Spend my daytime in Antwerp before heading to Sensation Black.
Archive for April, 2008
27
Apr
Antwerp
Summary
It was no doubt a sensational night. Never felt that exuberance and energetic crowd in this party over the years i have been to dance parties. The thrill that the crowds and how participating in the sombre moments throughout the night. It was a well choreographed party with DJs having great fun in mixing their well planned sets to show off their utilities to the crowds. The party with no expenses conserved.
Travel
I travelled early to Antwerp as i was prepared to take some photos in the city. So i left my place around 8.10AM and caught the first available InterCity train to Antwerp which was 8.56AM. Arrived 2 hours later.
Most of the time i was relaxing under the sun at the state park in city centre.
Beginning
About 400 were behind me when i arrived at the entrance. All eager and dressed in totally black, from face paintings right to the jeans. There were French, Germans, Dutch and English all yattling away before the party and greeting each other.
Once the entrance was open which was about 9.15PM people filed into rows filtering through the 6 laned fenced-up gates knowing that we’ll be body searched for any traces of weapons or inflammable liquids. The security did a very basic searching…just the jeans. Then our ticket’s barcode got scanned.
The next gate was for the free magazine. Most got their ID out with the small chip embedded to be scanned and be sent a free mag. I don’t have that Belgian national ID.
The Party
It took the party a while to begin. I think the intention was to fill the dancefloor significantly before turning all the lights.
Okay, here are some pics.
Just before the show started. Empty dancefloor. It went completely packed around midnight, but the door opened more than 2 hours before.
DJ Ghost mixing. The first DJ for the night. He played hard-electro.
Ripped the seats off to make way for dance area.
Quad-pod legs at the stage.
The MC
The big screen at each end of the venue with a pair of lanterns.
The white leg. I counted at least 7 giant 5m speakers.
When Showtek was playing.
The crowd. About 30,000
The seating platform. You can see the tree branches spreading over the dancefloor.
The MC again. Cheering the crowd up.
Ladies with tommy hat
Lighting of the torch
Lady Dana in revolving big screens
The inflated tree branches above
When gabber tunes were on…
Gabber addicts tuning in
All in Black
Heaps to clean up
The aggressive Neophyte and his gabber
You can check out my gallery HERE for the remaining photos.
Interior Design and Technical
The best speaker system i have ever heard. The sound was crisp and they didn’t crank up the volume to the max. I think it’s got to do with EU regulation. There were about 7 loudspeakers suspended around the quad-pods. And the interior of the stage revolves around with its 4 big screens intact. Then there are inflatted tree branches over-bearing the whole dance-arena loosely wrapped with black streamers. It is the first venue where it utilised the seating areas by removing the seats altogether and let dancers enjoy panoramic views while the interior gets lashed with laser arsonals, flame-throwers, water-jets and fireworks.
Music
DJ Ghost was the first performer with his often-cliche remixed tune and then making it to hard-electro. Showtek and Donkey Rollers were pretty good. Donkey Roller was predictable like any of how previous performances. Showtek really did set the edge by making his tunes more theatrical. Dana was under-performing just like in In Qontrol party last week. She doesn’t know how to scratch and the crowd began to disperse at the second half of her set. Promo and Neophyte should have played an hour earlier because almost all of the crowd were pretty much exhausted and not ready for gabber tunes. In my opinion, and expressly viewed by many at that night, Dana should be the last DJ to play and let Promo and Neophyte play before her. Dana does play softer compared to the rest of hardstyle DJs, which would be better so that the crowd don’t have to dance that intensively.
Videos
Introducing Ghost
Introducing Dark-E
Coast2Coast - Home
Donkey Rollers
Black Identity
I’ll post more videos as i upload it.
22
Apr
Stress vs Growth
I have long known that due to my stress from either uni commitments, private life or work, that it actually prohibits my muscle gain. On the other hand, my primary reason for going to gym was to reduce stress ‘peaks’.
Stress Management
To make it easier to explain, if i am stressed that means that the brain is pretty much too busy focusing on how stressed i am instead of building up my strength after my fitness training. No matter how much training i do, if i go stressed that means it’ll effect my sleeping pattern, which then reduces my metabolic rate. Muscle growth usually happens when i am resting, which is why a right amount of sleep is so important.
When i have an exam or essays due next week and need to prepare for them, i do either maintain my fitness routine or add another day of week to actually put a downward pressure on my stress level. If i don’t go to gym because of other commitments, my stress level spikes dramatically which then leads to pattern of poor micro-tasking and organising skills. Even if i am pressed for time, i will still spend at least 30min in training to keep myself awake and energised. Otherwise i’ll feel fatigued from research and studying that often leads to procrastination.
I would not expect my fitness performance to improve especially in resistance training when i am in ‘priority mode’. In fact, i’d expect it to stagnate as i want most of my energy devoted to placing a plug in my stress level and soften the ’spikes’ caused by a sudden exam preparation time.
Also, i would not be dedicated to eating properly in times of stress. Usually quick snacks and off back to work. That of coarse will effect my fitness.
