| "South West Four Festival 2007 (London)" Event Review |
|
Well, it had to happen. There had to be at least one superb day of summer due to us considering how bad it has been so far. Someone was definitely smiling down on us when that first day happened to be Saturday August 25th. Maybe it was the promise of some truly top tunes being played across four stages on Clapham Common that coaxed the sun out of hiding. Yes, South West Four was upon us once again. Nine hours of the best DJs playing some of the best dance music in a little corner of London. The seventh South West Four was sold out. Tickets had been selling on Ebay for upwards of £50 a pop. Which just goes to show that the dance music scene, as ever, is alive and well. With last year being such a stormer we were hopeful that this year was going to produce even more. Joining the throng from Clapham Common tube station we all walked across the grass in glorious sunshine to the sound of the drums. Stepping into the arena we stopped and took in the sights and sounds of one of the best-organised festivals on the calendar. After pinpointing all the main areas and tents we immediately made our way towards The Gallery vs HarderFaster tent. Timing our entrance to perfection, we joined the growing crowd who were bouncing around to the sounds of Marco V. Tech tunes blended with some classics that gave us that first taste of what was to come.
After working up a sweat in what was becoming an increasingly hot marquee we went to quickly check out the other tents. Now maybe I’m biased towards the Trance side of things and for me to comment on how well supported the other tents such as Ibiza Underground or the Bedrock were wouldn’t be fair. However I did feel that most of the real energy of the day was coming from the Gallery tent. We caught the end of the Shapeshifters and the opening of Pete Tong out on the main stage. Mister Tong launched into some well timed Electro House. The huge crowd massed in front of the stage bouncing giant white beach balls as they swayed and stomped to the beat.
Fed and watered (ok, beered) we quickly headed back to catch Matt Hardwick back in the Gallery tent. Now, the funny thing with Matt Hardwick is that a typical set from him shouldn’t appeal to me on paper. I was taken up with the recent wave of Tech-Trance and I’ve always leaned to the slightly harder side of Trance music anyway. It’s the second time I’ve seen Matt this year - catching him whilst in Newquay back in July. He produced an excellent set that time to a half filled club. This time he had a full tent of up for it clubbers and he gave what was one of the best sets of the day. Mixing up some great uplifting and melodic trance, which in every essence gave the crowd exactly what they needed at that point. Intersperse that with harder tunes and some classic favourites it was a great set. It was a timely reminder that the days of hands in the air Trance have far from gone. If anything do I sense a revival on the cards? If you had asked me a year ago I would have said no. But on the evidence of what Matt is doing on the scene I’d have say I hope so.
So who else was a highlight? Well the slightly later than planned Sander van Doorn managed to flow nicely from Matt’s set. Tech madness all the way! Disrupted only by the increasingly annoying sound system. Whether it was a technical hitch or a clever plan to build up the crowd by turning the music down low, causing the crowd to call for it to be turned up. Then slamming in the next track at full volume, which gets the room bouncing. Judge Jules provided a fairly solid set. To be fair we did miss a huge chuck of it as I was catching the end of Tall Paul’s set in the Ibiza Underground arena (sorry Jules). Unfortunately for Tall Paul I must have jinxed him as not long after arriving he cocked up a mix, much to the amusement of the crowd. As a true professional though he brought it all back together again. The vibe from the crowd proving that today was not a day for being critical but for enjoying the music. Now Ferry Corsten is another DJ who I expected to disappoint me. As a fan of his early years, his change to a more Electro feeling Trance was a sound I never really got. Recent reviews and comments on the forums made me even more sceptical. Once again though I’m happy to hold my hands up and admit how wrong I was. Ferry was the main headline act in the Gallery tent. Whilst still plagued by that annoying ‘volume’ gremlin at the start of his set, he managed to fill out the whole tent. Opening with ‘Rock Ya Body Rock’ was always going to have the desired effect. His set was filled with tunes that had the crowds singing along in unison. He entertained us with a set, which was upbeat and above all had you dancing. Yes I was impressed.
With the day drawing towards the big finale we wandered out to join the crowds by the main stage. Passing various people in different states of undress and fancy dress we managed to get ourselves into a position where we could watch Paul van Dyk’s laptop being setup. I know I shouldn’t but I still get a feeling something like Superman around Kryptonite when I see laptop DJs. With a suitably ego stroking entrance Paul van Dyk took to the stage. Playing a huge set containing a mix of tunes that varied from uplifting trance such as remixes of ‘For an Angel’ and ‘Anthem’ then dropping ‘Rocker’ and ‘Born Slippy’. It all gave the feeling of a crowd-pleasing set for the mix of Trance and House heads alike. Not what I was hoping for from one of the top Trance DJs in the world but also not something I could fault him for. As a DJ you have to play for the crowd and that is exactly what he did. If I had one criticism it would be that Paul didn’t produce the climatic set we were hoping for at the end of a such a superb day. So two hours, lasers and few pyrotechnic explosions later the day drew to a close. The sun disappeared on an amazing day. You really can’t fault it. Well-organised, great weather, well turned out and above all great music.
In the two times I’ve been to SW4 I’ve never seen any trouble. I’ve always found thousands of very happy clubbers, all enjoying a day in the park - that is what the original organisers always wanted and this is that is exactly what dance music is all about. Nothing beats that feeling when everyone is jumping hands in the air to that tune you all love. I guess I’m just an old softy for the old ‘together as one’ philosophy.
So thank you Clapham, thank you SW4 and thank you London. See you next year! |
The bank holiday weekend of Saturday 25th August 2007 saw the seventh "South West Four" event take place at Clapham Common, London. A crowd of 20,000+ people were expected on the day to see their favourits artists perform. We sent along our London reviewers, Ben and Emma, to check out the main event at Clapham Common! Read on for the whole "South West Four" 2007 review....
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|