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Convergence - Review
Reported by bunny
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Submitted 03-10-02 17:51
It’s the Fridge, it’s 10.45 Friday night, we’re buzzing like a chainsaw factory run by bees... it must be Convergence!
First impressions always count, so when you walk up from Brixton station and bump into just about everyone you know along the way, you begin to suspect that Convergence might prove to be quite a popular night  Expectations are running high after word spread on how awesome the last event was, and as we queue in the tingling summer night everyone’s hoping for a sequel in The Godfather II vein of brilliance (as opposed to a Men In Black II style shambles).
 As the clock just teases eleven we’re all in and sorted and yes, just as we remember it from before the place is wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling energy! Convergence at the Fridge really is in a weird and wonderful class of its own, there’s something in the combination of the vigorousness of the event and cosiness of the venue that seems to bring out the nutter in everyone... and this can only be a good thing, hehehe!!
So with a lighting system operating like a chameleon that’s fallen into a vat of smarties and the ever-excellent Steve Hill playing a warm up set that’s working the crowd like a nuclear furnace, the atmosphere tonight is not only living up to expectations it’s clean broken through them. In fact, it’s several miles over the happiness horizon and accelerating fast... Steve’s blend of hard but upbeat trance never fails to get the dance floor moving, it’s just a shame he’s always on so early so many people miss him  It was a double-loss for those unfortunate late-comers since they also missed out on one of the stand-out tracks of the night, a 100% mental mix of Blur’s Girls & Boys that inspired stompin so hardcore that if you bent down at the right moment you could probably see right from one side of the dance floor to the other. But I wouldn’t advise it
And now for something completely different...
Simon Foy takes charge at half eleven and the music does the kind of u-turn that would make the Dukes of Hazard proud. From the heights of euphoria we’re plunged into a strange and murky world of penetrating baselines and deep, pounding rhythms. Maybe it’s a bit too much of a contrast; take a look around and suddenly the Fridge appears to be full of cyber-bunnies caught in the headlights. The solution? It’s just a case of finding the right gear and easing back on the throttle.
As the set progresses so does the music, introducing harder, more metallic sounds into the mix until by the time Stirling Moss takes over the style is almost industrial. Ok, so this isn’t your typical Frantic sound and, although the dance floor is still pulsing, the club isn’t in its usual state of universal mayhem, but you know what? I really kinda liked it. Every now and then it’s good to be presented with something unusual that demands a little perseverance from you and challenges your opinions. It’s not everyone’s cup of cha but those ravemonkeys who’ve risen to the occasion (and it’s by no means a small troop) are definitely going nuts Moss keeps the theme of his set similar to Hoy’s, spinning out a range of pounding Hard Trance deeper than the Grand Canyon.
It’s only at the end of his set that normal service is resumed. Introducing Spencer Freeland’s set is a couple of BK anthems – new and old. First up is the white label POS 51, an absolute stormer of a track that brings everyone together (hey, this is Convergence after all!) for the mother of all stompin sessions. This tune has got classic written all over it, and judging by the crowd reaction it’s looks set to rival Revolution for the Most Banging Tune title. Speaking of which... Yep, you knew it had to be played sooner or later Opinions are very much divided on this track now – you know it so well that you either love it or hate it – and even though it’s more familiar than yesterday’s newspaper, I still can’t help but love it. It’s like the Bohemian Rhapsody of Hard Dance.
From now on it’s non-stop thumping tunes. Freeland lifts the crowd with a playlist filled with the kind of pounding tunes guaranteed to make the dance floor happy. From a new hard as nails mix of Eurhythmic’s Sweet Dreams (oh my God, a Hard House tune with lyrics!!!! Not for the deeply mashed this one – standing in the middle of the Fridge while everyone around you is singing their hearts out to an 80’s classic can seriously distort your sense of reality ) to the fabulous Serious Sound, this is what brings people back to Frantic week after week.
By the time Lisa Lashes is set to take centre stage, the place is more highly-charged than Elton John’s rug in a thunderstorm. 4.45am and Lisa enters the DJ box like a champion boxer returning for the title fight. The dance floor correspondingly makes her feel welcome by going totally ballistic and Lisa rewards us in return by opening with a round of tracks picked straight from clubbing heaven. Glazby’s Motherfucker, Energiser, It’s about Music, Music Is The Drug... welcome back Lisa, we missed you!!
