to break with tradition and bung an email Uproar-wards instead of driving into Slough to get one.

On the night of the event, I was determined to get there early. I had arrived at the last Uproar at the Sanctuary unnaceptably late and besides, Oli G and Mozz were on first and I wanted to see them play at the Sanc. Somehow, despite the lateness of a certain collection of Harrow Slags, we managed to arrive 15 minutes after the start. I dropped of the laydees and then parked up a little way off as usual. When I got back the queue had all but dissapeared so I went to the the portakabin to collect my ticket. For some reason this entitled me to go into the shorter queue and not ten minutes after collecting my ticket and after the last ever search from the oh so friendly security (not) I entered the Sanc for the last ever time.

When I got inside (after picking up another very cool and very free lineup card) I noticed something odd. It was dark. Very dark. the only lights in the building were above the bar and the battery powered jobs in the mobiles. The rest were in all out. Never mind though, there was a camel on stage to keep the party crew amused, oh and a certain Oli G and Mozz on the decks too. Playing anything but a warmup set, these two caned a selection of their own tunes throughout the opening set, many of which I liked, lots of which I danced too, none of which I could name. Still enjoyed it though, especially the camel. Towards the end of the set MC Rude took to the mic and announced to the crowd the situation with the lights and asked the ravers for their patience while it was sorted out. Nobody was going anywhere though and everybody was determined to have a good time so it was all good. Especially when 15 minutes later, the lights came on and started complimenting the party.

Next up, playing an early set was a special b2b set of CLSM and Billy "Daniel" Bunter. These two have both wowed me in recent weeks and I werent dissapointed here either. The combination of Bunter playing classic happy Hardcore tunes like "Higher Love", "Rainbow high in the sky", "Round in my head baby" and a cheeky freeform moment with "Bodyslam" while Jon Doe pumped out the upfront sound with "Hardcore Hustla" and "Transmission to Mars" appealed to my personal favourite era and my current pick of tunes. Odyssey Sharkey and Marley pushed all the right lyrical switches too. While this was going on "Ned" was dancing round the stage, attracting small mammals (Under 8.5 kilos though) and distributing the EC CD-R mountian into the crowd. I managed to get one, even if I went away with a few bruised ribs in the scrum. Nice set, Nice MCing, nice CD. Top banana and I had another 7 hours to go!
After not stepping foot into the techno arena at the last Sanc party, I was determined to recify this problem. Ribbz was upstairs next and while it was a shame to miss Force, it had to be done really. I dont remember a single tune he played, but I know it was techno at its best Not too fast, not too hard, just wall to wall underground techno. Me and my mates went shoulder to shoulder for this one and the way we were all going bananas said more than mere words can. Ribbzatron even managed to drop a few lyrics in his own inimitable style whilst spinning the tunes. Highly enjoyable set and a nice change from the norm.

