The explosion of energy and happy vibes at the UK promoter Cream's
opening party at Amnesia last Thursday was such that one had to wonder what it
might have been like had England actually won the football.
Even tho the lengthy extra time period of the England vs Portugal match in
the European Cup caused havoc with the pre-party schedules, manager Mo Chaudry
said overall he had a "fantastic" time.
And to dispel any overtly nationalistic atmosphere certain standards
of dress were encouraged: "We made sure people went home and changed out of
their England shirts." There was nary a sign of hooliganism on the away ground
that is Amnesia, which could be taken as a sign of the unifying attributes of
the rave experience.
The musical genre of trance too is unashamedly populist. A member of the
crowd a few years ago went to see Paul Van Dyk at Cream and imagined what it
would be like to stand in the booth with his arms aloft – well last Thursday the
Dutchman Armin Van Buuren found out as he headlined the Big Gig for fans of the
anthemic sound.
He was joined by Tall Paul in the main room while the Audio
Bullys and MYNC project did the biz on the terrace.
"Next week we got up a notch," says Mr Chaudry. "We’ve got Van Dyk and Tiesto."