Rave Review, Summer Sensation III 19/06/2004
24 June 2004 | 11:21 PM
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Rave Review, Summer Sensation III 19/06/2004
There is a certain comfort in going to events with a proven track history. Knowing what to expect and going to the party because of it is always a good feeling. In the case of Summer Sensation part III, I had an inkling it would be amazing, if nothing else than because of the good times I had at parts I and II! I have never been let down by a Summer Sensation yet. They have always been fantastic, no matter the location or who was playing. Of course, the lineup did help and in this case I really was spoilt for choice. Its not every day that you go to an event with a full on 6 arenas in it and even though some of them weren’t really my cup of tea, I was definitely intending on paying a visit to the Old Skool, Techno and, of course, Hardcore arenas.
By the time the set times were released (in plenty of time might I add) I had worked out who I wanted to see and adjusted the night accordingly in my very own lineup. It would see me flitting from one arena to the other, but I was more than prepared to do that to see the DJs I wanted. This was another area in which the Summer sensation crew had excelled, the party was a good few days away and ALL the arenas were finalised well before the event. This, together with the assurances on the flyer, promised yet another great night out.
As the day of the rave grew nearer, I tried to fill my car up, but the amount of people who were well ahead of me and dropping out were unreal. In the end, to spread the petrol cost, I agreed to drop a few friends in Northampton and then go to the party on my own. It was weird having no-one to talk to on the way up, but at least no-one saw my pathetic attempts to navigate my way to Leicester University once I got off the motorway.
Once I arrived, I was early enough to park in the carpark opposite the entrance and near enough to (Hopefully) ensure my car would be left unmolested. I saw that there was a sizeable queue and joined what looked like the right one. Eventually a security bod came out and sorted the which queue was which and I was in the right one, but my friends were not. A quick run to the back of the main queue once again left me on my own.
Once I had sorted out entrance I was given a patdown for weapons and the security bloke had a quick look in my wallet. There were no problems with my hoodie despite the signs saying they weren’t allowed and after that, I was in.
Having been to Leicester Uni before, I knew where I was heading. The main arena is in the middle of a warren of corridors and stairways, with the surrounding arenas on various levels around it. However, the biggest arena was rightfully reserved for the Hardcore room.
When I got in there, I was bowled over by the scale of the production in the main arena. Three giant fluro drapings stretched from one end of the arena to the other. In between them were massive amounts of lights and up front was two green lasers eitherside of a multicoloured laser in the middle. These lasers were on pretty much all night long and Not only were they very impressive to look at, but also they were a country mile better than the dangerous strobes that you find in similar locations at other parties. Mobiles, Smoke machines, lack of strobes, it was by far and away the best produced arena that I have come across for quite a while.
I took my time getting into the night. I spent a long while just walking round the place, finding out where the other arenas were located and making sure none of the set times had altered. The first arena I really got stuck into was the UK Scene arena. Now located in the corridor to the back of the main arena, this initially looked like a backward step from the previous dedicated room, but it turned out to be a winner as it attracted a lot of passing ravers to the up and coming sound, myself included. This was where I experienced the first set of the night, DJ Hattie was on first while Jutt and Rizla Dizla went b2b on the mic. Hattie dropped an enjoyable set including a mix of styles, ranging from the some classic happy tunes whose names escape me, to modern classic “Angel Eyes” to finishing with the highly enjoyable gabba classic “Under Control”. All the time, the passing ravers were entertained by a very good start to the evening.
By this time I was hungry for more Hardcore and venturing into the main arena saw Dodgee grace the decks and lay down a class performance. Leaning towards the faster, more frenetic side of the Hardcore sound, the BPMs went up and the arriving ravers were treated to a crash course in how to party hard, very early in the evening. Dropping tunes like “Fat as ***”, “3000 Cycles”, “Power in the light” and “Strength is Irrelevent” the ever increasing dancefloor were given a class introduction to a rave that doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase “Warm up set”
Next up was a mission up the stairs to the Species Techno room. I passed up the opportunity to see Hixxy shake the place up, I would be seeing enough of him anyways in the next couple of weeks, besides, Dolphin and Alarm were going b2b upstairs.
