astraboy

It seems like only last week I was at my last HTID, but it werent, it was at least a month and a half. Far too long in my book. Fortunately, the promotors were way ahead of me and put yet another event on which meant a well deserved trip up the M40 and round Birmingham's perephique.

As is the norm these days, this event had a theme to it, Heaven and Hell. The E flyer I got sent promised the main and second arenas decked out in a similar style to their musical content as well as a polite request for the ravers to dress up as demons and angels. I got a set of devil horns squared away to show willing, but it was the music I was going for.

In keeping with the spirit of the night, the main arena was a "heavenly" lineup of the best the UK Hardcore scene has to offer. As with all HTID events, the RBC residents, Breeze, Styles, Hixxy, Storm and Whizzkid were all in the place, but as well as that, they were joined by Sy (given the kick off set no less), Dougal (going b2b with Hixxy for the Morning Glory) as well as Seduction and UFO and Flyin who were going b2b for the evening.

The "hellish" part of the night upstairs in the Nitrogen arena was more than taken care of too. Most notably by Clarkee, Scorpio, and Vortex, not to mention Ribbz, Squidgy B and Si the Sigh.

Lastly, The Carbon arena had once more been declared the "Old Skool till I Die" arena, the likes of Dougal, Pilgrim and Twista took centre stage here, as well as the arena being hosted by Charlie B. With all this going on, I would have to be mad to miss it, even though it was on on Friday instead of saturday which, in all honesty, I prefer.

It all saw me looning up the M40 with Niki and Ronnie in tow, last minute additions to help them out and make the petrol bill easier. Even though it was Friday night, the traffic soon dissapeared once we got on my favourite motorway, two hours later, via the M42 and the M6, we pulled up outside Air.

We parked right outside and made a beeline for the entrance. After saying hello to a few familiar faces, and getting a reasonable search from security, we were in.

Air is familiar terratory for me now, with HTID being the main reason I walk through the doors these days. With the familiarity in mind, I spent quite a while wandering round chatting to a few people while the music (as well as the night in general) warmed up.

I spent so much time saying hello to people both familiar and not so familiar, that the first set I caught was the kick off. Having said that, it was difficult not to notice, what with the main arena packing out in familiar fashion and MC Storm joining Sy on stage for the beginning of my night.

I honestly cant remember if Sy has done a kick off set before, but this one was the epitomie of what to expect from the 2004 Hardcore award winner, starting off with the vocal intro of the night and namechecking "Event 11" before Launching into the music, not to mention unleasing MC Storm on the rave.

The first few tunes from Sy were unknown to me, but the dancefloor was itching to get going, you could tell, so it all went off out in the crowd whilst Storm went for it on a vocal tip. After the unfamilairty of the initial tracks, Sy moved onto more tested material, such as "Rock ya hardcore" and the remix of "let me be your Fantasy" while the ravers got on it on the dancefloor.

From then on it was a set which was as welcome as it was danceable. Sy and Storm allways get me moving and this was no exception, with "Hold me forever" and the remix of "Free your mind" all forthcoming, as well as one really cool bit where Sy slowed down the pace for a scratchathon with Storm, before slammin it back up to full speed again. Finally the set came to an end, with the remix of "Pacific Sun" getting dropped to a now fully up for it crowd.

Even though it was the end of the kick off, I was going nowhere. Why? Cos Marc Smith and Odyssey were on next, thats why. Two of my favourites meant I weren't moving for nowt. Smithy, for his part didnt let me down in the slightest.

Playing hard, upfront and innovative is Marc Smith's raison d'etre and he lived up to that during this set. As is sometimes the case, I got so caught up in the whole thing that I failed to remember specific tunes he played, with the one exception being "Gravity", but only becuase it made me rush like nothing else. Apart from that and "Sensory Vision" and I think "Rough ride provider" the set was a complete mystery to me. Not that I cared, with Odyssey right besides him and going for it with just as much enthsiasm as the DJ, it was another winner from north of the border.

I was still smiling about it when I went up the stairs to the nitrogen arena for the next DJ I wanted to see. Clarkee was just starting up when I got in there, alongside the one and only MC Ribbz on the mic. The only way to describe the events of the next hour is mindblowing.

