- Every once in a while an event comes around that leaves you in a state of blissful satisfaction for many months to come. It didn't take me long to realise that Altitude's new year's eve party was likely to become one of those nights.
Arriving slightly later than expected the place was already jumping by the time I ventured down the Dendy bar stairs and into the festivities below. Everyone was justifiably in party mode and I failed to find one person without a smile on their face, which was to continue to be the case throughout the majority of the night!
Italic was warming things up nicely in the mercury lounge, but there wasn't much time for me to take in her set as I made my way into the trance room before the countdown to 2003 began. It was as packed as I had seen the place for months which was great to see and no less than the efforts of each of the promoters deserved. Adrian Wells had clearly wasted no time in pumping up the crowd, and as he came to the end of his Rank 1/Push inspired set there were hands in the air from the front to the back of the room and everywhere in between.
Then over the speakers came what everyone was waiting for... 10,9,8,7... and inevitably all joined in the chant!.. 6,5,4,3,2,1 happy new year!! Off went the party poppers, out came the hugs and the handshakes, the place suddenly resembled an intimate house party with a large group of close friends, yet many in attendance had never met each other before in their lives. It was a great moment and one that will live long in the memory.
Diggs & Morro then took over the party and the crowd cheered with delight as the first few bars of U2 - New Year's day (Ferry Corsten remix) rang through the club. Many, including myself, couldn't resist the urge to sing along, as the new year's celebrations had clearly begun. Ferry's remix of William Orbit - Adagio for strings was then mixed in with typical quality, and as one of the most uplifting tracks produced to date kicked in to full swing the atmosphere had reached even new heights, with the foundation set for a truly special set inspired by two of the world's most prolific trance producers - Ferry Corsten and Tiesto. Suburban train, Silence (Tiesto remix), Gouryella and Tenshi topped the long list of highlights, as Diggs & Morro, two of Altitude's founding fathers, wrapped up possibly the best dj set of the night.
Liquid M were to follow, and you could feel the buzz throughout the crowd as the incredibly talented members of this live act stepped up to pick up where Diggs & Morro had left off. This was now the fourth time I had seen these guys in action and I enjoy their performances more and more each time. Their awesome blend of epic & uplifting melodies and driving bass is a pure delight to listen to, and it is also a nice treat to hear new material fresh from the studio. With a bit of hard work, as I've said before, these guys could go a long way, and there is no doubting their commitment and love of what they do.
As Liquid M's set came to a close the evening still showed no signs of letting up as Simon Sez then proceeded to open his set with Way out West - Mindcircus (Gabriel & Dresden remix), and continued to deliver yet another quality melodic set, progressively increasing the tempo throughout. I regretfully made my departure towards the end of his set, but was once again impressed by another of Sydney's promising up'n'coming talents.
This had been one of my best nights out in a long time, and with such great music and great people there is nowhere I would have rather spent my new year's eve.