After that was one of the early highlights of the night. Its been a while since Hixxy and Sharkey have teamed up behind the decks but following on from their two hour extravaganza on Radio one, it was obivious the ravers were looking forward to the next set. Playing in a similar vein to Bunter and CLSM, the boys plumped for a classic bonkers set, with Hixxy going for the mega happy Hardcore sound and Sharkz opting for the darker side of the tunes from that era, it was just what I had been hoping for and true to form the experience was unbelieveable. From the moment the first tune dropped ("Thumper") a titanic rush hit me like a bombshell. Subsequent tunes were just as productive with "Jeeeha!", "Theme from Bonkers", "All systems go", "Now is the time", "Toytown", "Bust the new jam" and "Together Forever" providing me with rush after rush. they just wouldnt stop washing over me, especially when the entire crowd was singing along to "Toytown". Finally the lads brought in their final tune. Full of surprises to the last, it was the unforgettable "I wanna be a hippy" by Technohed. Easily the best set of the night, the showcase of the early Bonkers albums was worth the entrance fee in itself. I could have happily left there and then and I still had 6 hours to go!
However, leaving would have been a foolish move, especially when Vibes and Livelee were up next for their final Sanctuary appearence. With the last Uproar's lack of Livelee a distant memory, the two legends of the late 90's took to the stage for 45 minutes to say goodbye to the place they had made their name at in the only way possible. A full on cheesathon was frankly obligatory and never one to shy away from the challange of lowering the tone to inject some fun into the crowd, the boys went for it from the outset. Starting with "Shooting star" and making pitstops at the tunes they have made their own like "Come and follow me", "Jumpin Pumpin", "I need your loving", the awsome "Autumn Days" which got my hands straight up in the air and finishing with "Techno Wonderland" Livelee was in his element throughout, maybe not getting up to maximum speed with only 45 minutes to play with, but the party was definitely better off with an excitable bloke on the mic screaming "OI, OI!!!!" at regular intervals. His final act was to call for the classic "Ready, steady, BLOWWWWW!!!!!" and when he did, the report from the crowd was sensational. Talk about going out with a big bang.
If that werent enough, the next part was due to be even better. An Essential Platinum PA was next to take us up to 1am. Only 15 minutes, but that was all that was needed. With Dougal, Mickey Skeedale, Gammer, Jenna, Smiley and the excessively tassled EP dancers taking the stage the scene as set for what was touted as "The label's biggest hits from the beginning up to the present day."
As with previous PA's at uproar, the writing of the event diminishes its impact. The three tunes, "Love of my life", "Ordinary people" and "Paradise" are not much when looking at them in print, but the combined excellence of Dougal and Skeedale making the tunes, Jenna singing the vocals, Gammer scratching like a DMC champion and Smiley MCing the whole lot took it to another level. Time flies when your having fun so the PA felt like it was over before it had started, but my god was it good. The whole crowd was singing along to the vocals, whether it was from the old skool, Smiley's mic or Jenna's mouth. Top way to end the peak time sets. I couldn't have asked for anything more.
Well I could. If I was really picky I could have gone for some rough, tough and triple rock "I eat fire hydrants for fun" hard techno. I weren't getting it downstairs with Breeze and Styles, so up the stair I was to see Drokz tear the sweatbox a new ****. I knew I was on the right track when I was on my way up. Ravers were coming the other way with confused looks on their faces. I heard comments along the lines of "Its fuking crazy up there" and when I entered the sweatbox Iknew exactly what they were talking about. Drokz's set was underway and he was easing the ravers gently into his set with full on speedcore! So fast it was unbelieveable and so hard it would have given Stone Cold Steve Austin a run for his money, the Dutch madman was living up to his reputation and the ravers were loving every minute. On the mic was a surprise appearence, MC Free and Easy was his name. I dont know if he was a mic blagger or not (He had a white wristband on) but I had to respect the way he could MC coherently and voicescratch whilst keeping up with the sky high BPMs. If he was a blagger, he deserved to be patted on the back for complimenting the set. What a set it was too. The only track I recognised was "Extreme Terror", the rest was lost in a blur of speedcore and very fast raving! When it was all over I was exhausted and sure of two things. I had my fill of techno for the evening and Drokz is clearly insane.
