The Essential Selection After Party @ Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh

10.03.2006

There was a lot of hype surrounding this night in the few weeks before in Edinburgh. Fair enough, Pete Tong and Steve Angello are huge names in their own right; and indeed a rarity for Edinburgh! However, what set apart this night from any other was the venue.

Ocean Terminal, as far as I was concerned was just a shopping centre, however I was about to be amazed. As soon as I walked in the massive glass doors you could feel the bass booming in the background. You then had to go up an escalator to reach the floor where the club night was being held. The whole of Ocean Terminal was painted white with glass and stainless steel. It looked stunning, and at this point I hadn’t even reached the main arena, I was still walking past Tesco Metro.  Getting in was not a problem, the queues were minimal and the staff were really friendly and helpful. Upon entering the main arena all I saw was a massive glass window, must have been forty feet high overlooking the harbour, massive ships in the background. In the foreground were three screens throwing out some crazy visuals behind the DJ who was surrounded by haze and light beams. The thing that struck me the most was just how high the ceiling was. The place was enormous and really, really white.

Other great things about the general aesthetics of the venue were that it didn’t get hot, at all, ever! Also, weirdly, nobody I know who went; had the horrendous hangover-ridden ringing in the ear sensation the next morning. We’re still working out why this was, especially as we were next to the speakers for most of the night. The sound was loud enough; the acoustics were also good without the echo you’d expect in such a big place. The lights illuminated the hall in a really cool way and the smoke didn’t make you feel ill. The area had three or four bars; each was really big and pretty quick. Drinks were £4 vodka red bull, £3 bottle of corona (except one bar charged £2.80…?), and £3 regular spirit and mixer. Water was £2 but they gave it out free if you asked nicely. The only problem, and it is sometimes a very urgent problem, is that the toilets were a good distance from the main room (just round the corner of Clinton Cards?!). You had to leave the whole area and the re-enter, dodging the queue to get in, a bit of a nightmare, but it didn’t detract from the main event.

The DJ line-up for the night was big, it included:

Pete Tong
Steve Angello
Seamus Haji
Gav Grant
Alan Dobson
Derek Martin
Gary Mac
Gary Bowman
Stuart Johnston

Not bad… for Edinburgh.

Pete Tong arrived at his decks at about half eleven. Played a stormer, his typical essential selection shouting down the mic intro, which I’m sure nobody understood, followed by some really bass heavy house music. His set was tight as you like. The only slight issue I had is that he didn’t appear to be having a great time; he wasn’t a very smiley DJ. Oh well, even gods have their faults!

Steve Angello headlined the night, playing from about 1:30 till the end. His class was shown during his set. He played a really cool blend of some obscure house and some better known stuff, and then somehow managed to drop Smack My Bitch Up by The Prodigy. It was insane, and the dance floor loved every minute of it.

The night was, as a whole, not one to forget. The atmosphere, the music, the really happy crowd, just everything worked really well. Congrats to the Progression crew who put it on. I don’t know a person who didn’t enjoy the night.

Pro’s:
The venue was beautiful
The music was top-notch
It was not hot, and my ears didn’t ring

Con’s:
The loos were a mission to get to

Review by DJ Rescue