First BF In over A year, a few changes I noticed

[Jemo]

Right, finally back to work on Monday and now in a sane and clear mind to write this

First of all absolutely amazing music, I had never heard Duran Duran Duran before but they knocked me sideways and more, the music allround was amazing, didnt actually leave the front unless to get a drink ... Andy C was also great, hope he enjoyed himself, especially in a club so Intimate ... I think Duran Duran Duran back to back with Andy C rolled nicely together. ..

It had been my first Bangface since Oct/Nov/Dec 2006 when they first opened the 2nd room as I have just moved back down from Leeds and I think a few things have changed that I just wanted to share with you all to see your opinions on this ...

First of all I think the crowd has definitely changed, I remember BF having a very Dirty feel to it, abit squatty, more hippy's and more alternative .. In some ways a more 'up for it' vibe, don't get me wrong, there were still people that were deffo 'up for it' but I still couldn't help feeling that the crowd had calmed down over the last year ... far less obviously spangled people who were more interested in there hair getting out of place that letting go and having a crazy time ...

I also think it was a shame to see how many people didn't make an effort to actually make there own rave banners, bring toys, and wear something in line with the theme, instead with the organisers giving rave banners, horns, and masks to the audience to spice up up a bit. I also did not make the effort, however after seeing this, I have made an oath to do so and take along lots of instrumentals and toys to try and spread the love abit.

After getting over that initial impression I got down to business as usual up the front bouncing away, getting involved in the mash pit (which usually comprises of getting stood on as I am a short ass :-p ) had a few inflatables and was hitting everyone and visa versa, and I hit this girl on the head who was at the front right next to the mash pit, there was a group of them, and one comes over, fresh faced wee little thing - surprised she was let out at that time TBH , and starts getting in my face telling me to apologise to her friend, I said 'what' and pressed my ear to hear her ( I was at the front and it was loud ) she started saying you can hear me, 'apologise, apologise' .. ' I just laughed and said to her, ' its a fuckin inflatable, it doesn't hurt, get a fuckin grip and have some fun and stop being so anal, if you don't want to be hit by a toy don't stand at the front' saying this whilst her friend was hitting me in the head with one which I found quite ironic, but enjoyable .. her little posse of friends walked away then ...


For me after being told that kind of epitomised the feeling I had got before at how the crowd has changed, I couldn't quite believe my ears and definitely did not expect to hear something like that at bangface ... its a shame ... I had a good time and I did meet one or two cool people, and will be back next month as for me it still is one of the great nights of London, I just cant help feeling sad at how I think it has changed .... ( I also preferred it when the dj's wernt playing on the stage, or so deep in it .... )

[bf_tabardcrew]

things have definitely changed...

i miss all the rave energy being concentrated in one room and think the crowd is definitely less up for it. but things got really bad before last summer when it seemed everyone was way too young and there were casualties a go-go (i missed a couple after that - too pissed off).

but then things don't stay the same forever. i know i make less of an effort than i used to (i used to make stickers to hand out, which was much fun. never been big into the dressing, tho. except tabards.).

i'm still a committed banger (and i like to think of myself as a veteran, after nearly 20 nights) but i've made the decision when i start spending all night moaning about how 'its not as good as it once was', then its time to stop showing up (i think a few of my friends have made this decision after friday). but for now i still have a great time to some great music with some brilliant people.

[Jemo]

I wonder what St. Acids take is on this ... ?

I also think it is down to too many rooms being open and it not being concentrated as you say .. part of me has this feeling it is to cash in with more revenue rather than to enhance the night, as I think it has diluted it instead ... though I could be totally wrong so definently dont take that as kosher, I just hope it aint the case ...

but yes, still great music and Idea, I still havnt found anything like it, so will be there next month raving away ...

[ThE99THReDBallooN]

ive never been when it was just the one room but i do like the choice of going to have a gander at the other room if you get trapped listening to dubstep or something
again i have only been to the last 4/5 but i seem to have an amazin time with people down the front who are loving it but it does get a bit sparse towards the back i spose

but tabard said it best
"i still have a great time to some great music with some brilliant people."

its deffo the best night i have ever been to ever & ive met some of the most up for it quality people ever

[PaulX]

It's an interesting review, Jemo, I think I might put a link to it on the menu. Or maybe even have it up as a proper web page.

As for the points being made, it's a shame you feel it's lost something. I went to my first Electrowerkz BF in December and loved it. I think I did notice that the vibe wasn't quite as non-judgemental as you and others said it was a year ago, but still wasn't bad. It doesn't feel like it's been 'discovered' (and therefore ruined) by Nathan Barley types yet, but I can understand why you might feel it's lost something.

