Reivew of: Epidemik @ Ministry of Sound 16 - 3 - 2007

Review by: astraboy 

I've been raving for narly 7 years now, but in all the time, I've never been to the ministry of sound. A dress code, far too many instances of "urban" appearing on the flyers and too many Itallians in the venue saw to that and even on the rare occasions that a proper rave went off there, bad timing saw me somewhere else and not in the queue.

However, when Epidemik announced they were going to put on an old skool night, I was, for once, not already out, excited by the lineup and had a few friends to go with. So that was me finally going to the ministry then:)

Getting in was not a problem with about a 15 minute wait and no search at all from security before making my way up the long corridor and into the bar area. Soon after getting a few drinks in, we set about our night.

With House in the bar, we made sure that we spent some time there, with an early showing for one of my personal favourites "Voodoo Ray" which got my night off to a good start, despite me forgetting which DJ actually did the good deed.

Apart from that, there was only one reason for me being there, and that was Kiss 100's biggest loss, namely Steve Jackson. I knew this man had a love of "real" house music and I wasnt dissapointed. the tunes themselves being mostly unknown to me, it was more of a case of remembering what the guy played when I listened to him all those years ago.

The best part for me was the way he played garage music. Not something you'll hear me say often, but as it was garage music before it was known as garage then i'm allowed dammit! That and an house version of "Rockin' down the house" saw me dancing to his work from start to finish.

Things I liked:

Sound System - I've heard it was good, but just how good was not really underlined until I got there and had a listen. The Box's sound was particularly good. It was less listening to the music and more getting my ears licked by it.

Venue - The ministry is a byword for london nightlife, my expectations were slightly dented by its size (in my minds eye I thought it would be bigger) but the nice mix of big room and small room vibes meant you could go where you want dependent on your mood.

Security - I was wary of them having heard bad things in the past, but nothing could be further from the truth. No search on entry, allowed re-admission and even cracking a few jokes. I was expecting bad things, but I was pleasently surprised to say the least.

Steve Jackson - Never seen him play out before, but he was a legend on kiss and he didnt dissapoint when he took to the decks either. I went to this party to see steve jackson.  

 Things I liked less:

Music - Even though it was an old skool night, there was actually very little old skool played, with breaks remixes of classic tunes dominating the main arena till about 4am. Luckily, a combination of the House room,T.C. Dave Skywalker and Dr. S Gachet meant that I was dancing pretty much all night, just not as much in the main room as I would have done normally.

Mic level - Only in the baby box, this one, but the mic level was on way too loud. You know what its like, when the MC does his thing, the music is totally drowned out, and when he stops the music then returns. The actual Mic work was pretty good, but needless to say, it was the music I was there for.

All in, a good night out. Okay I would have preferred a bit more old skool and a bit less breaks, but Dave Skywalkers set, as well as Dr. S Gachet's classic jungle, not to mention TC's Amenfest (the good stuff as well) towards the start of the night more than kept me happy.

As well as that, just being at the ministry was worth making the effort. Okay under normal circumstances I would have hated it, but with a constant search for the good music and the super safe people accross the venue meant I had a good time till I had to leave at 5am.

The only bad thing about the night was the grudging fact that the ministry has eclipsed the legendary camden palace as my favourite location for an Epidemik party. However if it involves having another place in london where I know I'll have a good time if I make the effort to go down there, then its not a bad thing at all when you think about it:).
astraboy.

P.S. I'm not usually a picture person but I took this during gachet's set and i think it looks nice, not to mention sums up the night. 

 usually a picture person but I took this during gachet's set and i think it looks nice, not to mention sums up the night.