2011 HAS BEEN AMAZING !!! - Thank you everyone xx

Tuesday, 15 November 2011 18:30

So, I've just about come round from the biggest Dark-Cide have ever thrown (with Electro-Cide in there too) and have been buzzing and so happy about. It nearly broke me, but about yesterday my feet stopped throbbing. Was worth every moment and all the effort though (and then some!) and so glad so many people seemed to enjoy it.

And as I sit here typing and thinking back to the start of the year never could have imagined how fabulous this was going to be.

It started back in Jan with us upstairs at 53 Degrees in the clubroom. We'd often had nicely busy January's for various reasons, but that was was just rammed. The bar took ages to get too (so sorry about that), but it did give us the launchpad to be able to move downstairs to the Main Room of 53 Degrees (their new clubbing space they call The Mezz, which partitions off the vast stage to make an incredible roomy-but-still-cozy 600 capacity clubbing space (alebit powered by their monstrous downstairs PA system). This was for our 10th Birthday, which in istelf is a pretty huge triumph for an underground clubbing event to be running that long.

Happily our 10th Birthday Event was our most succesful ever, and we had many friends travel in from far and wide to help celebrate - many of whom hadn't been for a while as they'd moved away, or already lived far away. That we also had Rob Holliday as guest DJ was also so very fabulous (him being a gifted musician/genuine *Rock Star*/awesome guy too who had played with so many bands that we have featured at Dark-Cide over the years - The Mission, Gary Numan, Marilyn Manson and now with The Prodigy). That night I heard a few snippets of his latest work for his own band Sulpher which sounded amazing and looking forwards to hearing that released (and hopefully get them on too sometime in the future).

That night was also immensly happy as it was also the night I and my gorgeous wonderful girlfriend Rachel anounced our engagement (and hearing so many people applauding and chearing was a happy moment I'll never ever forget).

The months that followed saw us have a couple of more great parties downstairs in the club, and Rach and I also relaunched the Dark-Cide spin off night Electro-Cide as a free Engagement Party upstairs in the Clubroom in May, which as well as being huge fun (and we got to pick and pre-mixed every track!) but also set the scene for a very ambitious event in July, having both rooms of 53 Degrees at the same time - with Dark-Cide in the main room, and Electro-Cide upsatirs in the clubroom.

To help really kick that off, we also got in the amazing, iconic and legendary hardcore indrustrialist Johnny Violent of ULTRAVIOLENCE in to play a DJ set. This was so special for so many reasons, but one of them was this was his first public appearance for so many years as he'd been off the scene due to health probs. So to see him onstage, creating THE most terrifying DJ set we'd ever heard (and one that started from such a very slow and placid beginning) was a huge dream come true. The only downer to the event was that as it was in July and so many people were away (and at so many big festivals on around then), it wasn't the busiest of nights, and so cast into doubt wether we could do any more two room events.

But undaunted - I immediately sorted another for November just in case !! (get to that soon).

So, after a short break in August, we just about managed to secure the Clubroom again in September (a VERY busy month for the Uni and was touch and go as to if it would be possible to get any night round then) - but thankfully it got sorted and it was actually great to be back in the clubroom again (think I love them both). Was well attended and a very relaxed chilled party event, whcih helped to set the scene and excitement for our last event of the year - the Dark-Cide AND Electro-Cide double room event, and with my fave uber industrialist artists of the moment, Phosgore coming over from Germany to play a live set. Which not only did not dissapoint, but completley exceed all my expectations (and then some). Both rooms we're rocking, and so many people had come out to party and support the night.

And that's what brings me round to kind of my point of this blog post. It's hugely corny, but there's no way Dark-Cide and all it's evetns could ever exist without your fabulous support. That we have so many people who travel in from all over the region (and even further!), and so many local people come along too make it all possible. That we also have such a great mix of age groups and people into different things (some not even into what we play, but just come as it's such a positive and very chilled and laid back party night) is all down to you guys and that's the only reason we've got to where we are now.

10 YEARS OF ALT CLUBBING !!!

We're a decade in ourselves now which is something I never ever thought would happen. But I honestly believe we're just at the start of a whole huge fun new chapter. There's so much amazing music out there, and so many fabulous possibilities with our fabulous venue, that really this does feel like we've got to the long slow climb of the rollercoaster, and we're now about to start to go over the edge and the thrills and excitement are going to get even more extreme.

So thank you - it's because of you're fabulous support and enthusiasm this night is what it is - and long may it continue.

and thank you too to my resident dj buddy Kristen, and all our fabulous guest DJs who've played this year too (Andy 'Grimly Fiendish' Odddboots, The Ritual Noise DJs McBain and Son of Sam, and to AD3K of AnalogueTrash.

HUGE and massive thanks to to all the 53 Degrees staff who have given us such memorable and wonderful nights not just this year, but last year too.

I'm already hatching plans for 2012 which you;ll start to hear about as the months roll by and they become a reality, but for now I want to wish you all a very happy and merry xmas and hopefully see you on Jan 28th for the start of our first 2012 parties. We're downstairs in  the Main room (with it's big 2 bars) and set to be a wonderful night.

Then on March 10th we're celebrating our 11th Birthday. Hopefully have details of that one too, but please pop both in your new diaries/scrawl on your xmas calendars, and thanks for the BEST year we've ever had.

Jane xx