This is all interesting stuff as I'm in the process of doing a big article on BF and its head honcho right now. How do you feel about the concept of 'neo-rave'? Do you think there's such a thing developing outside of BF or do you feel it's just a BF gimmick like the inflatables and the banners?

[boki]

I think things have changed a little with a lot of younger folks getting into it, but I also think that'll sort itself out - those that are into the vibe will come back for more and the others will stay away. I like it being in two rooms - I think that's just the right size and it gives you a little escape if you're not feeling the music in one room. I know St Acid was apprehensive about doing three rooms for the xmas party and that it wasn't likely to stay that big, and though that night was a lot of fun, it was a bit of a blur what with my tendency to wander around.

The dressing up has definitely slacked off a bit, but some themes are a lot easier to do than others and I found this last one a bit too vague really. I must admit, the only times I've really followed the theme have been when it's been pretty easy to do (the gangster theme was particularly easy - just changed shirt and tie from my work clothes!). I wouldn't really want to go to a whole ton of trouble to see something end up ruined by the Elektrowerkz sludge, tbh!

I think the other thing to consider is that a good Bang Face is a hell of an act to follow! Your best BF experience is bound to stand head and shoulders above anything else, really, and could even make an 'ok' one pale. I'm sure the Weekender will have a fantastic vibe to it, as it's gonna be filled with people who are up for three whole days of this mentalism, and is going to attract BF-minded souls who perhaps wouldn't ordinarily go to London for a club night.

[jacques_ct]

I'm a definite new comer to bangface, having just moved to London this year, first one for me was in November, and that was mainly to see OVS.
I did notice a lot of "scene kids" there this time around, which definitely doesn't really fit with the whole theme of bangface, but it's probably just that as more people find out about this, more of these people are going to come.
As for the dressing up part, I'm not a fan of dressing up in general, but i'll happily get me tits out and stick glowsticks through pieces of metal attached to myself, and have glowstick spread all over me if people feel like doing so.

[bf_tabardcrew]

i'm scared about bang face becoming over-intellectualised and elitist. which leads to the death of (or removes all the fun from) so many electronic/dance music scenes (cf. warp poseurs and techno bores*)

we can't have a Bang Face suitability test on the door and we must accept that what makes us love the place also makes the place attractive to those who we perhaps wouldn't like there.

i like to think a lot of people are getting neo- and nu-rave confused (oh how confused they must be!) and that soon Bang Face will have gained a lot of support from people who came, who heard, who banged and will loose the deadwood. but if it doesn't and we have to say goodbye - well then, then we can say... 'thank you for the music. the songs i'm singing. thanks for all the joy they're bringing'

but let's not write a eulogy yet! neo-rave and bang face is far from over. next stop, the mind of a genius!

*i'm not saying anything against the music/artists or you (and myself) as a fan. just that element that's stuck up its own arse.

[PaulX]

i like to think a lot of people are getting neo- and nu-rave confused (oh how confused they must be!) and that soon Bang Face will have gained a lot of support from people who came, who heard, who banged and will loose the deadwood.

It's funny you should say that, as the first draft of my BF article spells out the difference between neo- and nu-rave in no uncertain terms...

[boki]

'nu-rave' is about done now, isn't it? Doesn't seem to be a big deal anymore.

[bf_tabardcrew]

thankfully it is pretty dead... but its ascendence did coincide with a burst in popularity for BF.

[PaulX]

Does anyone use the term neo-rave outside of BF? Or is it one of the BF gimmicks, along with inflatables and banners?

[Jemo]

what is Nu-Rave ? like IU heard of it ...

I get the impression it is all these bands lie the klaxtons and calvin harris mixing rock and dance and givng all the little punk glow sticks and sticking ina few woop woops...

I saw Calvin Harris in Sheffield supporing Faithless, some may say it was becasue of Faithless coming on, but no, they were seriously GASH

[PaulX]

what is Nu-Rave ? like IU heard of it ...

I get the impression it is all these bands lie the klaxtons and calvin harris mixing rock and dance and givng all the little punk glow sticks and sticking ina few woop woops...

That's the one.

[Jemo]

kill em all. now

[boki]

Isn't that your department, Jem?

[Jemo]

gladly ... I would actually put them in gas chambers , and make them do to there brains


sorry bout being to vulgar

[Vibration]

First of all I think the crowd has definitely changed, I remember BF having a very Dirty feel to it, abit squatty, more hippy's and more alternative .. In some ways a more 'up for it' vibe, don't get me wrong, there were still people that were deffo 'up for it' but I still couldn't help feeling that the crowd had calmed down over the last year ... far less obviously spangled people who were more interested in there hair getting out of place that letting go and having a crazy time ...

