Post by mancalledhorse on Mar 13, 2005 20:05:36 GMT -5
Friday.
March 11th.
2005.
4.37pm.
The Railway Inn, Helsby....
i'm sat at a table near the front door of the pub with Sean, Wakker, Cheeky, Carl, Si and Greggo. i'm smoking really quick. 3rd double vodka and redbull in front of me. i drink up and say my goodbyes and leave the pub. a short walk brings me to the train station. train arrives and 15 minutes later i'm in chester asking for a £51.10 return to Swindon. platform 3 for the 1st of many unknown train rides this weekend. this particular journey is the one that will be taking me (via wrexham, chirk, gobowen, oswestry, shrewsbury, church stretton, ludlow, leominster, , abergavenny, cwmbran, newport, bristol parkway and swindon) to the Valve Sound System. 3 1/2 hours later we pull into swindon. i have never been to swindon before and the first impression i got on leaving the station was a rather eerie one. apart from a few drunk students trying to wake some passed out girl just inside the main sliding doors - there is no one to be seen. its deathly quiet apart from the occasional taxi. i have no idea where i'm walking to so i just walk straight down the road thats leading away from the station. after 15 mins and a few left/right turns i am totally lost. some bloke about 50 sat at one of the bus stops eating a bag of chips tells me to go down the steps behind me and "walk straight down past debenhams and turn left - you can't miss'um". so off i trot. following his instructions brings me eventually to the Brunel rooms. James the promoter is on the door constantly scanning his clipboard and looking like he was out of the cold. i go over and introduce myself as mancalledhorse and he hands me a guestlist ticket that Miss Rep (very kindly!) got for me. thru the door and
BLAM!
you can feel it. sense it. i put my hand on the wall to see if it was just me imagining things. i looked back at other people coming in and all their eyes are focused on are the stairs that take you up into the Brunel Rooms. coz thats where its emanating from. BOOM BOOOOOOOOOOM.
bass. as in BASS.
i fall back into the line and start to head up the stairs. a room on my left has drum and bass pounding out of it with a poster for "Aftershock Radio" on it. "that must be the second room" i think to myself - its the one that my friend Aliina and the Aftershock crew are running.
i feel good as soon as i see the poster and hear the tunes - i instantly start to feel good coz i know that i have friends in there. i continue to climb the stairs to get to the cloakroom and eventually i come into the main room.
thats when it hits you.
as cliched as it may sound, hearing the full Valve Sound System for the first time brought me back to myslef and removed me from my body for a few moments. i am stood at the back of the room and it is surreal. words cannot really describe it. i knew that after years and years of clubbing and DJing and listening to drum and bass that THIS was what it was all about. i was hearing bass notes in the tunes that normal speakers/headphones just don't pick up. i expected the sound to be really clashy but it is SO clear. in 16 years of going out i have never heard anything like it - and i'm only stood in the queue to the fucking cloakroom!!
eventually i get my coat sorted and after a few more minutes marvelling at the sound i decide to head down stairs. i go into the second room and after standing for a few seconds just inside the door i wander over the dance floor to the DJ area and climb onto the stage. Lukie B is on the decks smackin it down. and in front of me is Aliina! we see each other and after hugs and hellos we decide to head back to the main room. i go to get a drink. Aliina's boogyin away and we're chatting as well. then i feel a tap on my shoulder and turn round - its General Annoyance! Garys another one of my good mates from Gloucester way and i had no idea he was gonna be there nevermind DJing. so now i'm really buzzing and in a crackin mood. excellent company and the loudest drum and bass sound system in the world. i get my drink and we are having a chat and gettin into the music. after a few minutes a fella walks past and even though i ain't seen him before in me life except on forum fotos, i know its Isk! then after a few more minutes Tridge appears! we all start to find our dancing feet and then decide to head downstairs for Garys set. i hit the bar again and get another couple of bottles and go back to the stage. Tommi Gunns on the mic and is flowin. can't remember who the DJ was from the other crew but he wasn't very good. around his time, i met up with Mr C, Two Scoops and DJ Reaper - some more of the wicked peeps from www.missrepresent.com (good to meet up with ya's lads! big up!)
the crowd was thinning a bit and so Gary was gonna have to try and get them back. if you have ever heard General Annoyance you know that when he plays, he is going to slam your ears. he doeasn't dissapoint - the set, although just 30 minutes long was insane - the first 3/4 tracks in particular where SO intense. i can remember turning to Ali and askin her - wtf is this?! such a heavy heavy set. not long after sadly Aliina, Luke, Gary and C had to leave.
but Isk, Tridge and myself had not finished. there was 3 hours still to go.....
stay tuned for part 2!