It was still light when I got to the top arena, but the dedicated group of techno heads on the dancefloor just didn’t care and neither did the two madmen on the decks. Playing a varied selection of styles, but sticking with the two most important aspects (I.E. Fast and Hard) Dolphin and Alarm went hell for leather during 11-12 and the assembled party crew in the place gave everything they had in return. My techno I.D. skills are crap and as such I only recognised one tune, “Butterfly V.I.P”, during the set, but one person I did recognise was MC Ikon on the mic, controlling the party in his own inimitable way, it was yet another hour to remember upstairs in the sweaty techno room, but only because of the way I overheated so quickly in the enclosed space. And that only happened because I couldn’t stop dancing
Once Dolphin and Alarm had finished their set I was straight downstairs for the highlight of the night. Scott Brown of Evoloution fame was due to put on a live PA and I werent going to miss it. Making my way to the main arena, I had visions of another massed gang of producers on stage, all of them having a hand in making the music, but when I got there I saw it was just Scott on his tod, surrounded on numerous angles by various music making equipment. Accompanied by MC Rude on the mic, Scott went for the more popular tunes in his arsenal, dropping sucessive mainstream tunes, all designed to make the ravers dance. Halfway through, the PA, Rude introduced the vocalist for the night Donna Marie, who then proceeded to sing the vocals on a surprisngly loud mic for a PA to tunes like “Turn up the Music”. Other tunes in the PA were just as good with “Elysium”, “Let the beat commence”, “This is how we dooo it” and “Definiton of a Bad Boy” all making a welcome appearance. Finally Scott brought the PA to a close with his tune of the moment. The whole crowd was singing along when the voice of Ash from Army of Darkness screamed out “THIS IS MY BOOOOOOOOOOMSTICK!!!” Easily the best part of the night and we had a full 5 and a half hours more to go.
No messing about here either, the next hour was also given over to Mr. Brown for a DJ set to follow the previous PA madness. I had visions of Scott running out of ideas and dropping another SB set with no variation, Scott had other ideas though. Taking advantage of the fact that most of his trance based tunes had been been used up already, he finished off what was remaining in his record bag with tunes like “Come and let the Beat drop” and “Back and fourth” before going for an extended Gabba-a-thon with tunes like “Sniper” being one of the few I could pick out from the distorted kickdrums that pervaded the set. It was definitely the way to go and the entire hour spanked the hardcore monkey and saw me continuing to dance till the final tune had come and gone.
After Scott Brown had conquered all in the main arena it was time for a sabbatical. Handily it was also time for Brisk to play in the old skool room. I werent missing this for love nor money, especially when he was due to drop a Kinetic breakbeat set and have MC Connie by his side throughout. Numerous other ravers had the same idea as me and the arena filled up as I took up space on the dancefloor. Brisk was just about to start as I got there so I got ready for what he was about to offer. His very first tune told me I was about to experience the set of the night right there and then. “Get Up and Dance” is always the way to go to start things off and he followed it up with loads of my favourite tunes which always make me dance. Breaks ruled the first portion of the set with “Hand of destiny” and “Like this” all getting a well deserved caining. After that? Well it was the turn of the bouncy tunes which Kinetic is famous for to get an airing. Any DJ that drops “Powerjam”, “Rock this party”, “Roll the beats”, “Jeeha!”, “Make me love you more”, and “6 Days” will guarantee a few things, one of them being a dancing astraboy in the front row and the other being lots of happy ravers around him. Whilst this was going MC Connie was doing what all good old skool MCs do, keeping it minimal as well as being totally wicked when he did decide to drop some lyrics. As well as that the mic was also passed round to MC ManParris who kept it oldskool as well as just as good. All in all it was everything I could ask for from a set and I was a hot sweaty mess after Brisk had finished his set. More please.
Well next set was not more of the same, but it was just as good. Another from the old skool, Altern-8 took their place behind the decks with MC ManParris and Energy sharing the mic. Together these people gave us a classic set which was old skool in every sense of the word. Not only were tunes instantly recognisable such as “Don’t Go”, Rocking down the house” and the immortal “Charly”, but they were mixed at lightning speed, just like back in the day. It was amazing, Altern-8 always are, with Sarah and her fellow co-dancer on stage it was doubly so but I had to leave. I had to leave due to an appointment with the legend that is Marc Smith on in the main room at the same time.