I'm stunned to hear that someone else has the same impression as me on
this!

I thought I was just being a cranky old bastard or something.

My first Bangface was in June 2006, and people were much more up for it,
free spirited, and proper mental.

This Friday, three people came up to me and asked me why I was dressed
like a pillock. And I was stunned and said "I'm just playing along with
the theme of the night."

They didn't seem to realise there even was a theme.

All I got in response was "You are really creeping me out dressed like that."

Not in a "I'm really munted and EVERYTHING is scaring my right now" kinda' way. Which is fair enough.
And not in an ironic, "I actually possess a sense of humour" kinda' way.

But more in a "People who don't conform are probably serial killers." fashion.

And yeah, I could let that bother me, but HEY, ten minutes later I was
dancing with someone dressed like Phileas Fogg and talking bollocks about
Madchester -- PERFECTION!

I always make my own banners. And have dressed for the theme on all but
one occasion.


Bangface does what it says on the tin.
You can't beat that.

[PaulX]

kill em all. now

"Wipe them out. All of them."

[Vibration]

This is all interesting stuff as I'm in the process of doing a big article on BF and its head honcho right now. How do you feel about the concept of 'neo-rave'? Do you think there's such a thing developing outside of BF or do you feel it's just a BF gimmick like the inflatables and the banners?

Well what I've noticed in Oxford is there are "nu-Rave" nights.

The music isn't rave.
The vibe isn't rave.

They give you a glow stick instead of a stamp on your hand.
THAT'S all you need to be "nu-Rave" apparently.


I think BF has lots of gimmicks and tricks.
BUT, you know, the WORST thing you can do in life is take yourself seriously.

Once you take yourself seriously, and get all big on yourself, you just inevitably become an arsehole.

I remember this girl coming up and dancing with me about two BFs ago.

And I had two glowsticks wrapped around my fingers and I started swirling
them around her head, moving them back and forth at different distances,
and doing my general routine really -- and she suddenly looked VERY upset
and said -

"YOU AREN'T TAKING -ME- SERIOUSLY!"

And I smiled and said -

"No, I'm not taking MYSELF seriously. I'm just having fun."


I put away the glowsticks for awhile and just danced with her.

But she never relaxed and seemed to be incapable of...having fun.


So yeah, someone could come into Bangface and say "This is just invented, gimmicky nonsense."

But if you can't play along for a laugh sometimes, what's the point of life?

[PaulX]

This is all interesting stuff as I'm in the process of doing a big article on BF and its head honcho right now. How do you feel about the concept of 'neo-rave'? Do you think there's such a thing developing outside of BF or do you feel it's just a BF gimmick like the inflatables and the banners?

Well what I've noticed in Oxford is there are "nu-Rave" nights.

The music isn't rave.
The vibe isn't rave.

Ah, I know only too well that "nu-rave" has fuck all to do with rave.

I was wondering if anyone had encountered neo-rave outside of Bang Face.

And don't worry about the girl. She ain't worth it, my son.

As for the BF vibe not being like it was in 2006, I've seen a lot of club nights come and go over the years and this sadly is the way it always goes. A night gets a good reputation that spreads far and wide, then starts pulling in people who are attracted by the hype but don't really 'get' it, the night declines and then some of the people move on to a new night and the cycle starts all over again.

Some promoters are able to counter this a little by constantly reinventing and innovating. I hope St Acid notes some of the comments and does what he can to stop knobs ruining the vibe. But the innocence and freshness of the very early BF days will never come back, I'm afraid. BF is getting more famous and you can't un-invent that.

Anyway, welcome to GT!

[Vibration]

I was wondering if anyone had encountered neo-rave outside of Bang Face.

Not really.

I've been to clubs in San Francisco which were definitely a bit like stepping into a time warp, people really going full blown mental with glow sticks, dummies, and general craziness -- but while that is all going on, the clubs have wank little VIP areas, and people are getting subjected to aggro.

I went to this club, 1015, which was meant to be all lovely, shiny, happy people, and there were definitely people there into the spirit of things. BUT one guy "danced too close" to this other dude's girlfriend and got stabbed.

Not "danced with her" but "invaded her personal space whilst dancing in a crowded room".

And I talked to some regulars who informed me that it was generally fairly relaxed, but a few people had been shot there.

And this was meant to be THE FRIENDLY club in the area.

So yeah, Bangface seems pretty unique to my experience.

As for the BF vibe not being like it was in 2006, I've seen a lot of club nights come and go over the years and this sadly is the way it always goes. A night gets a good reputation that spreads far and wide, then starts pulling in people who are attracted by the hype but don't really 'get' it, the night declines and then some of the people move on to a new night and the cycle starts all over again.