When you get to a level of exhilaration as intense as this it’s pretty hard to sustain it, so by the end of the set Lisa’s eased back on the hardcore tracks to calm us all down. This leaves the way clear for BK to lay down one of his legendary closing sets.
No way does he disappoint! It’s full-on, thumping, no-holds-barred insanity, on the decks and on the dance floor. The clubs absolutely heaving and the crowd’s making out like all their World Cup final victories have come at once. Other than Revolution, no tune titles, sorry – too busy stompin!! Like every first-class Fridge night, the party carried on well past 6am and even when the last tune ended, everyone still wanted more... like they say, you can never have too much of a good thing
Like the last Convergence, everything came together to create a mad and messy night. It wasn’t quite in the same league as the previous one, because that’s practically impossible, but it was a stormer of a night no doubt and one I’m sure no one felt sorry for experiencing. Overall sequel verdict? Maybe not Godfather II but definitely not Men in Black II.... Have to say Aliens. I’m sure you could find a fair few things to compare... hehehe...!
With thanks to shanty for the use of her photos
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Other Features By bunny:
It's about music - interview with Alex Parsons
Monkey business as usual: interview with Shaf De Bass
Twistathon – Twist’s 12 Hour 1st Birthday Bonanza
Zoology's 2nd Birthday - Review!
becomeone: Unified in Sound - Review
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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Comments:
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From: soakedinsound on 4th Oct 2002 08:10.25
'a lighting system operating like a chameleon that’s fallen into a vat of smarties' - classic simile!
From: Huggies on 4th Oct 2002 11:23.46
you've pretty much said exactly the same as i would of.....
:0)
From: Ricky Smirnoff on 4th Oct 2002 17:46.36
i was in a right old mungle but nevertheless as goodun'!
From: Suppa Bunny on 22nd Oct 2002 18:04.17
To the person who wrote this article !!
Have u got no taste in music, Do u know the meaning of HARD & UPLIFTING ? 'Cause that my uneducated clubba is not what the dj's played that long painfull nite at the Fridge! I was told by Mr Bishi that the dj's were told by the organisers of convergence to try something different and new, experiment with new stuff. My verdict on that , IT SUCKED!! People are attracted to convergence because the previous events was top class and deliverd to the high expectations of the big seasoned clubber! On a nite where u have to pay £20 for admission, u expect the best, u Do not want to stand on the dancefloor holding your ears to the cheesiest song ever to be remade, yes im talking about that horrid 80's tune Sweet Dreams! All coppies of that tune should be collected and thrown in the deepest corner of Hell! Im sorry but I was not impressed by those dead lifeless beats that ratteld the whole nite through without end! I was hoping for some relieve when miss Lashes came on, but it only lasted for the first 5 tunes then she played the same lifeless sh*t ass the previous guys, same goes for BK! If that is where the future of hardhouse & hardtrance is headed im affraid there is going to be a lot of empty events in the future! The dj's should stop and think for a while and remember those hard , banging tunes they love and made them become a dj in the first place!! That is the stuff we want to hear aswell, so stop all that bullsh*t and get back those hard full-on uplifting banging tunes !!
From: bunny on 24th Oct 2002 10:22.06
FAO Suppa Bunny.
Thank you for your opinions, which you evidently feel strongly about. Obviously everyone's taste in music is different + therefore different styles appeal to different people. This night, I guess, did not appeal to you (which is unfortunate) but I enjoyed it, not just because of the music but also because of the crowd + the atmosphere - music might be an integral part of the clubbing experience but it's not the be-all + end-all, you can have the greatest tracks in the world playing but if the ambience is wrong then you're just not going to get that rush.
Yes, some of the tunes played were cheesy as hell but this is a rave we're talking about, it's not meant to be taken too seriously! Music covers every experience + emotion, + so it doesn't have to be solely profound + meaningful. Sometimes it's good to take the serious hat off, kick-back + act silly... clubbing's meant to be fun, after all!
So I hope your next rave is more to your taste + wish you all the best :-)
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