When I got there Marc was halfway through his “Notorious Vinyl” launch set. As such I was unable to name all but a few tunes, but this set was all about his new label so I werent expecting to name many tunes. I did manage to pick out “Huggermugger” though and tbh I was happy with that. The rest of the set kept me entertained due to the fact that Rude was accompanying the set on the mic to great effect and the fact that compared to the 92 old skool I’d been listening to, the tunes were sooooooo fast it was untrue! Smithy has the dubious honour of managing to make me overheat and have to go outside to cool down after just half an hour of his work. That if nothing else is a testiment of the feirceness of his set.
I was back upstairs and into the Old Skool room after Marc had finished. Another room change, but it was to see Stu allen and as such I would have left the venue and paid again if I had to. Stu Allen’s sets are always firm favourites of mine, even if some call him “The Ratpack of the happy hardcore scene” However, Mr. Allen proved everyone wrong with a classic old skool hardcore set. Hey I werent complaining, especially when he started with “Just express yourself”. His set also included “Heres another chance for you to dance with me”, the glorious “I Just like to walk with my head in the clouds”, “Can’t stop the Rush”, “Baddest DJ on 2 turntables”, “Get up and Dance” and finishing on the classic “Far out”. It was a cracking set from the jedi master of the old skool. Every time I see Stu Allen I go away impressed with his tune selection. Simply because he’s never failed to entertain me.
It was nearing the end of the night now and as such the ravers in the main arena were ready to be taken home. Who better to do so than Sy and Storm. An early “Power hour” this time, the boys did not have the privilige of having the last set as usual, but they didn’t slack off at all for their set, ramming the main arena and knocking the competition dead like they do with alarming regularity. This time, a selection of new tunes were the order of the day, mixed in with classics like the Discovery channel tune and the obligatory remixes of “Sweet Harmony” and finishing on and equally good upfront mix of “Set you free” the boys do what they always do and I loved it like I always do. Maybe they should rename it “The Timex set” Regular as clockwork y’see
Most raves would give a fairly easy set to finish off. Most ravers are winding down and ready to go home, but the promoters had other ideas. Putting Sharkey on last maybe some raver’s idea of sadism, but for those who like a “Sprint finish” at their raves didn’t go away dissapointed. MC Mental joined Sharkz on stage and finished off the night in style. The ravers with stamina stood their ground on the dancefloor and went for it like their was no tomorrow. Plenty on top end BPM tunes kept the party crew entertained with “Past, present, future”, “Hitman” and “Huggermugger” all getting a well deserved caining. Sharkey also mixed in the AMS remix of “Wicked MC” and capped it all by finishing the night on an absolute classic “Powerjam”. Finally the last tune was taken down and the ravers were shown the door, till the next year that is.
Things I liked.
Lineup – Very nice, with thought going into every arena. The Old Skool arena was particularly well thought out and Old Skool MCs as well as DJs are always welcome.
Lighting and Décor - SERIOUSLY impressed with this lot. Especially in the main arena. Strobes kicked in the head and replaced with lasers. If only more promoters would think like this.
Atmosphere – Particularly in the Hardcore room, the atmosphere from the party crew was second to none. No bother in any form either.
Security – Very well behaved. Polite and courteous as well. One guy even held the door open for the passing ravers, Respect! Respect is also due to whoever brought the most workshy sniffer dog on the planet to the party.
Things I liked less.
Attendence - A few more ravers in the other rooms would have helped the atmosphere a bit. Having said that, the Hardcore arena was rammed all night so no complaints there.
Stage shows – Last year there were stilt walkers and stage shows at Summer Sensation. This year there wasn’t.
Vinny – Another no show. Where has he got to?