Yeah.
Like someone else said we can't have a "bangface attitude test" at the door without destroying everything that makes Bangface is what it is.

I really REALLY love this night.

Let me tell ya - I moved over from California a few years back. I had heard all these legends about Britain. I'd meet people from the UK and they'd tell me about the parties over here, and I had become convinced that the UK was paved in breakbeats.
So I come to live in Oxford, and think that it will be lively because it's a world reknown Uni town.
Oxford is pretty dead actually.

So, I've got this love for electronic music, and I think to myself "Wow! Was I wrong about Britain?? No one seems to like loud repetitive obnoxious noise."

So I hunt around London, going to a night here and a night there. Definitely a mix of good and bad. BUT, nothing really to blow my socks off.

Anyway, I ended up meeting this couple at Lost and they recommended Bangface. So I show up to BF33, and WOW, there they are!
Long story short we become fast friends and I meet all their friends, and suddenly I have a social life again.

I'd left all my life long friends 6,000 miles behind. I couldn't go to my comfortable places, the places I'd just go to think and reflect.
Really, everything in my old life was gone. Like a vapour. Like a strange hallucination.

Bangface introduced me to the people who gave me my life back.
And the Electrowerks has become a place in my new life. A solid place I can go to, and have an emotional attachment to.

I spent over a year with no place where I felt I really belonged.

I mean, I had my flat in Oxford. And my job.
But that was a roof over my head and a way to pay for it; Not an emotional, real, visceral part of me.

It's hard to explain, but I was lost in real, Stranger In A Strange Land Territory.

So BF and my friends who love BF were the first real solid bricks in my new life for myself in Britain.

Anyway, welcome to GT!

Cheers!

[WaveyRaveyDavey]

I bumped into a girl on Upper Street before BANGFACE (Nina? I see her there every month but can never remember her name - Elliot knows who I'm talking about) and she was undecided whether or not to turn up because she wasn't too sure what the crowd were going to be like; in the end she didn't go and I must admit that when I first arrived it seemed a lot quieter than normal; I don't think I saw any of Team Nang! there. I later got talking to a girl who would normally have been at Fabric but was there for the Andy C. set. I came across no problems and can understand Vibro's consternation over the glowstick incident (a title for a tune there, methinks) and Jemos' surprise at being pulled up about bashing someone with the inflatable - I mean, it's BANGFACE for fucks' sake; the clue's in the name!

I'm thinking that it was a one off - the people who didn't get it won't be back and normal service resumed with the usual up for it crowd of people. As I always say 'It's the crows that makes it'

[buzzingtalk]

Not really.

I've been to clubs in San Francisco which were definitely a bit like stepping into a time warp, people really going full blown mental with glow sticks, dummies, and general craziness -- but while that is all going on, the clubs have wank little VIP areas, and people are getting subjected to aggro. ...

Hey welcome to the baord oxford is a little quiet isnt it, though ill admit i have a soft spot for it. used to play there most months on possibly the only breakcore night ever in that town, was awesome. sadly the place got busted, still looking for a new place to put events on, if anything happens with this ill let you know,

r.e. bangface crowd, i see what people mean. when i first went, in 2006, it was really small, and even though im not old enough to be old skool it gave me a good guess at what it felt like to rave in 95. i still feel like this now at every bangface, although there do seem to be an increasing number of 'intruders' i.e. people not there to have a fucking good time, jump around and rave. last time at the xmas party i had many difrerent interactions, ranging from old skool toilet meetings with randoms, recognition of teh internets and trying to make someone smile by being a general gimp among many others.

like someone else said, these crowds will come and go, but us real ravers know the score, even with the nu rave kids and a few miserable gits, i still feel like i can be myself at bangface, and i never feel threatened or in danger like i do at some raves. i know most people in electrowerks have got my back the second the doors open, as davey said in another thread, i go alone but im meeting 700 of my mates there

[Jemo]

I later got talking to a girl who would normally have been at Fabric but was there for the Andy C. set. '

I met quite a few like this ... which is why I am hesitant about Hype next month, there really isnt a more scene, well know DnB Dj ....


In saying this I probably sound like a knob that comes accross like I wouldnt want the kind of people who listen to Hype there for him, cos this isnt true, I Lsten to Hype frequently on my Mp3 player, I just think that this week being Andy C , and next month Hype , you know it will get more diluted with people of the sought that ask you why you are dressed a certain way etc.... ..

I know the peole make the Rave, and trust me I aint gonna be changin me atttude and always try to get the best out of things, I cany however stop feeling like BF is going the wrong way .....

But Fuck it, like BTalk Said like

someone else said, these crowds will come and go, but us real ravers know the score,

DAM FUCKIN STRAGHIT