Having spent the summer videoing Newquay surf festivals, it felt like a bogus journey to be spending thirteen hours travelling across country to review 'the Big Reunion'. No idea of what lay ahead of us, we envisaged the usual 'Run to the Sun' back home with thousands of crazy people crammed into tents, cars or caravans, packed like sardines. But we were proved totally wrong as we arrived at Butlins Skegness on a Thursday evening in November and saw for ourselves the sheer size and magnitude of the festival site. Awesome!!
We wandered through the site and saw for the first time the tent housing the main stage for the event before going in search of for our room. Must admit to thinking "No way...." but we eventually found our luxurious 3-bedroomed apartment and sussed out that it really was for us! The withdrawal symptoms of having no mud around was soon overcome by the sight of a shower and a proper toilet ..... not to mention beds!
Time to get a real feel for what was going on, so dropped into the "Front Room Bar" where the warm-up party was well underway and met up with DJ Das Mule who gave us some valuable insight into what we were about to witness. He made it clear: "It's the reunion for all the 18-30's who have been on holiday with Butlins this year, so prepare for a mental weekend".
Friday came and with it, cars and coaches packed with 18-30er's getting together again and ready to party. There were warm-up DJ's in the Jellyfish Bar then when the clock hit 7.30, Majestic did his 15-minute warm-up set - all that was needed to get the crowd hyped and ready for a night set to satisfy the needs of any dance music fan.
Duke then took the stage for a full half hour of their insane guitar vocals and beatboxing skills before Majestic returned this time accompanied by skantly clad women on stilts dressed as fairies, to play his full set of fresh beats and classic style. The fairies were also wandering around the crowd adding a different experience for all.
The next epic set was Duke Demont who really got this crowd bouncing, jumping and dancing from start to finish ready for the sublime Sub Focus whose D&B DJ set finished an amazing night of musical talent on the main stage.
Still buzzing, where to go next? With a choice of two venues, we opted for the house music arena in 'Reds'. Good choice. The floor was reverberating with the sounds of the mighty 'Jaguar Skills' and I can tell you now that hidden away under that mask of his lurks some serious DJ talent showcased against a backdrop of huge white masks either side of the decks and video screens playing scenes from classic old school games, dropping in clips from 'Street Fighter', 'Mortal Combat' and I think he even managed to get 'Mario' into what, in our opinion, was the best set of the weekend.
On to the Urban Arena where a powerful 'Devlin' really got the crowd going with their fresh urban beats, followed by the sick style of 'Lethal Bizzle' who gave his usual brilliant performance.
Difficult to top these legends but back at Reds, acts including Hannah Jaques, Jay Funk, Toby Jones and DJ Kev Jr. kept the beat going until 6 a.m.
It was kinda surreal as we joined the crowds wandering back to their rooms in the half-light as the sun started to rise in the sky on the start of another day.
Saturday came and with it came the pool parties!!! There could have been no better way to prep for the manic day ahead than with the warm-up DJ's in the Jellyfish Bar and whoever thought of this deserves a medal!
The opening main stage act this time around was Rawkus Noise who had the full attention of this crowded who most of appeared in fancy dress, along with the fairyies on stlits in the crowd to once again getting then skankin' for the night, ready for Micky Slim who really showed his talents to the happy bouncy crowd of ravers.
The penultimate main stage performance came from Wideboys who dominated with fresh and classic beats prior to the awesome and simply jaw-dropping sets from Example and Dj Wire which really pushed the crowd to their limits of raving.
But everyone held out strong to keep it alive, again choosing from back to back venues. Centre Stage offered inspiring performances from 'The Chaps' , 'Eddy Temple Morris' and 'The Other Tribe' (who offer a new way to rave with live techno).
However, fans of D&B or Dubstep were blown away with the banging line-up at 'Reds' where Benga, Mistajam and of course Matrix and Future Bound kept the floor vibrating and the crowds going crazy until yet another day dawned.
This was one crazy place to be!!
So as we left on the Sunday morning, with the words of DJ Das Mules ringing true in our ears, we thought to ourselves that what had started out as a Bogus Journey, really had turned out to be an Excellent Adventure.....
Published on 27 November 2013 by Peter Swift and Keiran Dunne-Davidson
