ELF Christmas

12/21/2000

Author: moreOn
Date: Dec 27, 2000
Views: 1406

ELF @ Amsterdam
written by: moreOn
(Dec 27, 2000)

 

ELF, Christmas Party
12/21/2000

DJ Shakti Cat, Wouter, Shawnodese, Sven Looping ELF Squat, Amsterdam, fl15,-

Chill DJ Fatman, Pierre

Well, it had been long since I went to the ELF, had some reasons not to come, of which I recall the lousy music in the first place, which is for a party (haven`t been for a "party" in the ELF for over a year) a crucial factor. Have been there on several occasions to meet people, which is another of the intentions of the ELF, but even that was becoming ultimately boring (nothing personal). Then there was the sound system, it sucked, and the vibe, it sucked, and the chill-out, we wish we could suck some there, but the overload of incense made that practically impossible.

But, the complaints of at least the incense were heard, and there was much more ventilation in the corridors of the building, leading to the chill-out. Not a major improvement, but it`s something no?

So, with mixed feelings we decided to have a look, also since Wouter was gonna spin some progressive nu-tunes instead of the "hit tracks" that most DJ`s in the ELF tend to play. Also we heard it was one of the last parties in the ELF and, must be granted, the ELF represents the very core of the Dutch Trance Community. We just hoped for a better vibe and the promising line-up made us move, for the very last time to the ELF (Sven Looping is from Charasmatix btw).

The price was a little higher than the usual 11 (elf) guilders. Still downstairs, we heard the basses better than we were used to (it`s about five stories up in the ELF), which probably meant that the sound system had improved. Getting upstairs, we were happily surprised with the crowd, the decoration, the entire setup and the improved (although just a bit) sound system. The DJ booth was located in the left corner of the dancefloor in the back. There were strings all over which made the entire room look more spacious, but also `cleaner` than before, with all the rags and stuffy ur, stuff. At the left they had the projection screen, although this time they wrapped it up nicely so that it had a deeper effect to it. Shakti Cat was playing some full on stuff, but not my kind of stuff. Too much of the I-wanna-give-them-all stuff to my taste. Pretty solid mixing as I recall, but I didn`t dance too long. I must give her, she has spirit, power and her name is rightfully chosen.

Went downstairs, and finally the glass of the chill-out, which usually surrounds the place, were entirely covered with decoration. Inside it wasn`t too warm yet, so we stayed there for a while, just catching a glimpse of a yet unknown or unidentified DJ (anyone?) and he was soon replaced by Fatman, the man of alternative chill-out music. He also managed to get the annoying buzz out of the speakers, but unfortunately it returned every now and then during the night. I stayed quite some time in the chill-out until someone of my party company told me that the style had changed. Best bet was that Wouter was playing. And yes, he was. A bit more groovy, no stupid sleazy melodies, but to be honest, I expected a whole lot more. His set definitely got better while he was on it and he kept the crowd moving from beginning to end. Problem was though, there seemed to be only one turntable present and the monitoring sucked. Better luck next time.

After Wouter finished his set, Shawnodese and Sven Looping appeared at the decks. They spun together for some time, but failed to keep it interesting for me, but hey, I wasn`t alone ;) This cool-down was welcome though, since the dancefloor cleared pretty early in the morning/night.. Also their set was not really my kind of dance music, but it stomped hard enough to keep one moving (gracious wowie). I always think it is a shame that you need stompers to move a crowd. I rather hear someone swooping in your mind while you don`t have a friggin` idea of what`s happening. Anyway, good for dancing this was, but I really believe they are a bit too fond of the CDJ`s jet-fx (and no I was definitely not the only one with this opinion). But then again, it was probably because of the shitty setup behind the decks, using the jet-fx solves some mixing problems in that case. Even then it was overused.

In the early morning it already was no longer crowded, something I was already hoping for, but didn`t really expect. Fucking blaze of glorious fractalgliders, so much space to dance in the ELF, I think it has been at least a year back since that happened during the night (dunno what time it was, was still dark). And suddenly you find yourself dancing as you have only done a few times at that venue. Thanks to the dancing space and a good mood, not to the music, unfortunately...

Now, before I get bored with myself, my own party crew had slunk to three, so we pretty much decided for an after-chill with our last energy. Which rocked as always.

Big hi to the mm-crew, wouter, fat, saluun, marita, timo and all I wanted to forget... uh... you know ;)

moreOn

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