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reviews Magna7 @Magna Centre, Rotherham (13th September 2003)
21:30
Upon arriving onto the site grounds we were guided down the side of the huge 5,000 capacity complex, which was approximately a third of a mile long, maybe more. The queue was already of the way down the abandoned steelworks we would be entering..EVENTUALLY.
22:00
The old steelworks 3 doors are open to the mammoth queue that awaited, I can just imagine that as the first person walked and got searched, Paul Maddox dropped the first beat to an empty main arena! We moved forward about 5 metres, and then bang we stopped. Then the frustration and boredom set in.
23:00
We had moved about 100metres. People were jumping the un-manned and un-barrierd queue, which resulted in droves of clubbers losing their patience.
Emma and I went to purchase a hot-dog, and the first security guard we saw, asked us where we were going, he was stood at the beginning of the barriers, as if we could jump the queue there without being seen! Those barriers started about 100metres from the main door!!!
By midnight we had moved another 100metres or so. A of the night gone, and we were still way off the entrance, due to slow moving queue and jumpers. Then lo and behold came a knight in shining armour, a security guard to stop everyone jumping the queue, he was greeted by cheers as he sent the queue jumpers packing to the rear of the queue. He assured us that we would all be in within the next half hour. 20 minutes later the queue starts moving rapidly. Obviously realising they had dropped a huge bollock, they let everyone through with no search, unless you had a bag. Within 10 minutes we are at the entrance. 3 poxy doors, each the size of your regular house door, one for VIPs, and one for regular punters. The VIPs door was empty of queues, but you couldn't go through that door, as it was VIPs, although you end up in the same place.
12:30
We gain access, and are in the foyer area, which was rammed, it was so packed in there even a battery chicken would have room for complaint, sardines in a tin? Pfff that's a breeze to this! It was due to the fact that you had to queue to get into the arenas, but only one entrance into the arenas, which were through the face of steel arena. The passageway for this was the size of your garage next to your house, which the car goes in at night. When you've got a 5,000 capacity trying to get in at once, it's a bit of a joke really!
We fight our way through, and greeted by the first beats of our evening courtesy of Andy Farley, but we carried on for some insane reason to the main arena.
We walked through the Digital Entertainment Zone, which was in fact a walkway with about 12 Xboxes dotted about, all with the same game on them!
We arrived at the Main arena. This was impressive, a massive hall which went back about 300 metres easily, and about 50 metres wide, awesome sound system, awesome light display, but still only a double fire door as entrance and another further down as exit. We caught the end of Angel Sanchez, and then the start of Lee Haslam, the place was less than half full, and it was now 01:00. Due to the previous 4 hours of queuing and then instant hustle and bustle, my legs were dead, and I needed a seat, so we sat on the floor, and watched the place fill rapidly before our very eyes, this was obviously due to the fact that they had adopted the lets get everyone in without searches policy.
Once Lee Haslam had finished up, on came the Tidy Boys, by now I was in full swing, and really getting down with it, along with @Clubbing Si, @Dani Babyboo, @jellybabyuk and @Scream amongst others, they started off their set in true Tidy Boys style, with a sample and a cheeky TV sample too, this time it was til tears do us part, followed by the Blockbusters theme, I hoped for a cheeky I'll have an E please bob but to my disappointment, it didn't come, although, they worked the crowd well with some corking tunes, and their usual antics behind the decks.
Everyone seemed happy and were having a good time, but everyone you spoke to mentioned the queuing and what a shambles it was. It had certainly put a damper on my night.
So off we went to the Face of Steel, Lab4. Need I say anymore? YES.
This was by far the best arena in my eyes, DJ wise, but this is once again were Tidy let themselves down, the lay out and set-up was abysmal, and for Lab4's set the sound was so distorted you couldn't make out what tune was what, what the breakdowns sounded like, all you got was a thud when the kick came in! Needless to say we had left the room before they had finished.
Off we went to the toilets, which we had to get to through the hardcore bubble, due to the one-way system that was adopted. As we made our way through the hardcore bubble, I couldn't believe my eyes, the steam and heat was incredible, I thought it was a smoke machine but you could tell, it was just pure steam from all the hot sweaty bodies having it large to the pumping 180+ bpm tunes that were getting spewed out!
Once at the loos, I was surprised to notice that their was one for the blokes and one for the girls, that was it for the whole complex, blokes had 6 urinals, and 2 cubicles, the girls had 4 cubicles, their was a disabled toilet and nappy change toilet also, then at the rear of the foyer, in a small sign was another set of toilets, out in the back, about 20 portaloos, or as they are more affectionately known The Turd Tardis In all that was hardly enough for 5000 people.
We then battled our way through the Face of steel to get to the main arena again! What a waste of time and energy, on the decks was none other than Judge Jules, playing to an arena that was about a third full, and when he dropped a tune with a J-lo sample in it, I think it started emptying even more! As the say the judge wont budge I can assure you that I did!
We quick marched it back to the face of steel, where Tara Reynolds was playing an awesome set, by far the best of the night. So needless to say I was back in full swing giving it my all to my first ever experience of Mrs Reynolds live. I know that is not the last time I'm going to be stomping to her ever! The arena was crammed full of Hard House lovers, as she dropped some corking tunes. I recall the 2 base graffiti tracks House always wins and The Hulk which I lapped up with cream! By now I was really starting to enjoy myself, it was an electric atmosphere and the sound system was a bit clearer and crisper in its sounds. I looked at my watch and almost cried as I had just got into it, and the time was 04:00 as BK took to the decks.
BK went off at tremendous pace and was really whipping the blood-baying clubbers up into a frenzy! He really worked us all up with some solid crowd faves and then some new material to keep us in good trim!
Before I knew what was going on we had to leave the face of steel as Paul Glazby kicked of his set, as Emma had booked her taxi for 05:30.don't ask. So we had to go looking for Scream, which wasn't exactly an easy task as I had a message from him earlier in the evening asking if I was Bushy! The lad had clearly lost his mind, but hey, we all know that anyway, this was just evidence!
Eventually we got hold of @Scream, in the main arena, he was with @rickd and others, but had gone looking for us, so we hung about giving it some to Lisa Lashes, for 10 minutes or so, until we decided he wasn't coming back! So we headed off for the foyer area, not before we caught another 5 minutes of Paul Glazby, and we had to go.
It's very rare for me to say this about a night clubbing, but I was glad to be from there.
In my opinion, I believe that this event well and truly flopped. Although the music was excellent, the atmosphere electric, the complex as big and as impressive as it is, is NOT a suitable venue for an event of this scale. The queuing outdoors could have easily been eased, by opening the doors to the complex a couple of hours earlier, as Helter Skelter did when I used to frequent their events at the Sanctuary in Milton Keynes. Inside, there is no avoiding the queuing, as access to certain areas just aren't big enough.
It is a crying shame, as the venue is amazing. You just think to yourself what could have been. Tidy are also usually spot on with their organisation, but this time it was one big mess. By all accounts they are going back there for New Year, all I say is good luck, I hope it works.
I know that I for one will not be there to find out if it does.
@Bushy
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