March 11th.
2005.
4.37pm.
The Railway Inn, Helsby....
i'm sat at a table near the front door of the pub with Sean, Wakker, Cheeky, Carl, Si and Greggo. i'm smoking really quick. 3rd double vodka and redbull in front of me. i drink up and say my goodbyes and leave the pub. a short walk brings me to the train station. train arrives and 15 minutes later i'm in chester asking for a £51.10 return to Swindon. platform 3 for the 1st of many unknown train rides this weekend. this particular journey is the one that will be taking me (via wrexham, chirk, gobowen, oswestry, shrewsbury, church stretton, ludlow, leominster, , abergavenny, cwmbran, newport, bristol parkway and swindon) to the Valve Sound System. 3 1/2 hours later we pull into swindon. i have never been to swindon before and the first impression i got on leaving the station was a rather eerie one. apart from a few drunk students trying to wake some passed out girl just inside the main sliding doors - there is no one to be seen. its deathly quiet apart from the occasional taxi. i have no idea where i'm walking to so i just walk straight down the road thats leading away from the station. after 15 mins and a few left/right turns i am totally lost. some bloke about 50 sat at one of the bus stops eating a bag of chips tells me to go down the steps behind me and "walk straight down past debenhams and turn left - you can't miss'um". so off i trot. following his instructions brings me eventually to the Brunel rooms. James the promoter is on the door constantly scanning his clipboard and looking like he was out of the cold. i go over and introduce myself as mancalledhorse and he hands me a guestlist ticket that Miss Rep (very kindly!) got for me. thru the door and
BLAM!
you can feel it. sense it. i put my hand on the wall to see if it was just me imagining things. i looked back at other people coming in and all their eyes are focused on are the stairs that take you up into the Brunel Rooms. coz thats where its emanating from. BOOM BOOOOOOOOOOM.
bass. as in BASS.
i fall back into the line and start to head up the stairs. a room on my left has drum and bass pounding out of it with a poster for "Aftershock Radio" on it. "that must be the second room" i think to myself - its the one that my friend Aliina and the Aftershock crew are running.
i feel good as soon as i see the poster and hear the tunes - i instantly start to feel good coz i know that i have friends in there. i continue to climb the stairs to get to the cloakroom and eventually i come into the main room.
thats when it hits you.
as cliched as it may sound, hearing the full Valve Sound System for the first time brought me back to myslef and removed me from my body for a few moments. i am stood at the back of the room and it is surreal. words cannot really describe it. i knew that after years and years of clubbing and DJing and listening to drum and bass that THIS was what it was all about. i was hearing bass notes in the tunes that normal speakers/headphones just don't pick up. i expected the sound to be really clashy but it is SO clear. in 16 years of going out i have never heard anything like it - and i'm only stood in the queue to the fucking cloakroom!!
eventually i get my coat sorted and after a few more minutes marvelling at the sound i decide to head down stairs. i go into the second room and after standing for a few seconds just inside the door i wander over the dance floor to the DJ area and climb onto the stage. Lukie B is on the decks smackin it down. and in front of me is Aliina! we see each other and after hugs and hellos we decide to head back to the main room. i go to get a drink. Aliina's boogyin away and we're chatting as well. then i feel a tap on my shoulder and turn round - its General Annoyance! Garys another one of my good mates from Gloucester way and i had no idea he was gonna be there nevermind DJing. so now i'm really buzzing and in a crackin mood. excellent company and the loudest drum and bass sound system in the world. i get my drink and we are having a chat and gettin into the music. after a few minutes a fella walks past and even though i ain't seen him before in me life except on forum fotos, i know its Isk! then after a few more minutes Tridge appears! we all start to find our dancing feet and then decide to head downstairs for Garys set. i hit the bar again and get another couple of bottles and go back to the stage. Tommi Gunns on the mic and is flowin. can't remember who the DJ was from the other crew but he wasn't very good. around his time, i met up with Mr C, Two Scoops and DJ Reaper - some more of the wicked peeps from www.missrepresent.com (good to meet up with ya's lads! big up!)
the crowd was thinning a bit and so Gary was gonna have to try and get them back. if you have ever heard General Annoyance you know that when he plays, he is going to slam your ears. he doeasn't dissapoint - the set, although just 30 minutes long was insane - the first 3/4 tracks in particular where SO intense. i can remember turning to Ali and askin her - wtf is this?! such a heavy heavy set. not long after sadly Aliina, Luke, Gary and C had to leave.
but Isk, Tridge and myself had not finished. there was 3 hours still to go.....
stay tuned for part 2!