After all the hardcore downstairs felt more like funky house, but the RBC boys were playing to a full dancefloor so it must just have been me. Finishing with another helping of "You're shining" they left the decks to the next DJ, Sy, joined by his usual MC partner, Storm. There was only one way to bring me back from planet speedcore and Sy knew just the way to do it. Classic Happy Hardcore. All memories of techno were gone in a flash when Sy started with "Get up and Dance" I was into it straight away and with Storm hosting the set, things could only get better. "Silk cuts 4", "Heart of Gold", "Set u free", "Raveheart", "Love and devotion", "Here I am". It was a classic hardcore set the way Sy does things and the whole crowd was loving it. Even though "shooting star" was dropped again, everybody was too happy to care to be honest. Probably one of the best sets I've seen him do, Sy and Storm were on top form for the final time and I can honestly think of no better way for these two to say farwell to the building.
As is usually the case at Uproar events, the b2b DJs which lean toward the freeform side of the Hardcore spectrum were on late into the night. No complaints from me, but it must be me getting old though as the high BPM cardiac set from Kev Energy and the legend that is Marc Smith damn near killed me. The compulsion to rave was overwhelming, never mind the fact I was wasted and needed a rest, the tunes were just too damn good to sit down. As per bloody usual, my tune IDing went straight down the toilet when the freeform came on. I only recognised Wottsee's excellent effort, "Huggermugger" throughout the hour, but the Smithy and Energy, together with a cracking performance from Sharkey on the mic made the whole hour go in a flash, accompanied by lots of rapid arm and leg movements. Top set. Danced all the way through.
Nearing 5am and the last few sets were upon us. Taking the stand next was promoter extrodinaire, Seduction. Sharkey stayed on for an extra hour to accompany MC Rude and a surprise appearence of MC Ribbz for the second from last set and you know thats something special when the music was seriously happy hardcore. Kicking off his set, Sedders dropped a humourous John Peel style vocal, saying goodbye to the Sanctuary in his own way before ripping into the tunes. I was having such a good time during his set I only remember a few tunes, but "Sunshine on a cloudy day","Dancing the night away", "Best day of my life" and finishing on "All Systems Go" speak volumes about the style and content of his set. Happy Hardcore music, its age irrelevent, its sole intention to make you dance and have a good time. That was definitely the effect it had on me and I'm sure the dancing masses around me agreed.
So it was upon us. The final hour had arrived. There had been a lot of specualtion about who would play the final set at the last hardcore rave at the Sanctuary, but DJ Dougal had played the first ever Hardcore set there, so it was only right that he take the last. The crowd was noticably thick as well, the few lightweights who would have normally slacked off stayed on and danced till the end. Never one to let a crowd go wanting, Dougal had obiviously thought hard about his set. Mixing in not only classics like "Elysium", "Follow me" and "Pretty green eyes", but upfront stompers like "Ultimate high" as well. He also dropped tunes which had special meaning, with "Wont forget these days" being especially evocative. Storm, Whizzkid Rude and Sharkey were going great guns throughout, with Sharkz and Storm unselfishly leaving Rude and Whizzkid to the majority of the set. Unfortunatly, a raver went down just before "Feelin fine" (oh the irony!) so Dougal did the only thing he could. Cued up another tune. No messing about or chinstroking here. He dropped the classic "Field of Dreams" to finish off the night and even though it was cut short due to unforseen circumstances, it was fair to say that Rude summed up the diehard, hardcore to the death feeling of the crowd with "Ah, fukit, who's had a good night anyways?" A tired but satisfied crowd walked away from the dancefloor and Hardcore at the Sanctuary became a thing of the past.

