1996 Part 1 – Ray’s Reviews

Dream Factory

Location: Alexandria Basketball Stadium, Alexandria

Date: 27th January, 1996

Rating: 9/10

This party was one of the best I have been to. When the rave scene looked like it was slowly dying, with no great parties on for ages, the promoters created this wicked rave, and put back the atmosphere and life into the scene. Not a hyped up rave, this just seemed as though it was going to be just an ordinary rave, without too much atmosphere that had been the trend lately. When I arrived there, the dancefloor was pumping HARD at 12pm. The DJ’s were playing a Hi-nrg blast of music and people were going ballistic. The atmosphere didn’t let down after the song, it was pumping all night hard. The highlight of the night was when the song ‘buggin’ came on, and everyone went crazy. The best atmosphere at a party that I have been to at this stage. The ravers were very friendly, and one of them showed me her glasses – my first look through colourful fractally-thingy glasses. There was a sausage sizzle which came in handy as everyone was burning up energy very quickly on the dancefloor. Infusion, Velocity, and Itch-e and Scratch-e all played live. What a great party, the promoters should be congratulated for bringing back the vibe that had been lost for too long. The first rave that I stayed to the end of, and so did many other people – it was truly too good to leave.

Utopia 2

Location: 123 Pitt St, Sydney

Date: 24th February, 1996

Rating: 3/10

A very different venue in the heart of the city – at a golf driving range in between office buildings. Unfortunately this did not turn out to be a very good night, in my opinion. There were 2 rooms, one was the main room which was outdoors, and the other was the chillout room with beanbags etc. and a dj, which was undercover. The sound quality was not very good at all, and the music wasn’t great either. It sprinkled for a lot of the night, so everyone outside got wet. At one point there was some violence outside the venue involving some gangsters, and we were not allowed out for a long time. I have heard other people say that they liked the night, but I thought it was definitely not worth it. A disappointing night that had promised to be quite good.

Corruption

Location: The Rooftop, Kings Cross

Date: 18th May, 1996

Rating: 10/10

ATMOSPHERE! VIBE! VENUE! LIGHTING! LASERS! MUSIC! PARTY PARTY PARTY!!! The best rave I have been to up to this point! This was an incredibly wicked night, and although it may not exactly fit into the rave category, it was far better than any I had been to. This was like a rave, but promoted as the best of Sydney’s clubs all at one place. The venue was really awesome, with 3 floors of music. The lowest floor – the “Hi-nrg” floor, had great music all night, with an explosive atmosphere of party vibe. It was very hot in this room all night, because people couldn’t get away from the dance floor it was so good. The rooms had been blackened with black plastic which created a “ravey” warehouse type atmosphere, and there were couches on every level. The Hi-nrg room had a couple of great lasers which shone over the raised hands in the smoke. The music quality was great and loud, and the music was uplifting and thumping the entire night. Upstairs, in the “Happy hard” room which I would have classified as the “Techno with a bit of hardcore” room, the vibe was also strong.

As the night progressed, more people came up to the second room, and the music was a lot harder and faster. It was EXTREMELY hot inside this room, as people were dancing ballistically all night. As you walked in the room, the heat hit you hard like it was one fire, and the ravers were burning up the dancefloor. The lasers and lighting in this room were terrific. People were raving so hard in this room it was unbelievable, and this vibe stayed until the room shut at around 6am. The third floor – the “House” room, was a great place to chillout when the heat got too unbearable, and you were nearly collapsing of exhaustion. Steam was rising of peoples clothes as they came up here, which was half inside, and half outside (on the rooftop). It was a great place to quickly cool down, and have a drink to restore your energy. The partying continued through the night, and it was still going strong at around 7:30 when I had to leave (half an hour before the finish). This was the best rave (or whatever) that I have been to, and the promoters (ICAC – or now the CIA) should be congratulated for putting on such a great night. TEN OUT OF TEN!

Corruption – Metro

Location: The Metro, George St

Date: 29th June 1996

Rating: 7/10

Another great corruption event, this time at the Metro – a great venue with loads of atmosphere. There were a couple of live acts – Pocket, and Infusion. The lighting and lasers were spectacular – like the last corruption event, and the music was pumping. There were 2 rooms, the main one with all the Hi-nrg, Hard House etc. type of music, and the second room was playing mainly house most of the night. It was a reasonable turnout with about 800 people, considering the much hyped-up rave Field of Dreams 4 was the following week. The main room had levels leading up to a bar, which people danced on all night. The atmosphere was very “ravey” and even though it was in this venue, it felt very much like a warehouse party. All in all, another great night put on by the CIA (ICAC) crew.