The very first thing that catches your eye as soon as you arrive at Yubileyny is the abundance of whistles, flashing lights, and respirators flickering past. There was quite a large crowd. Moreover, judging by my observations, there were more people in the drum and bass arena than anywhere else (the Main arena only outweighed it because of the stands). I would like to praise the organizers for finally removing some of the arena barriers and getting rid of those idiotic mats from the floor...
Sound.
I really did not like the sound. The subs stood out strongly, swallowing up everything they possibly could (and things they couldn't, too). Even if you knew the track well, it was very difficult to recognize. In general, I found only one spot at the very back of the arena where the subs no longer sounded quite so terrible, but it was next to the entrance, so it was impossible to stand there. Otherwise, everything was as usual.
Decor and lighting.
As usual, the organizers did not pay much attention to Yubileyny's second-largest arena, as if it existed merely for show. Yes, there were moving heads hanging up, an absurd number of strobes, and they even installed a laser for some reason. Taken together, it all looked rather pathetic. And while, on entering the main arena, you could see a light-and-laser show complemented by suitably elaborate decor, the drum and bass arena could boast only a strange-looking inflatable castle behind the stage and some incomprehensible black curtains under the ceiling, which hardly anyone could see anyway. As I said above, there was lighting too, but it was a fairly indistinct spectacle.
Music.
This, essentially, is what people come here for. Well, ideally, of course. This time, as on all the other occasions, the DJs did not trouble themselves with experimenting with the structure of their sets. Most of the performances rode on already well-known—one might even say old—hits, dancefloor killers, and other clownstep. This was true not only of our St Petersburg DJs, but of the guests as well. Neither the Estonians nor the representative of the illustrious crewEZ Rollerswere able to show the St Petersburg crowd anything new or unusual. Of course, it should be noted that their material was a little fresher (apparently because it was simply the first time we had heard them). As was expected of them, the guests showed everything they were capable of... To be honest, I personally expected much more and hoped to hear the contemporary global trends of the drum and bass scene, but got only the old “good” Anglo drum and bass. Nevertheless, the crowd was delighted, and that is probably the main thing. As usual, the leading St Petersburg DJs managed to gather the maximum possible number of people in the arena. And if, for example,DJ Toper and DJ Boomerplayed fairly consistent sets stylistically, thenDJ Tooktried to experiment and somewhat distort the stereotypical rave drum and bass mix; it is difficult to say how successful he was. At 5 a.m., our Moscow guestDJ Novak, who presented dancefloor drum and bass to us from a slightly new angle. And those arena-goers who managed to stay until 6 a.m. were able to catch the performance by another “pillar” of St Petersburg drum and bass—DJ Gvozdya. Personally, his set left the brightest impression of all the performances that night. And it was not even because of the vivid and sparkling performance byMC Мunkie, who managed to rouse the crowd, already tired by morning, with his voice and remarks—and not even because of flawless mixing technique. It was simply very pleasant to hear material that differed so strongly from the music played for most of the night. Unfortunately, the not very good sound quality did not allow us to enjoy it fully.
Despite it being 7 a.m., the bulk of the crowd continued to remain in the arena. It was pleasant to hear the St Petersburg crewSPBass Teamagain, as well as the rather interesting set (even for 7 a.m.) byArt D. Jayя. At 8 a.m., everyone who was still in a state to do so was able to get down to the set byDJ E-Zoom`а. This is not the first time I have caught his morning sets, and I cannot fail to note his astonishing ability to get the crowd going—the same crowd that just five minutes earlier had been ready to fall asleep right there on the floor by the speakers.
In short, it can be said that the 9th DJ Parade failed to demonstrate anything interesting or unusual. It is no secret that the crush in the cloakroom and corridors of Yubileyny Sports Palace has become the hallmark of this and similar events. And the lack of decent ventilation does not make anyone want to remain on the dancefloor. You could even say that if you had been to at least one parade, you had been to them all!
Text: Zolba