Things I liked:

Lineup. Innovative as always, the Uproar crew put on a varied selection of first ever b2bs, classic MC-DJ combinations, first ever appearences, big names and up and comings. This all led to the following being worthy of mention.

The music. Happy, Upfront, Old Skool, Freeform, Hardstyle, and all the Techno you could handle. Some people commented there was a little too much leaning on Happy Hardcore throughout the night, but you can never have TOO much Happy Hardcore. Especially when you are saying goodbye to a Hardcore institution.

Set structure. VERY well done. Dont fancy Breeze and Styles? Like something a little harder? Well Drokz was on upstairs playing 300bpm speedcore! That hard enough for you? Just one of numerous examples of the well ordered night.

Sound. To be fair, it werent as impressive as last time. But the uprated system was a vast improvement on the inhouse rig so I was more than happy with the results.

Atmosphere. UNBELIEVEABLE atmosphere in the place. Everybody was giving it everything they had for the last time. Only a tiny bit of trouble, but that was quickly sorted out. Apart from that, the place was buzzing from start to finish.

Production. The rafters were groaning under the weight of the lighting rig that was suspended from it. It was so large that it blew the fuses at the start of the night and the first set was held in darkness. when power was restored, **** on me it was impressive.

The ravers. Old and new, hardened veterans and wide eyed newbies, people out every week and people who dusted off their ravin shoes one last time. All of them were there last night. One of the best feelings you can get at a rave is being surrounded by your friends who are all on the same wavelength and giving it everything. It was what made the night extra special for me.

The Performers. You have to hand it to them, it must get a bit samey playing out week after week and the tendency to think "Just another Hardcore rave" must be overwhelming. Not this time. This was just as much an event to them as it was to us and it showed. All of them pulled out all the stops to make sure this event was special. In particular, Sy played the best set I have EVER seen him play, no mean feat when I am bigging him up on a weekly basis.

The Promoters. Respect, as they say, is due. 8)

Things I liked less:

Vinny. So let me get this straight. You're putting on the last ever Hardcore rave on at the Sanc yet somehow you forget to include Vinny the stagedancer? Ok Sarah more than took up the slack cos you can tell she loves it while shes dancing, but the words "Dropped" and "Bollock" still spring to mind.

Security. More than enough said. You were on top form for this one lads, your mothers must be proud of you.

Scallys. Uproar took steps to keep troublemakers out of the party and to their credit it did work, on the whole. A few did slip through the net though, but they soon gave up the ghost when they realised they were the ones who were outnumbered.

I dont need to say anything do I? Uproar's reputation says more than enough, the 131 people on the meet up says everything else. Dare I say it, the specticle of the night was on par with Masters of Hardcore in Holland for atmosphere and sheer quality. I suspected something special was going to take place here and in no way did the promoters let me, or any of the 2000 odd other Hardcore ravers in the building down. In particular, the promoters have got the organisation of their peak time attractions down to a tee. I was completely overwhelmed for a solid 2 hours while Hixxy, Sharkey, Vibes, Lively and the EP crew took me on a rave Odyssey that will not be forgotten. I went away immensely satisfied at the end of the night, having said goodbye to a building which has given me memories both wonderful and shocking. Raving in the Sanctuary is something which I will never do again and after the last ever Uproar, I dont want to either. Simply because any other events there would have to be simply beyond comprehension to get close to topping it. There is no point in trying. I attended the best ever party at the Sanctuary and I dont want to go back and tarnish the memory of that. May that sweaty tin shack in the middle of Milton Keynes rest in peace. And may Uproar live long after it has been flattened to the ground.
astraboy.

astraboy

Just spent three hours typing? why not spend another 20 minutes doing the shouts? Here we go...
Shouts to:
The one and only Davespice, Laura, Tansy, Emma, Kev V, Paul USH, Mrs. Paul USH, Paul Zykotik, Grob, Rainbow drops, The rave legend that is Mikey B, Rizla, Curly (Get in crew) Padz, Baby D, Coriolis, Nova, Iwolf, Sawyer, Jay Hughes, Delecious, Smithers, Cakes, SLammin sam and his safe assocaite, Mad Vic (caffiene convert), Jess, Spenno, CDJay, Scotland crew Raymond, Koochy (Gonna miss ya!), James & Charlie, Tom U4EA, Gazy J, Jordan Lost soul, Moz Korrozive. Cocktail stick, Nuclear Raver, Sammy P, Tombola, The ever safe Fishgeffo, Stompy, Abyence, Shaun, Vapour, Immz, Raz Power, Rob3869365937, Solstice, Samba D, Mayhem and Skamps STS Dave and all the choons. net crew, Deddley(Emergency backup stage roamer), Platinum, Bubble, Bouncing Buncheeze, Oli G, Mozz, Gammer, Dougal, Sal, Gingerjim, Jon Doe, Sketchy, Sharkey, Kev Energy, Marc Smith, Lee UHF, Smiley, Storm, Whizzkid, Happyshopper and DJ Power (Safe personified) Apologies if Ive missed you out, I need my bed.
And lastly shouts to Rude and Seduction for a top night out.