Growth
Once the ‘priority mode’ has gone passed, then my stress level would plummet as i have less activities to keep myself busy. Mentally, i would feel much more at ease and relaxed with more time to spend for recreational activities. That’s when i do start feeling muscle growth with drastic improvement. I do add more weights in resistance training every week which obviously shows i am performing better than previous week.
Travel
Left my home in Amsterdam at 8.34PM. Oddly enough the sun has not set yet but the nightlife crowds are starting to creep into the city centre. The quickest way i know is to ride the tram 4 from Amsterdam Centraal station to RAI, which takes about 30min, give or take 5 minute depending on city centre traffic.
By the time i got to Centraal Station, there was a mass exodus of young Dutch mostly in hoodie jumper or leather jacket descending to the tram or the metro station. Just the party-boys filling the Damrak precinct which is at the mouth of the Centraal Station.
By the time i boarding the tram 4, there were like 20 who went with me. Some spoke Dutch, others just pairing up of Italians, French and English. The tram also filled with tourists and creepers who are just going any of a half a dozen bar precincts dotted around this city.
By the time i arrived in RAI, there were about a hundred queuing at the press/VIP section. All lined up in rows as dictated by the 6 fences to ‘quarantine’ them for drugs, weapons or any flammable liquids which can become a hazard in the party. It took a fair bit of time to sort just about 200 altogether VIP/Press crowds. One security guard checked my wallet and padded my body while the other checked my small bag which only included a spare jumper and a camera.
“You can proceed”
So i’m finally inside this big exhibition centre made out of corregated iron, like a one big multi-use warehouse. Well made for the party like In Qontrol. A lady behind the counter asked me to put my left arm out to tag me with a band on a wrist so it gives me access to VIP deck and our own cloakroom.
After that, the first store i saw was an official In Qontrol merchandise selling point. There were heaps just eagerly wanting to buy any of the merchandise. The biggest hit was the brown hoodie with In Qontrol logo at the back. I bought a ‘L’ (large) for 40 Euro. I paid more for a hoodie elsewhere, so i think it’s worthwhile. Besides, i want to get every official hoodie of these big parties as many as possible. So far i got Qlimax and In Qontrol. Thunderdome, Sensation Black and possibly Defqon1 will be next.
You can always tell how excited the party-animals are by how thrilled that they are wearing the official merchandise. It’s the brand name of ‘Q-Dance’ that is really synonymous for its theatrical and over-sized parties ready to be entertained by solo DJs choreographed by the lighting arsenals. In Qontrol shouldn’t be any different. And so these blokes who bought the merchandise had high hopes that this party will push them into a new benchmark level of ‘raves’.
Within the hall where that merchandise store was located was filled with ‘picnic chairs’ and a table and around the sides were food stores, bars and toilets in a corner. There were like three halls like this within the RAI for tonight…all between the venues so that crowds can help themselves and go dancing again.
Okay, i’m totally lost. You can literally travel around in a golf-buggy in this huge indoor mini-town. There are two pedestrian sky bridges connecting from the smaller venues to the main arena and in each sector there is this big map locating that ‘you are here’ and somehow you gotta follow this coloured wiggly lines to your destination.
(Click thumbnail map below)
It took me ten minutes today to figure out where the heck was everything. I think i started between the ‘underground’ and the ’sincity’ DJ list bubbles and slowly walked clock-wise all the way to the South of this map. That’s there the general entrance was and a hall of ‘lockers’.
By the time i arrived in the main arena, it was just patchy crowds and a small bunch way at the front.
May as well take this opportunity to walk around this exhibition centre to familiarise myself with the surroundings.
This was taken in Evolution Sector venue. Ultraform was playing.
I took them in an elevated VIP deck which was located on the left side of the hall. Pretty great view. I enjoyed watching him DJing as he seems to be an entertainer pleasing the crowd. The interior design was great too. The my serial pyramid shape steel beam foundation with CRT TV boxes on three bottom levels with DJ on the top of the peak.
Then here is the SinCity venue.
A mix of gabber and hardstyle as a taste of this venue. DJ Mad Dog was playing.
Then here’s The Underground venue. The sphere is the ‘control nerve’ for the lights and queues.
Closer look at the front
Adlay doing the gabber dance.
Gabber all the way. Bass V & The Viper was playing.
Back to the VIP deck. Nice view ay? An elevated room at the back with our own bar and chill-out room area at the rear.
Tommy Pulse & Fausto
For those kandy kids back in Australia, here’s the European version. This group is from Ireland. Fluro wear with fluffy boots. No coloured beads on their wrist nor the usual baby-wear, angel wings and so on. There are many kandy kids but definitely not as prominent as in Sydney’s party. Most of the ones i have met are either Irish or British.
This is the rear of the main arena. You can see the elevated VIP deck on the left. Walking towards the chill-out area.
A bloke waiving the French flag.
The laser cannons were decent. They didn’t centralise it like in Qlimax. Less dramatic, but able to fill the space by attaching some from the ceiling.
The grey spectrum is just pure bliss to watch.
See what i mean? The laser cannons just soaking it from the ‘above’ vantage point.
Flame-throwers going off.