This was, as expected, another well deserved success for Summer Sensation. That’s three out of three now. Everyone of this yearly event has been impressive and this one did nothing to alter that. A particularly imaginative lineup meant that I was never bored throughout the night. On the contrary, there was so much to do I had to miss quite a few acts I wanted to see and only managed to cram in the others by going halfers on certain sets. What I did see was totally amazing though, the rest of friendly party people must have felt the same as I saw a lot of tired but happy faces leaving the venue at the end of the night. You have to hand it to them, the promoters know how to throw a good quality event. Here’s hoping to SS4 this time next year, I know I’ll be there for more of the same.
Astraboy.
By the time the set times were released (in plenty of time might I add) I had worked out who I wanted to see and adjusted the night accordingly in my very own lineup. It would see me flitting from one arena to the other, but I was more than prepared to do that to see the DJs I wanted. This was another area in which the Summer sensation crew had excelled, the party was a good few days away and ALL the arenas were finalised well before the event. This, together with the assurances on the flyer, promised yet another great night out.
As the day of the rave grew nearer, I tried to fill my car up, but the amount of people who were well ahead of me and dropping out were unreal. In the end, to spread the petrol cost, I agreed to drop a few friends in Northampton and then go to the party on my own. It was weird having no-one to talk to on the way up, but at least no-one saw my pathetic attempts to navigate my way to Leicester University once I got off the motorway.
Once I arrived, I was early enough to park in the carpark opposite the entrance and near enough to (Hopefully) ensure my car would be left unmolested. I saw that there was a sizeable queue and joined what looked like the right one. Eventually a security bod came out and sorted the which queue was which and I was in the right one, but my friends were not. A quick run to the back of the main queue once again left me on my own.
Once I had sorted out entrance I was given a patdown for weapons and the security bloke had a quick look in my wallet. There were no problems with my hoodie despite the signs saying they weren’t allowed and after that, I was in.
Having been to Leicester Uni before, I knew where I was heading. The main arena is in the middle of a warren of corridors and stairways, with the surrounding arenas on various levels around it. However, the biggest arena was rightfully reserved for the Hardcore room.
When I got in there, I was bowled over by the scale of the production in the main arena. Three giant fluro drapings stretched from one end of the arena to the other. In between them were massive amounts of lights and up front was two green lasers eitherside of a multicoloured laser in the middle. These lasers were on pretty much all night long and Not only were they very impressive to look at, but also they were a country mile better than the dangerous strobes that you find in similar locations at other parties. Mobiles, Smoke machines, lack of strobes, it was by far and away the best produced arena that I have come across for quite a while.
I took my time getting into the night. I spent a long while just walking round the place, finding out where the other arenas were located and making sure none of the set times had altered. The first arena I really got stuck into was the UK Scene arena. Now located in the corridor to the back of the main arena, this initially looked like a backward step from the previous dedicated room, but it turned out to be a winner as it attracted a lot of passing ravers to the up and coming sound, myself included. This was where I experienced the first set of the night, DJ Hattie was on first while Jutt and Rizla Dizla went b2b on the mic. Hattie dropped an enjoyable set including a mix of styles, ranging from the some classic happy tunes whose names escape me, to modern classic “Angel Eyes” to finishing with the highly enjoyable gabba classic “Under Control”. All the time, the passing ravers were entertained by a very good start to the evening.
By this time I was hungry for more Hardcore and venturing into the main arena saw Dodgee grace the decks and lay down a class performance. Leaning towards the faster, more frenetic side of the Hardcore sound, the BPMs went up and the arriving ravers were treated to a crash course in how to party hard, very early in the evening. Dropping tunes like “Fat as ***”, “3000 Cycles”, “Power in the light” and “Strength is Irrelevent” the ever increasing dancefloor were given a class introduction to a rave that doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase “Warm up set”
Next up was a mission up the stairs to the Species Techno room. I passed up the opportunity to see Hixxy shake the place up, I would be seeing enough of him anyways in the next couple of weeks, besides, Dolphin and Alarm were going b2b upstairs.
