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| Coloursfest Dance
Festival 2003 |
Date:
Sunday 25th May
Address: Braehead International Arena &
Boardwalk, Kings Inch Road, Glasgow
Occurrence: One-Off
Hours: 4pm - 4am
Ticket Price: £36.50+bf
Dress Code: N/A
Capacity: 10000 |
| Line-Up:
Carl Cox, Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Tall Paul,
Sister Bliss, Trevor Reilly, Sonique, Dirty Vegas,
Push, Futureshock, Steve Lawler, Lee Burridge, Sasha
& Digweeed, Mr C, plus many more. |
Anyone who read my review
for Coloursfest last year could see how much I enjoyed
it, but this year was even better! I don’t
know what it was, a combination of lots of things
– better weather, better line up, bigger crowd…
It was all just fab!
Once again, this year they had police with dogs
on the door and everyone was individually checked
as they arrived. I spoke to a policeman and asked
him how many people had been stopped and he told
me it had been “hundreds”. He told me
that a lot of people had gotten to the front gate,
seen the dogs and then ran. Tee hee. The dogs must
have been quite reliable as there were not too many
people looking out of it throughout the night.
The line up for Coloursfest 2003 was excellent,
featuring loads of big names such as Carl Cox as
well as quality smaller acts. There was also a great
mix of live acts such as Push, Dirty Vegas and Futureshock,
along with the DJ’s. There was also Sonique
who did both – it was great to see someone
DJ’ing with a mic in one hand, a fag in the
other and a big smile on her face. Its not often
you see someone enjoying themselves as much as she
did. It really made a difference to the atmosphere
early on, as the crowd seamed to pick up on her
enthusiasm. I’ve never been a big fan of Sonique
before but she actually has an amazing voice when
you hear her live.
The crowd at Coloursfest were fantastic. There were
a lot more people than last year and the dance floor
in the main arena always looked busy – which
is quite cool as it is a massive space and could
look empty easily. Everyone we spoke to was very
chatty and I didn’t see any trouble at all.
The main hall is actually used as an ice rink most
of the time so there is plenty of seating around
the floor area so you get a good opportunity to
chat with people whilst having a rest but still
be part of the atmosphere as you don’t need
to segregate yourself from the action.
While I’m on the subject of the main arena,
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it
again – it is soooo good to have indoor toilets
with running water and loo roll! A small luxury,
but one that’s very much appreciated. Also,
there were all new seating put into the arena since
last year – and it’s padded! Having
a comfortable wee rest revitalised me quicker to
get back on the dance floor! As the floor space
is usually an ice rink, it is designed so that you
get a good view no matter where you sit, so the
view over the crowd to the DJ box was fantastic
– a brilliant way to take in the atmosphere.
Automatically you get a good vibe about the place.
It is very spacious and splashed with funky colours
blues, pinks and purples.
The tents holding the other arenas were also quite
well done, warm with carpets and décor so
it kind of felt a bit more like being indoors rather
than being in a tent. The Space tent was particularly
cool with big stars hanging from a black roof, making
it look much higher than it was.
If at any point you felt you need to get out of
any of the arenas, there is plenty of seating outside
as well as a couple of bars, food stalls and a few
fairground shows. I quite like the ticket system
for the bars, you can buy five tickets at once for
£15 (£3 per drink) and take them to
the bar as needed. It saves scrabbling for change
and means that you could put your wallet in the
cloakroom if you didn’t want to carry anything
around. However, there was also a pay bar for people
who wanted to buy drinks individually.
There were loads of high points in the line up,
and this year I found it even harder to drag myself
away from the main arena as I had the year before
– everyone on the line up was great. Personally
I loved Push, they play great music and I just love
live dance acts – and clearly so did the crowd
who were going absolutely mental!
As usual, Paul Van Dyk was a favourite with the
crowd. His set was fantastic and the crowd defiantly
showed their appreciation. Even the lighting crew
upped the anti for this and the whole set just looked
phenomenal.
Although I like Futureshock, I wasn’t 100%
convinced it was the right time for them to be on
the stage, they were just slightly too downbeat
at a time where the flagging crowd could have done
with something uplifting. Also a few of their breakdowns
left people standing too long before the beat kicked
back in. About half of the crowd left the dance
floor to have a rest and just watch on from the
arena chairs but it soon filled up again as Carl
Cox was about to start. It was a shame, as I say
I do like them, it just didn’t do it for me
at the time.
However, when god came on (sorry, I mean Carl Cox)
everything was well with the world again.
All in all, an amazing event. Bring on Coloursfest
2004! |
Venue: 10
Music: 10
Crowd: 10
Sound System: 9
Total: 39 / 40
Rating: Gold Award |
| Review written by:
Lindsay Strachan |
lindsay@uk-cl.co.uk |
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