Playing a Techno set of monumental proportions, Clarkee and Ribbz tore the place apart for 60 glorious minutes, each of them reminding the assembled crowd why they are that damn good at what they do. Clarkee coming up with sublime tunes and Ribbz just being there. As well as MC'ing of course.

Best of all was the way Clarkee started the set at a noticably slower pace that the rooms around him, but spent the rest of the time behind the decks picking up the pace as his hour progressed. Of course, being a techno set, I was raving hard to tunes I could not name, but I do remember some tunes with lyrics along the lines of "Brain in a giant vice" and the rather apt "See you in fcukin hell".

After Clarkee had finished, I was down the stairs like a shot. One of the reasons I like coming to HTID is the way I can move from room to room and get a totally different interpretation of the Hardcore sound. This was the reason I was downstairs, to see UFO and Flyin play out.

Not seen UFO play out for ages, so I was interested to see what he could come up with and together with Flyin, the provided the cheese, as opposed to the chalk that was being provided upstairs, as well as the musical defintion of it while they were there.

Together with the b2b pairing on the decks there was a similar set up on the mic. With the addition of Odyssey and the appearence of Charlie B in their respective vocal capacity it was a set which reperesented the vocal and euphoric end of the Hardcore sound. If I'm honest with you, the set could have been a little pacier BPM wise if I have had my way, but they were up there and I werent so I went away happy, simply because of how upfront the tunes themselves were.

Very little in terms of anthem bashing here, thank you very much. This set was as cutting edge as it comeswith plenty of tunes I have never heard before, as well as a good proportion of tunes I could remember such as the tune with Whizzkid's "Free at last" lyrics, "Its alright now" and the vocal remix of "Come and follow me".

However, what really set the set apart was the b2b pairing on the mic. Odyssey was making his present felt by turning in another performance with the consistancy he has become known for these days, while Charlie B was hell bent on proving he still has what it takes, despite not being on a main stage for some considerable time. That said, he didn't spend much time on stage during this set either, opting to MC from the crowd instead while he and Odyssey paired off with each others lyrics in a confident and arresting performance.

When it was all over, it was another trip back up the stairs for me, back into the Nitrogen room, this time for Scorpio. When I got there, Vortex was finishing off his set with one of the most amusig tunes of the night. A surprisingly fierce finisher from him with the best vocals I have heard for some time, namely a rip off of "Mr Kirk's Nightmare" with a subtle change of lyrics to "Mr. Drokz, your label is dead". "NO....***!!!!!"

When he had taken this cracker of a tune down, it was the turn of Scorpio to do the business. As with the last time I was up here, Scorps was accompanied with Ribbz, but with the addition of Squidgy B and Si the Sigh as well. Anyone familiar with Scorpio's work will know what came next. Hardcore Techno and Gabba all the way.

This set was especially fierce, with some of it barely qualifying as music most of the time, but I was loving every minute, as were the rest of the crowd. Its difficult to do it justice in words alone, but with the curious and slightly disturbing vocals of the tracks that stood out inlcuding "Silence for the Braindead", "Are you ready or what", and not forgetting the one tune I did recognise, namely "Have it your way". I was going for it during that one, let me tell you.

Scorpio's set was the end of my time in the Nitrogen arena. Clarkee, Scorps and Ribbz had torn me to shreds, now it was time to finish the night off with the last two sets of the evening. 4-5 was all about Seduction and Rude.

I'll be honest with you, I was expecting a set of similar style to Flyin and UFO. However I was pleasently surprised in that the only major shortcoming of the last time I was downstairs had been more than sorted out. By this I mean a seriously powerful kickdrum at more than a little infectious BPM was more than forthcoming throughout the set.

Together with MC Rude on the mic, Seduction went for it from the word go, re-inforcing the reason why I like his set structure, with upfront tunes containing a plethora (look it up) of riffs and pianos remenicent of the old skool, not to mention more than couple of tunes I already know and love like "On & On" and "Goes a little something like this", not forgetting some seriously dancable upfront remixes like "I'm ravin I'm ravin" and "Dominator"

For the final set of the night, Hixxy and Dougal had been picked to do the honours with the "Morning Glory" set, together with Storm and the late arrival of MC Whizzkid on the mic in their MCSquared guise for the first time that I had seen this evening.