It was still light when I got to the top arena, but the dedicated group of techno heads on the dancefloor just didn’t care and neither did the two madmen on the decks. Playing a varied selection of styles, but sticking with the two most important aspects (I.E. Fast and Hard) Dolphin and Alarm went hell for leather during 11-12 and the assembled party crew in the place gave everything they had in return. My techno I.D. skills are crap and as such I only recognised one tune, “Butterfly V.I.P”, during the set, but one person I did recognise was MC Ikon on the mic, controlling the party in his own inimitable way, it was yet another hour to remember upstairs in the sweaty techno room, but only because of the way I overheated so quickly in the enclosed space. And that only happened because I couldn’t stop dancing
Once Dolphin and Alarm had finished their set I was straight downstairs for the highlight of the night. Scott Brown of Evoloution fame was due to put on a live PA and I werent going to miss it. Making my way to the main arena, I had visions of another massed gang of producers on stage, all of them having a hand in making the music, but when I got there I saw it was just Scott on his tod, surrounded on numerous angles by various music making equipment. Accompanied by MC Rude on the mic, Scott went for the more popular tunes in his arsenal, dropping sucessive mainstream tunes, all designed to make the ravers dance. Halfway through, the PA, Rude introduced the vocalist for the night Donna Marie, who then proceeded to sing the vocals on a surprisngly loud mic for a PA to tunes like “Turn up the Music”. Other tunes in the PA were just as good with “Elysium”, “Let the beat commence”, “This is how we dooo it” and “Definiton of a Bad Boy” all making a welcome appearance. Finally Scott brought the PA to a close with his tune of the moment. The whole crowd was singing along when the voice of Ash from Army of Darkness screamed out “THIS IS MY BOOOOOOOOOOMSTICK!!!” Easily the best part of the night and we had a full 5 and a half hours more to go.
No messing about here either, the next hour was also given over to Mr. Brown for a DJ set to follow the previous PA madness. I had visions of Scott running out of ideas and dropping another SB set with no variation, Scott had other ideas though. Taking advantage of the fact that most of his trance based tunes had been been used up already, he finished off what was remaining in his record bag with tunes like “Come and let the Beat drop” and “Back and fourth” before going for an extended Gabba-a-thon with tunes like “Sniper” being one of the few I could pick out from the distorted kickdrums that pervaded the set. It was definitely the way to go and the entire hour spanked the hardcore monkey and saw me continuing to dance till the final tune had come and gone.
After Scott Brown had conquered all in the main arena it was time for a sabbatical. Handily it was also time for Brisk to play in the old skool room. I werent missing this for love nor money, especially when he was due to drop a Kinetic breakbeat set and have MC Connie by his side throughout. Numerous other ravers had the same idea as me and the arena filled up as I took up space on the dancefloor. Brisk was just about to start as I got there so I got ready for what he was about to offer. His very first tune told me I was about to experience the set of the night right there and then. “Get Up and Dance” is always the way to go to start things off and he followed it up with loads of my favourite tunes which always make me dance. Breaks ruled the first portion of the set with “Hand of destiny” and “Like this” all getting a well deserved caining. After that? Well it was the turn of the bouncy tunes which Kinetic is famous for to get an airing. Any DJ that drops “Powerjam”, “Rock this party”, “Roll the beats”, “Jeeha!”, “Make me love you more”, and “6 Days” will guarantee a few things, one of them being a dancing astraboy in the front row and the other being lots of happy ravers around him. Whilst this was going MC Connie was doing what all good old skool MCs do, keeping it minimal as well as being totally wicked when he did decide to drop some lyrics. As well as that the mic was also passed round to MC ManParris who kept it oldskool as well as just as good. All in all it was everything I could ask for from a set and I was a hot sweaty mess after Brisk had finished his set. More please.
Well next set was not more of the same, but it was just as good. Another from the old skool, Altern-8 took their place behind the decks with MC ManParris and Energy sharing the mic. Together these people gave us a classic set which was old skool in every sense of the word. Not only were tunes instantly recognisable such as “Don’t Go”, Rocking down the house” and the immortal “Charly”, but they were mixed at lightning speed, just like back in the day. It was amazing, Altern-8 always are, with Sarah and her fellow co-dancer on stage it was doubly so but I had to leave. I had to leave due to an appointment with the legend that is Marc Smith on in the main room at the same time.
