Are you tired of clubs? Do you like large-scale events? Are you thrilled by unusual leisure venues? Then I think you definitely couldn’t have missed Indastrial Rave, held in our city last Friday. From the very beginning, the event’s information was imagination-stirring: a pure drum and bass event featuring stars of the Saint Petersburg scene and a specially invited guest—John B; the venue—a construction zone at an unfinished industrial complex; an ocean of sound, summer, freedom, and our beloved drum and bass. Many people were skeptical, not believing that what had been planned could actually be carried out. Fortunately, their fears proved unfounded.
Of course, absolutely everything could not go perfectly. So, imagine the situation: 20 minutes before the plane from London was due to land, a little over 2 hours before the party was due to begin, the factory was disconnected from the electricity supply for non-payment... It would have been reasonable to cancel everything and prepare to apologize to all the guests and event participants. At moments like these, a promoter’s work seems like a living nightmare and to have no positive sides at all. However, nobody gave up. Every effort was mobilized to find a power generator. Fortunately for all of us, the search ended successfully, although part of the party time had to be sacrificed and the start was pushed back by 3 hours.
The venue’s design was beyond praise. At least, I experienced a minor shock when, after climbing to the 8th (!!!) floor via a well-renovated staircase—which looked most like the equivalent in some office center—you first entered a gloomy corridor finished with plasterboard, and then a spacious hall whose walls were covered in plastic, with rusty rebar protruding from the ceiling. It even seemed to me that all of this was an illusion: I would rub my eyes properly and find myself at the small ice arena of the Yubileyny Sports Palace or somewhere else. However, that did not help; the mirage had no intention of disappearing and instead began acquiring increasingly distinct details. It was absolutely astonishing to sit in the bar—the second one, closer to the exit—and watch bright orange beams of light strike the hall through gaps in the polyethylene window covering. To this day, I cannot believe that this was not done deliberately, despite all the organizers’ assurances.
Some people paid attention to the lack of light. Yes, perhaps we have already been spoiled by “Пиратская Станция” and WoDnB, which compete with each other in the number of moving heads and strobes. But, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the factory. This is an industrial rave, not simply a big club party. There were obvious problems with the sound at the very beginning. Because of the delay with the electricity, the equipment setup apparently suffered the most. Moreover, when Zemine took over the decks after 007’s set, smoke suddenly started pouring out from beneath the stage, from the direction of one of the amplifiers. I expected flames to appear at any moment. But apparently, catastrophe was once again avoided. By the end of her [lady Zemine] performance, the sound had just reached a reasonable state, and thereafter—as one very active partygoer put it—a “качёвый” state. In general, there were no further complaints in this regard.
The party is in full swing; in the center of the arena, fire-show performers are captivating me and everyone around me with a frightening dance of fire that is impossible to look away from. At that moment, almost unnoticed by anyone, He rushes through the crowd along the left wall—the one we had all been waiting for for nearly 2 years. Please welcome—John B! He stepped onto the stage and looked around the hall. In response to the question, “So, John, what do you think about this?” he could only give Implex two thumbs up with a stunned look on his face. Well, you all know what happened next. We got plenty of good vibes, excellent music, and positive energy. Did everyone hear Sky—Belissima in John’s set? Know our own ;)
From the moment information about the party appeared, many people expressed concerns about its legality. Those concerns were realized at precisely the most inappropriate moment. An unpleasant man in uniform climbed onto the stage and switched off the sound. He said that we were disturbing the sleep of local residents. Ha! In an industrial zone! In such a building—even on the landing of the 8th floor, the sound could no longer be heard, let alone outside! Don’t make me laugh! For the second time—the first being the electricity incident—people began talking about an evil fate and other misfortunes. BUT WHAT A REACTION FROM THE CROWD! Guys and girls, I love you. For such shouts—which, for obvious reasons, I will not quote here—for your unity, and for your healthy and very appropriate sarcasm—you’re amazing; it would have been impossible to imagine a better audience. Fortunately, the short pause that arose, while the necessary papers were being shown to the militia representatives, was very successfully filled by the artists gathered on the tiny stage. Huge thanks to MC Munkie & John B (B-Boxing), as well as to the spectacular—I’m not afraid to use that word—appearances at the microphone by Zemine and Dissident, with their poetic spoken-word recitations.
I was extremely impressed by the very energetic set from Bes and Step. Guys, in my opinion, you decided that you were playing the warm-up rather than the middle of the party. Dissident and Raffen continued their undertaking in the same vein; they seemed, on top of everything else, to want to completely tear apart what by that point passed for a stage. Then Devil took their place and decided to finish off all the survivors.
Undoubtedly, along with the advantages there were also disadvantages—poor, to put it mildly, ventilation (by morning, “rain” was falling from the ceiling), a lot of dust—which gradually turned into dirt—no cloakroom, and so on. Some things were unpleasant and caused discomfort, but still—don’t forget, you came to an Industrial Rave, not Onegin or Jet Set! I managed to speak with the organizers about these issues. They promised to fix everything... next time... I hope you understand what I’m hinting at here, right?!!!
Author: Zolba
