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Fevah 5th Birthday - Review

Reported by littlemissgenki / Submitted 28-09-02 17:50

The time: 11.45 20th of September. The place: Heaven. The party: Fevah’s 5th anniversary. It’s sometimes easy for the jaded clubber living in London to forget that we have some of the best superclubs in the world at our feet. But aren’t superclubs supposed to be dead? Well if that’s the case, I’ve died and gone to Heaven! Last Friday night, Fevah confirmed their true place as leaders in hard house and trance, infecting one of the world’s best superclubs with their hard beats and uplifting riffs, sure to bring any non-believer out in a fevered sweat.

And there are indeed few venues in London that could hold this type of spectacular event, with its visual and aural journeys into the world of light and sound. Most of all it was to be a fantastic send-off to the emperor of NRG trance, Yoji Biomehanika, who for me brought down the house and sent my arms to the heavens. But I’ll get back to him a bit later. Fevah Productions put together such a line-up from the gods that I’m beginning to feel like a messenger heaven-sent, bringing you rays of light from the world of dance . . .



When I finally got in the door just before midnight, Steve Hill had the place in full storm and the place already seemed packed. The bar and main room were full of the faces of Australia’s base-camp and New Zealand’s fifth biggest city, but then raving in London you get used to seeing these outlanders in all the best clubs—they don’t seem so interested in this trendy wave of DJ bars and good on em! The Fevah team are well-known for their extraterrestrial visuals and graphics but tonight they had surely excelled themselves. The main room was lit up like a fairy land, fluoro spirals hanging so the spectacular lights caught them and looped them towards the heavens and the Star Bar. But I digress . . .

After a warm-up stomp around to Steve Hill I noticed the mood in the main room change abruptly with the entrance of Steve Blake B2B Skol and their accompanying exotic dancers. Now I couldn’t agree more that professional dancers can raise the mood of a place, lifting and motivating the crowd and at least giving them some moves to copy. I would also imagine a large number of definitions of heaven involve dancing girls, and the Fevah boys sure coughed up in that department. But unfortunately the ‘exotic’ nature of these dancers revved up the crowd in a manner more like one of Tall Paul’s unfulfilling sets at Glastonbury, as the lager louts in the house leered their approval and gave the room a sad waft of frustration . . . it was time to go exploring.

First up to the Star Bar, where Owen and Raymondo were leading the crowd in a euphoric garden of eden, with psychedelic vines hanging around a 70s discotech of high vision lights and disco balls, and even a jumping deck which made for a nice spaceshow area for all those crazy dancers out there who just need space to express themselves. Wandering around I found myself encountering many angelic faces with some absolutely ravulous outfits, many handmade, for not even cyberdog could put out some of these crazy digs. Costumes ranged from sexy cyber to hard out chest beating ravers, one of my favourites being the girl with the moving plaits complete with flashing lights—we later found out it was all controlled by a hand-made coat hanger get-up, what innovation!



In the bedroom bar Baby J had it all well under control and a happy group were blissing out to her smoothly mixed tunes. As I continued my Alice-in-wonderland adventures the cliché of something for everyone sprung to mind. But for me I found my white rabbit grooving out with the Soundshaft DJs in Fahrenhite. Reminiscent of the days of acid house with its cosy closed in feeling and floor thumping atmosphere, every face had a smile from ear to ear: hardly surprisingly given the fantastic tag team of DJs. If you’ve never been to this (occasional) part of Heaven it has a newly raised DJ box with massive speakers at the foot, banging on the floor so when the bass kicks in you can’t help but move your feet, then your arms . . . Macey’s tremulous beats got me moving straight off and I was transfixed. Macey back to back with the fabulous Ian Mac and I was in nirvana already, though the night had only just begun.

It was time to start wandering back towards the main room, but after a bit of searching I found myself I mean really found myself staring back at me in a mirror . . . on entering this room the flood waters of funky house lifted me into a lovely bubble of joy. This house with its residents of Arnie, Aaron Fevah, Daze, Lara X, Rob Parish and Jon Watford held real strong overtones of late 80s house with a nice make-up of people cooling off with cocktails in hand or just swaying to the celestial sounds. It wasn’t until I noticed the odd DJ round the room that I realized I’d stumbled into the VIP lounge, usually a place I stay well away from, for are we all not important? But this was very different to the usual ‘you’re not coming in here’ room, no fingers up bums or ‘do you know who I ams’, just a true place of rest. I’ve no idea if this was courtesy of the antipodean production team or just a sign of the times for clubs, but all I can say is ‘thank you and more please!’

