FUTURE DANCE

11TH AUGUST 2000

@THE CASTLE STUDIOS, OLMAR STREET, LONDON

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	Having been to the previous two Future Dances, and having experienced what excellent raves they turned out to be - you can safely say that I was relishing the opportunity to attend this special one off, Back to 1995 special.  Attendances at Future Dance 2 were, to some, a little low - so I was hoping that slightly more people would come to FD3.  My hopes were well and truly answered, as I reckon almost double the amount of people turned up to a rave that, by the end, none of
	them would want to have missed. After a quick trip to the new Elite Records to buy some tickets and a couple of new vinyls, we arrived at Kev's house by about 6pm.  We waited there for some more people to arrive, then made the journey to Waterloo Station for the first pre-rave meetup of the evening.  Soon after that we all took the tube to London Bridge station and all got in either the shuttle coaches that
	were laid on, or into taxis down to the Castle Studios. We all arrived at about 8pm, a bit too early for the promoters - but the sounds emanating from inside were boding well for the future.  Having purchased my lovely new grey USH t-shirt, I was now standing in the queue with a smile on my face, just waiting for the time that we were to be let in.  A rather painless search later and we were in!  Until about 9:15pm only the bar room was
	open - with a rather nice set from one of the Hyper FM crew, playing some banging up-front hardcore. But, blow me, when they opened the doors to the main two arenas I was in for a rather pleasant surprise.  Once again, the Future Dance crew rose to their very high standards and produced a stage of exceptional quality.  Lighting was again spot on - just the right levels for a nice atmosphere.  And - as promised - there was a
	funky green laser to mesmerise the now swelling crowds. On first was Phantom D, playing a nice set of old skool hardcore - neat mixing, and a good tune selection made this a very good warm-up set.  I decided to check out whether Future Dance's other promise had been delivered - were there any bouncy castles?  And, my god, there were - TWO!!
	A fantastic idea, and something which I reckon should become a permanent fixture in all Future Dances from now.  Seeing fully grown men and women bounce and leap on these sure brought a smile to my face - most even took their shoes off!! Next on the decks were the Go Mental residents, Impact and Vinyl, who also continued the vain of playing some banging breakbeatey hardcore from
	yesteryear.  I, like many others during the night, decided to make my way outside, by the bouncy castles, and enjoy the warm London evening sitting and talking to mates, both old and new. I made my way back to the now nicely full main arena for Canada's number one DJ, DJ Frisky.  I especially liked this set - with classics from the past and the present being played side by side.  I was stomping like a
	mad man by this time, and things were looking better and better as the next DJ and MC walked through the door. Recently, Vibes and Livelee have been criticised for being a tad too cheesy and repetitive, but none of this showed in their set on the night.  Playing some classic dutch tunes from 95/6, the crowd was swelling once again.  The entire production throughout the night was
	spot on - glorious sound system, loud as is bearable and a superb light show, with projections, lights and lasers.  Fantastic it was! I took the opportunity of wandering around the venue at this time, and stumbled into the Old Skool arena.  Some absolutely rocking old skool from around 92/3 was being played, and I decided to have a little stomp in there for a bit!
	Back to the main arena though, and it was time for the legend that is DJ Brisk.  The set of the night, in my opinion, goes out to this set.  As usual, Brisk cranked up the speed, and the entire crowd were stomping like mad men.  I do like my hardcore fast and banging, and Brisk sure delivered this with skill.  A heavenly set - and a DJ who I hope will be booked again and again for the next Future Dances.
	After a little chat and a wander around outside, I was refreshed enough to venture back into the main arena.  By this time I think it was DJ Energy's time on the decks.  At Future Dance 1 Energy played a superb 95/6 set, and he sure repeated this feat at Future Dance 3.  Playing some lesser known hardcore, I, and the rest of the ravers, were loving every minute of his set. A quick word about the MCs on the night I think now.
	All the MCs were wicked in my opinion.  Ethos, the Go Mental resident, was wicked on the microphone, as usual.  As too was my favourite MC at the moment, Whizzkid. It was nice to see Smiley and Livelee again - and my man Odyssey was wicked on the microphone all night!  Heh, that's enough about the MCs - let's get back to the rave!
	Gosh, the night was continuing at a blistering pace - the only slight disappointment was that the dancefloor was never completely full at any one time, many electing to sit outside and bask in the moon's rays.  However, this was not a problem to me - my eyes weren't functioning normally anyway for me to notice what other people were doing!!  On the decks after Energy, was the man himself, DJ Kaos.  He, I think, strayed slightly away from the 1995 style again - but that was by no means a
	detriment to his set.  He played some wicked tunes that had the whole arena rocking again - another fantastic set to add to the others in the night! Last, and unfortunately I reckon least, was  DJ Sy.  I have to say that I was expecting a little more from the scratchmaster - his scratching being the only real highlight of a not particularly exciting set.  Nevertheless I was dancing like a lunatic anyway!!  Maybe that his set
	wasn't necessarily bad - just that the previous sets were just so good! Anyway, it was now 5am - and time for the end.  I don't think I saw a face without a smile all night.  Future Dance has silenced its critics for sure. The slightly poor turnout at Future Dance 2 was, in my estimation, at least doubled.  The atmosphere was spot on.  As many said around the venue - the atmosphere
	wasn't completely like a normal rave - it was more like a party! I have to say a big big thank you to the Go Mental crew for a truly memorable night, one that will surely go down in many people's books as "one of the best"!! Shouts to: James, Natalie, Andy T, Raver Jo, Androo, Kev, Ponder, Happy Bounce, Sonic, Fussion, Space,
	Acidnik, Mupster, Twigg, Fangs, um, Sammy Sam, Caine, Dan and Joe Haynes, Ed (nice seeing you again my brother!!), Nic from Onelove (hope you enjoyed it!), Matt the american and his girlfriend, SimonMDMA, Jody, Paul, Joe Retro, Peter (all from USH), Whizzkid, Odyssey, Ethos (interview coming soon!), all the DJs, all the MCs, all those I met, all those I didn't - wicked night, wicked night. See you all at Raindance!! Tom Bennett DJ U4EA

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