Morning Glory sets are all about one thing, making the ravers drain all of their energy for the final time that evening. Progression sets are not the order of the day, danceable classics, both modern and old skool are. More often than not, the DJs try to cram in as many as possible to give the ravers all they could possibly want. This was one of those occasions and I loved every minute of it.

I was knackered, but the urge to dance was overwhelming, it helped that it was the first time I had seen MCSquared on the mic that night, together they were going for it like only they can, swapping their lyrics back and forth in their trademark manner, "Just accept it" and "Electrik" being two distinct highlights.

Hixxy and Dougal, on the otherhand, were making just as much of a contribution as the MCs. I particularly liked Dougal's input into the set, principally because he played tunes that I have never heard during Morning Glory sets before. The dropping of "Magic Carpet ride" was a particular favourite, not least because it made me rush hard at 5 o'clock in the morning and "ordinary people" being right behind it and doing the same.

As well as that, it was anthems thick and fast all the way till the end of the set, with "Eyeopener", "Dido R.I.P", "All systems go", "Free your mind", "Shooting star", Crack *****", and astoundingly, some Gabba, during a morning glory set! I didnt care though, I stomped like a barsteward when "Return the Reaction" came in.

Lastly, the final tune was on, with Storm's lifestyle suggestions like "When you're feeling down, stick some Hardcore on" (you're preaching to the choir mate ) ringing in their ears, the upfront remix of "Pacific sun" was dropped and the crowd were as one, singing along, making the DJ and MC redundant until the vocals finished.

Things I liked:

Theming - I liked the way the place was kitted out for this party, HTID always make an effort with their gimmicks. white balloons and plenty of Rave angels for the Heaven part, not to mention Silk flame city for the Hell arena. Lots of halos, wings and devil horns were out in the crowd too.

Music - A continuation of the Heaven and Hell theme was confirmed with the music. I particualrly liked the way I could go from Clarkee, to UFO and Flyin, then back to Scorpio again. Nice contrasts which illustrated how diverse the spectrum of Hardcore can be.

Barbeque - A relic of the beach party with hot food being available throughout the night. Yum.

Water - Okay the taps are still pumping out hot water, but free water on reques from the bar more than makes up for it. For some reason it tastes better than the tap bourne stuff as well.

Scorpio and Clarkee's sets - Damn, its close between them for set of the night. Real, "cant get a *** paper between em" close. Clarkee's was more musical, but Scorpios was fiercer. Hmzmzmzzzz... Nope, still cant decide.

Getting a shout off MC Ribbz - *Crosses "Get a shout off Ribbz" off "Things to do before I die" list*

Things I liked less:

Troublemakers - Troublemakers reared their ugly heads at the party, but they were given a short shrift by Storm and Neil when they spotted em, not to mention a verbal warning about what their behaviour would get them for their troubles. Really and truly security should be on the case though, rather than the performing artists.

10-11 - The night is called Hardcore Till I Die, yet during this time there was no Hardcore being played in the venue. Something seriously wrong there.

Flyers - Is it me or did anyone else not get a flyer for this party? I am still looking for one in my collection, usually I have loads, but this one is a bit thin on the ground.

Quickness - The night went by damn quickly, again. Anyone know a way to slow down time?

This was yet another top night out for HTID. With there being so many events of this nature on these days, its easy to think "Just another HTID", but fortunately when you get there the occasion of the night seems to eclipse these feelings. The Heaven and Hell party was no different to normal.

It is summed up by the way the night shot past in a flash, I always seem to be either raving as hard as I can or on a mission to see the next DJ I want to see when I'm at these parties, but its a testiment to how well these nights are structured that even picky barstewards like me kept entertained from kick off through to morning glory each and every time.

And entertained I was. Non stop for 7 hours with all the hallmarks of any great night out, together with some seriously fierce sets upstairs and the chance to see two DJs who I have not seen play out for quite a while meant I left the place at the end of the night with a smile on my face and a sweat soaked T-shirt on my back. HTID maintains its reputation as the flagship event in the Hardcore calender, I will await with interest to see what the move to Coventry will turn out like. Although I have a feeling we are in good hands, I'll see you there.
astraboy.