Now I was in a hurry to get back on track to the main room, where the atmosphere was electrifying. I prepared myself for a bit of a mosh—the place was shoulder to shoulder, and people were still pouring in, but I didn’t care, I was well excited. Have I mentioned how much I love these guys? A brief aside: before moving to the UK I taught English in a picturesque Japanese town between the mountains north of Kyoto and Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. I had a very easy simple life, almost zen-like, apart from one thing: I was getting bored. A Japanese friend offered to take me out dancing one night and my life was changed—after an evening of Lab 4 followed by Yoji at Osaka’s Bayside Jenny I knew I’d achieved the balanced lifestyle I needed. I saw Yoji many times over the next year or so, but no event surpassed that first hit, until Lab 4 came back for another earthquaking party. So needless to say, tonight I had high hopes. I’d seen what these guys could do, I’d caught the virus, and I needed a fix very badly.



Well if the previous DJs had given the crowd a bit of a fever, LAB4 were to hit them hard with the full-blown disease: an in-your-face-slapping, gut-wrenching, heart-propelling, mind-exploding virus of pure unadulterated hard dance music. Within seconds Adam was jumping around the stage like a demon possessed, while Lez held it all together with infernal control. Highlight#1: “Trailer park girls go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside” heralded the boys latest live extravaganza: a wicked remix of Eminem’s Without Me. Such eclecticism sums up the LAB4 attitude to music in a nutshell: these guys don’t believe in constricting musical classifications and stereotypes, only in good music and bad. This was more than good, this was pure evil.

By now the crowd were dancing up a frenzy and remained so for the following three quarters of an hour as Adam & Lez wound us up into a cosmic trance. To be honest the rest of their set was a blur of hard dancing as I remembered just how fantastic these guys are live. There were no breaks for a build up: it was all sheer unadulterated duff and exactly what we all wanted.

But how could any DJ resurrect the crowd from such an experience? A piece of trivia: did you know that in Japanese legend, many shinto gods have red hair? Yoji-sama, the diety of hard NRG with his bright red mohawk was to bring us out of the ashes LAB4 left us in and, like a phoenix, the crowd were straight up and on it for more. For those first-timers in the crowd: now you know why Yoji is Lab4’s DJ of choice to proceed their set. Who else could keep us up after a LAB4 experience, and not just keep us up, but propel us to further heights? Yoji’s sound encompasses that monstrous mix of hard house and trance, new NRG, surely named because that’s exactly what it gives you.



Highlight#2: Yoji’s mix of the Samual L. Jackson sampler Music is the Drug, a present clubbing hymn, which had the congregation worshipping at Yoji’s alter and praying for more. A couple of Japanese guys were so ecstatic they couldn’t stay off the stage, jumping up to pay homage to the emperor of NRG—or perhaps they felt sorry for the exotic dancers who were doing their best to keep up. In Japanese clubs, professional dancers are male and female and it’s not uncommon for the crowd to join in, so perhaps a bit of culture shock was going down as they climbed to the front of the stage, then realized just how many smiling faces were looking up at them! By now the crowd were not just in heaven, they’d jumped on an NRG train to holy glory.

But all too quickly, Yoji’s last appearance in London for the year was over and it was up to Riki Shane and Matt Clarke to try and pick up the pieces. And it was back to the Soundshaft for me, where Marc French and Daniel Ro were playing just the kind of anthems you need to hear at the end of the night. If anything the atmosphere had only improved and a rapturous congregation remained until the bitter end.

All in all, the evening was an earth-shattering success, a fitting end to English summertime (no sniggering at the oxymoron thank you) and one hell of a heavenly send off to Yoji and LAB4, who are off to play in warmer pastures. And it definitely wasn’t the last supper for the Fevah team—long may they stay eating the forbidden fruit and keep proving to the skeptics out there that superclubbing is not dead—it’s in heaven! Thank you Fevah, I’ll slowly be bringing my temperature down till the next strain breaks me out on the tiles for another round.


With thanks to Jids for the use of his photos
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Other Features By littlemissgenki:
HeatUK (The DVD) – From The Backyard To South West Four - World Premier Preview: Interview with SnowBall Productions
Paradise City 001 Preview: From free parties in pubs to private jets—interview with Antiworld promoter Enrico Sorbello
Blatantly Brisk: interview with Paul Nineham
Paradise City 001 preview: interview with Mauro Picotto
Never Enough Maria: Interview with the Queen of Hard Dance
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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