A game of three halves

An odd one, this one. Having met up with many people a week earlier a Raindance in London who couldn't make it to this one, there were still some new and old faces to see amongst the crowd. Chris White, Ian Gadd, Mike Ainley, Lee Richardson, Neil Boughton, Emulation and more were all in effect.

On to the sets. After a pre-party warm-up set at the Gallery, GLENN ASTON laid down a finely-crafted 'old' oldskool set with "Made in 2 Minutes", "Hardcore Uproar" and more. This was a wicked beginning to the night, and there is no doubt that Mr G deserves more sets on the Flashback arena.

Next up was a EASYGROOVE. Hmmm. Last time I saw this guy was way back in 1998 when the set was a wicked mix of 1992-style offerings. It wasn't to be this time, as it seemed that he'd been told to play a dark 94 set which really didn't have the vibe to carry the mood set previously.

This continued with PILGRIM, another one who can really hit the spot with some 91-2 tuneage, but with 1994 jungle it just wasn't to be. I think it's unfair to comment on what both he and Easygroove played cos it simply isn't what they do best.

RHYTHM SECTION turned up to press a few buttons for the PA, but we weren't talking anything like the quality of the previous Shades of Rhythm sets that Flashback had experienced in 1998 and '99. True, the tunes still rock even today, but it would have been nice to see Rachel Wallace live on stage or something which meant it wasn't just 4 men standing behind their machines in a Kraftwerk style.

MISTRESS MO was next, but we headed for the trance room cos by now we wanted something more happy. This place was hot - in both senses of the word. The steam was rising and MARK E-G was really laying down some heavy beats, getting the crowd in a massive spin. Wicked stuff.

Then back to the main room, where I can honestly say that ELLIS DEE laid down the best oldskool set I have ever heard. OK, so I'm a 90-2 type, so this one was right up my street admittedly, but the mixing was spot-on, and with tunes like "The Horn Track", "Roots 'n' Phuture" and more, this was a real blinder of an hour, with the maestro even playing "4am" at - yes - 4am.

And TOP BUZZ was right there as well, with yet more 1992 class tracks in the mix for all to experience. Pure class again, and would easily have been the best set of the night if ED hadn't been there as well.

All in all a good night, though with those 2 dark sets doing nothing for the crowd and not an Acen or DJ Seduction tune in sight, I feel that more could have been made of the night.

Here's to the phuture of Flashback.