Full-On: Bring on the 'aaaarrrrddddcore!

So that leaves me with one question which is stuck in my mind…where the hell, were you all???  Or better, why didn’t you go to Full-On?  Answers address to gary@techno.cz, and I’ll put them online later.

To the gig!  The wife and I arrived a little before 11.  I wasn’t sure who was on the stage, and felt positive it wasn’t Justin Robertson (unless he had suddenly had plastic surgery).  I was right.  It was Sonny.  However, from the way both Sonny and Robertson played, it made no difference to me.

My first thoughts were ‘not enough people’.  Many told me more would arrive, but being a promoter myself, I knew that come midnight the difference would be there, but they would not fill the hall.  Unfortunately, I was right.  It was a real shame because the party had potential to really show how they do things in Holland, but only a few people ever got to see.

Getting downstairs, the first thing that hit me was the price of drinks at the bar.  They were just right for a techno party in my opinion, and was glad I didn’t need to fork out heaps of cash in order to have a good time; although, it would have been nice to have a bigger selection.

The next thing to hit me was the sound.  It was crisp, clear, and loud; yet at the same time you could still talk over it without straining your voice too much.  In my opinion it was the best sound I’ve heard in the Czech Republic.  However, the sound didn’t carry too far, and my good friend DJ Koenig from Rebel Intelligence had a reason for that; they should have been flying the speakers.  I agree.  If they had some of the speakers raised and directed, then the sound would have carried back a lot better.  But I guess in that case they were lucky more people didn’t turn up.

DJ Sonny did nothing to impress me.  His music was more of a mellowed out techno with some very cheesy riffs, which I could have done with out, but that’s just me.  I think there was a hard remix of Age of Love thrown into his set somewhere, either that or someone stole the riff, but either way I didn’t want to hear it. 

Justin Robertson has never been one to shine in my books, but I know lots of people like his music.  For me, he did nothing special in the slightest.  His set was a mash-up of weak techno, tech-house, and even worse electroclash.  The only track which got me to ‘hmmm’ was the Vitalic remix of Visions by Slam, but not much.

By now, the lasers were on and the crowd went ‘ahhhh’.  Two very big green lasers danced around the hall, and would only have been more impressive if they were blue.  I liked them, and they made the night that little bit more special.  I was informed recently that they weren’t on at full strength.  To be honest, I’m glad…they’d probably be slicing through people like light-sabres from Star Wars!!

The times were messed up a little due to a late start and the absence of D.A.V.E. the Drummer due to ‘severe’ illness (get well soon Henry!). At around two-ish, James Ruskin took to the decks, and to my relief, stopped Justin’s last track.  Whilst James played his first track, the 65D Mavericks were setting up their kit.  This was the part of the night I was most looking forward too.  Boy was I to be disappointed!  The Mavs last played in the Czech Republic at my very own Foundation party in Brno.  Then they impressed everyone, or actually, they blew everyone away!  It was the best live set many people had ever heard.  The first half was available for download on the Full-On website. 

So why in the whole night did I only hear two of their tracks??  Why did I see arguments between Richard Polson and James Ruskin??  Why did I hear miss-beats???

I’ll tell you why!  This is the bit which will probably be kept quiet by others.  James Ruskin, turned off the volume to the Mavericks.  He literally took over the set and the Mavs didn’t get to play.  They were ‘very’ pissed off.  Most of the people I knew who came to the gig, actually came for the Mavericks.  The fact that Ruskin was meant to come with Regis is of no consequence to me, I wanted to hear the Mavericks and I didn’t! 

I spoke to James for a little bit before the set, and he came across as a really nice guy.  He was the one who invited the Mavericks in place of Regis.  But the plan before the set was simple.  The Mavericks had never done a set together with Ruskin before, so they agreed to do an hour each.  Ruskin for one hour and Mavericks live for one hour.  But Ruskin never let that happen.  It’s an even bigger shame I can’t make the Christmas party gig in Kutna Hora, so I’ll have to make do with my Foundation CD.

Ruskin’s set was not bad though.  It was dark, Birmingham sounds, which got very hard towards the end.  I could hear some of his ‘trademark’ tracks, which are very good, though not as good as they used to be.

During Ruskin’s set, the 6 metre high robot started to move.  I wanted to like it.  I thought it was cool whilst it wasn’t moving.  But while it was moving, all I could think of was, ‘which way do I run when that bugger falls down??’  The crowd seemed to like it though, and it didn’t fall down.  It was just me being paranoid.

Next up was Chris Liberator.  This happy chappy with blonde hair (what little of it he has) really lapped it up with his acid techno.  I actually liked most of the tracks he played, although at times he did get a little cheesy.  The crowd were lapping it up, and that’s what matters.  His mixing was perfect, and technically he was a genius behind the decks. 

Waiting for his turn behind the decks was DJ Spyro.  The poor lad was nervous as hell.  ‘How was he going to handle a headline slot as this’.  He was not only the headline Czech DJ…he was the only Czech DJ.  He was representing his country.  I’d heard him play a few weeks before in Radost FX before Lucca, and although his mixing was good, his tracks didn’t impress me.  Full-On must have brought something out in him.  Whatever nerves had bother Spyro pre-set, made no difference to him on the decks as he banged it out in style.  Done away with were the boring Italian loops, and in came some rocking tracks.  If Spyro reads this, then an approximate tracklisting would be nice! :)

Full-On was Spyro’s party as far as I’m concerned.  He really shone, and I hope it opens new doors for him.  I just have one piece of advice for him though; once you get famous, don’t fall into the trap of trying to please the crowd, because you cannot please everyone.  Play the tracks you like, and the right people will come to see you do it!  I’ve seen this happen to a certain ‘famous’ DJ here in the Czech Republic.  When he played techno, he played it well and he played good tracks.  Then he moved over to electroclash and lost the respect of the people who had followed him.  Yes he gained a new crowd, a new following, but can he honestly say they are the people he wants following him??

“Whoop Whoop, this is the sound of the police!” 

‘What’s this crap??’ I said to Juki at the time.  Little did I know that this was the signal to get up and dance like a madman!

Yes Julie Delorme had taken to the decks, and by the time we reached the dance floor, the gabber beat began.  Only a few hundred people were left by that time (7 am), but they were loving this!  Julie won my respect, not because she was playing gabber but because she varied her set.  Sure sometimes that little red display on the Pioneer DJM-600 read 250 bpm, but she also knew when to calm it down.  She could have played happy hardcore, which break down in the middle in time for “I’m a little fairy on a cloud in the sky” or some other nonsensical crap, but she didn’t.  It was raw electronics at their very best played fucking fast.  The best part of it was that the mixing was flawless.  She beat-match perfectly.  Not once did she abuse the crossfader by sliding it across in under a millisecond, like a certain so-called schranz DJ does.  

I think the highlight was though Julie Delorme got Juki dancing!  And that’s a feat in anyone’s books!

By the end of Julie’s set, I was knackered.  We went to chill backstage for a bit, where I ended up talking codshit to a professional gogo dancer about why gogo dancers should never be found at techno parties. 

A little after 10 am, I decided it was time to go home.  The morning sunshine and the tweeting birds made me want to scream, “WHERE DID MY NIGHT GO???” But I didn’t.  My night was well spent at probably the best gig I had been to this year.  I just hope there will be a Full-On 2…because I know what the line-up should be. ;)  You’ll have to wait and see!