This bloke pretty much danced till no tomorrow!
When DJ Nosferatu was playing.
The chill-out area from behind.
Now it’s getting filled up in the Evolution Sector venue
At 4:22AM Dano was playing.
At 6:01AM The Outside Agency was playing in SinCity venue.
Last pic at 6.09AM
Conclusion
Overall it was a party i will remember. The crowd was much younger than Trance Energy or even Qlimax. Many more at my age. The type of crowd was pretty diverse. From skinheads to kandy kids, lads, clubbers, bar, old-skool and so on. Many nationalities as well, but most are Dutch. Most behaved well without much incident of brawl. Beers continue to get pumped and drugs are handed in like candies. The blokes i met there asked me a few times if i wanted it.
When Dana started playing, i was quite disappointed. In my opinion, she has gone downhill for 2 years. The MC was chanting that she’s the ‘Queen of Hardstyle’, but either the speakers are playing up or that she is getting worse at mixing. It sounds like she is really trying diligently to scratch with hardstyle track which makes high screeching tones, but that’s just irritating. The crowd in the main arena did start to thin-out as i could tell that the rear end was showing large patches of emptiness in dance area.
Another point to note. Donkey Rollers only played for 30 minute. What’s up with that? He is worth more than 30 minute, and as far as i’m concerned he was playing better than Dana in which she had 75min worth of tune pumping.
Overall, it was a well planned party. The layouts and interior designs for the stages were fantastic with well queued laser shows.
Next week is Sensation Black in Antwerp, so watch this space!
A handful of my mates asked me if i am doing anything different daily compared to what i did back in Sydney. That really lead me to think hard about what stuff am i doing in Amsterdam that is so different. There has to be a difference in my schedule or routines…
So let’s check:
Read magazine
Gym training
Uni
Coffee
Philosophy
Some of my mates say my accent has changed somewhat, but i can’t really hear the difference. Probably i talk much faster than previously, but that’s only because of my fast paced lifestyle and trying to be efficient.
Just a side note from today, i will now do squat training weekly. I should have done that earlier, much earlier, but really didn’t care about the strength of my legs since it looks ridiculously big in proportion to my upper body anyhow. I’ll review it in a few months time. But for now, my joints are hurting!
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Notice: This is a working paper which will be continuously be amended as needed.
Difference between integration and multiculturalism
Integration is essentially a political correct terminology for assimilation of culture into mainstream or original society. It is the adoption of any foreigners who are willing to reside in a host country to become an integral part of society and leaving behind any support for background country.
Put is simply, a new migrant would pledge allegiance to the host country above all else abiding by the rule of law and responsibilities while accepting the new values he/she requires to practice.
This reference is never seen as an absolute term, which brings to another question, to what degree of integration is acceptable?
On the other hand multiculturalism is about accommodation of new migrants which brings new values and skills which are beneficial to the host country overall. The closest analogy is if a husband marries a son, both extended families would adopt each other’s values. They may have conflict of interests such as organisations and customs, but both would readily converge and create a new organic order in which there is collaboration from all parties involved.
However, obviously the scope of multiculturalism is more than a duality relationship between a husband and a wife. It is to do with diverse ethnical and religious backgrounds which can make the whole post-structuralist formation or simply ‘a unifying identity’ much harder to pinpoint.
Case Study: Cabramatta
Cabramatta’s Cultural Makeover
Cabramatta is located in South-West outskirt of Sydney comprising of mainly Asian ethnic origins. It has a significantly large population of Vietnamese population who escaped the war-torn Vietnam and being accepted into Australia as refugees. Population quickly expanded in 1980s to accommodate a new wave of refugees bring with them nuclear families.
Until recently, it was synonymous with crimes such as drug trafficking, alcohol abuse and other criminal activities in which many drug addicts commit, including assault and robbery. Many locals especially in the commercial and retail centre of Cabramatta would be regularly confronted with fear such being part of the ‘spill-over’ effect of such drug activity which plagued the suburban streets.
Sydneysiders (people of Sydney) would stereotype Cabramatta as a crime ridden suburb caused by first generation migrants who originally escaped from war ravaged countries, and brought their crime with them to Sydney. Younger generations would often be secluded in their own ethnicity and never have initiative to communicate with broader society through employment, education and other form of active contacts. Thus, many Sydneysiders feel it is a country within a country with its own culture, its own values and customs which are not compatible with mainstream Australian society.
There has been a de facto comfort zone created by such stereotype where the East would never travel to West unless being compelled, as it does not benefit them from leaving their well adopted location, whether it’s the North Shore, the South or the Eastern Suburbs.
Since the turn of 21st century, along with the state of New South Wales government and the local council vowed to clean the streets through better policing and community consultations in making the suburb more attractive and resume in building-up its slow, but important reputation.
According to the article, commerce as improved dramatically in response to the reduction in criminal activities in the area, but does not necessary mean criminal activity overall, just done elsewhere. The grass-root approach was to allow the younger generations to have opportunities for employment through improvement in commercial business such as restaurants, retail and office. If more younger generations are employed, then they have less tendency to commit petty crimes since their prosperity will be requestioned by society.