When I got there Marc was halfway through his “Notorious Vinyl” launch set. As such I was unable to name all but a few tunes, but this set was all about his new label so I werent expecting to name many tunes. I did manage to pick out “Huggermugger” though and tbh I was happy with that. The rest of the set kept me entertained due to the fact that Rude was accompanying the set on the mic to great effect and the fact that compared to the 92 old skool I’d been listening to, the tunes were sooooooo fast it was untrue! Smithy has the dubious honour of managing to make me overheat and have to go outside to cool down after just half an hour of his work. That if nothing else is a testiment of the feirceness of his set.
I was back upstairs and into the Old Skool room after Marc had finished. Another room change, but it was to see Stu allen and as such I would have left the venue and paid again if I had to. Stu Allen’s sets are always firm favourites of mine, even if some call him “The Ratpack of the happy hardcore scene” However, Mr. Allen proved everyone wrong with a classic old skool hardcore set. Hey I werent complaining, especially when he started with “Just express yourself”. His set also included “Heres another chance for you to dance with me”, the glorious “I Just like to walk with my head in the clouds”, “Can’t stop the Rush”, “Baddest DJ on 2 turntables”, “Get up and Dance” and finishing on the classic “Far out”. It was a cracking set from the jedi master of the old skool. Every time I see Stu Allen I go away impressed with his tune selection. Simply because he’s never failed to entertain me.
It was nearing the end of the night now and as such the ravers in the main arena were ready to be taken home. Who better to do so than Sy and Storm. An early “Power hour” this time, the boys did not have the privilige of having the last set as usual, but they didn’t slack off at all for their set, ramming the main arena and knocking the competition dead like they do with alarming regularity. This time, a selection of new tunes were the order of the day, mixed in with classics like the Discovery channel tune and the obligatory remixes of “Sweet Harmony” and finishing on and equally good upfront mix of “Set you free” the boys do what they always do and I loved it like I always do. Maybe they should rename it “The Timex set” Regular as clockwork y’see
Most raves would give a fairly easy set to finish off. Most ravers are winding down and ready to go home, but the promoters had other ideas. Putting Sharkey on last maybe some raver’s idea of sadism, but for those who like a “Sprint finish” at their raves didn’t go away dissapointed. MC Mental joined Sharkz on stage and finished off the night in style. The ravers with stamina stood their ground on the dancefloor and went for it like their was no tomorrow. Plenty on top end BPM tunes kept the party crew entertained with “Past, present, future”, “Hitman” and “Huggermugger” all getting a well deserved caining. Sharkey also mixed in the AMS remix of “Wicked MC” and capped it all by finishing the night on an absolute classic “Powerjam”. Finally the last tune was taken down and the ravers were shown the door, till the next year that is.
Things I liked.
Lineup – Very nice, with thought going into every arena. The Old Skool arena was particularly well thought out and Old Skool MCs as well as DJs are always welcome.
Lighting and Décor - SERIOUSLY impressed with this lot. Especially in the main arena. Strobes kicked in the head and replaced with lasers. If only more promoters would think like this.
Atmosphere – Particularly in the Hardcore room, the atmosphere from the party crew was second to none. No bother in any form either.
Security – Very well behaved. Polite and courteous as well. One guy even held the door open for the passing ravers, Respect! Respect is also due to whoever brought the most workshy sniffer dog on the planet to the party.
Things I liked less.
Attendence - A few more ravers in the other rooms would have helped the atmosphere a bit. Having said that, the Hardcore arena was rammed all night so no complaints there.
Stage shows – Last year there were stilt walkers and stage shows at Summer Sensation. This year there wasn’t.
Vinny – Another no show. Where has he got to?
This was, as expected, another well deserved success for Summer Sensation. That’s three out of three now. Everyone of this yearly event has been impressive and this one did nothing to alter that. A particularly imaginative lineup meant that I was never bored throughout the night. On the contrary, there was so much to do I had to miss quite a few acts I wanted to see and only managed to cram in the others by going halfers on certain sets. What I did see was totally amazing though, the rest of friendly party people must have felt the same as I saw a lot of tired but happy faces leaving the venue at the end of the night. You have to hand it to them, the promoters know how to throw a good quality event. Here’s hoping to SS4 this time next year, I know I’ll be there for more of the same.
Astraboy.
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