The Gallery
Friday 25th February 2005
Armin Van Buuren and Ferry Corsten 3 hour sets
(thumbnails wont enlarge yet.. I'm fixing them)
EVENT LINE-UP
Jamie Koh
Armin Van Buuren
Ferry Corsten
Gavyn Mytchel
Entrance Fee:
£12 online booking
£15 on the door
Let me start by saying that when I saw Armin spin for the first time back at the Turnmills Christmas Party on 17th December I was less than impressed by his set. He came on after Tall Paul and seemed to do a lot worse than his predecessor. The cause of this was, perhaps, the fact that he played too much techy and proggy material for my liking. I was looking forward, therefore, to seeing whether or not he could redeem himself in my eyes. Ferry Corsten’s inclusion in the line-up for the night was an obvious attraction as well.
The club opened punctually at 10.30pm and after a couple of trips to the bar we headed for the dance floor. The first DJ was a guy named Jamie Koh who I’d never come across before. Let me remind you that Tall Paul was advertised on the flyer but was unable to attend. Koh was his replacement. At around 11.15pm the dance-floor was relatively empty, occupied by twenty or so people. Koh’s blend of dirty and funky-house, however, succeeded in encouraging me and my group of friends in staying on the dance-floor. I was more than impressed with his mixing and track selection. A little too impressed perhaps, as I committed the cardinal sin of going flat-out dancing for 45 minutes before the main act. By the time Armin arrived in the DJ booth at midnight, the floor was packed to the brim. Turnmills is unfortunately renowned for turning into a sardine tin on such nights. As Armin donned the headphones the crowd started to cheer, “Armin, Armin, Armin, Armin!” Armin was obviously very taken by this as he smiled for what seemed like an eternity and gestured favourably to the chanting crowd. Now came the moment I had been waiting for. If Armin’s set in December had disappointed me, then his set this time round blew me away (around the world in 3 hours in fact). He was incredible in the full sense of the word, hammering tunes such as Andy Moor’s Halcyon, Fred Baker’s Confirmation and Ridgewalker’s Find. When Halcyon came on, the crowd responded by using their vocal chords to full effect. The decibel level suddenly doubled. You could sense that ‘the people were happy’.
Following Armin’s departure from the booth at 3am, accompanied by loud cheers and clapping, it was Ferry’s turn to grace the decks. Ferry’s arrival was welcomed by similar chants to his Dutch colleague’s; “Ferry, Ferry, Ferry, Ferry!’ Ferry’s set was, unsurprisingly, slightly more pumping than Armin’s had been, however just as effective. He hammered his new tune ‘I Love You’ and tracks like Above & Beyond’s Surrender (which put a smile on my face) and his remix of Syntheasasia. The dance-floor was jam-packed from midnight to 6am non-stop as people from far and wide had come to witness two three hour sets being spun out by two Dutch trance masters. As 6am approached, Ferry left the booth to cheers and applause. The dance floor cleared slightly with Gavyn Mytchel’s arrival but the man delivered the goods in every sense, playing a blend of banging euphoric and progressive trance.
All in all, it was an absolutely amazing night; the best I’ve had in my clubbing career so far. But come 7.30am one is extremely tired and wants two things: A full English breakfast and bed.
One negative point about Turnmills though: prices of drinks. Bottle of water will set you back £2.50 and a bottle of beer £3.50. If you want a pint (Red Stripe is your only choice) be prepared to fork out £4
Party Moment: When Armin dropped Halcyon
Party Rating: 9/10 - Ferry and Armin on the same night can’t be beaten
Value for Money – 8/10 - Pricey but the DJs more than made up for it
Line Ups – 10/10 – Ferry and Armin? Come on!
Music – 9/10 – Sublime trance from two Dutch trance masters
Crowd – 8/10 – like a sardine can but extremely responsive
Turnmills Venue
The Gallery
Armin's Web Site
Ferry's Web Site
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