It was on the way up to Lotherton Hall near Leeds that it became obvious that Gatecrasher regulars have a diehard loyalty on a par with Millwall FC supporters. Half-five on Saturday afternoon at a service station off the M1 near Derby and there they were displaying their Gatecrasher tribal colours in full glory.
For the guys the look is strictly hi-tek meets clubber casual; spiky hair dyed either green or red, techno pants with meshing, lashings of face paint and any number of ''rave accessories'' ranging from glowing light sticks to hand held lasers and signs emblazoned with the word ''TUNE'', ready for Tong dropping the big trance anthems later on. For the girls the look is pure minimalism; hair bunched up with fluorescent bands, neon face paints, acres of exposed flesh, g-strings, bikinis, stuck on angel wings (enough to make the heart flutter) and - excuse me while I grab my breath - lots of see through material.
We''re miles away from the 8pm kick off in Leeds but already the pace is picking up. Despite being a weekly shindig founded by Scott Bond for Sheffield''s Republic club, Gatecrasher has a big national following - admittedly helped a little by Muzik and Radio One''s support for tonight''s little do.
People often bemoan these big events for being excessively commercial and lacking in atmosphere. Walking into the Kyam tent at 12.30am it''s obvious that those moaning old gits haven''t experienced the vibe that''s kicking off in the main arena. Pete ''granddaddy of dance'' Tong is running the show with the latest batch of vinyl from his Essential Selection. Looking very much like the Lord of the Dance its obvious he''s loving it as his arms wave akimbo. He''s also broadcasting live to the nation which is clearly doubling his buzz. For his final tune he drops the ''99 remake of Grace''s ''Not Over''. Immediately the lights go on and 4,000 people wave their hands in unison to the chorus and those ''TUNE'' signs are put to proper use.
Next on is a certain Mr Oakenfold. He takes the tempo higher with his (and Gatecrasher''s) trademark sound of harder trance. The place is ecstatic bordering on a religious fervor. The front is just a solid mass of people all looking adoringly at Oakie as he takes them deeper into the sound. From the looks on their faces it seems like the phrase ''God is a DJ'' should be upgraded to ''Paul Oakenfold is God''.
Moving swiftly on, it''s time for a spot of Goldie who''s managed to take time off from hanging out with celebrities and starring in Bond movies to play in the Siam arena. Predictably the vibe is more rude boy nod your head whilst hopping from side to side to the hard step than joyful trance abandonment. Goldie''s fully golded up - teeth, wrists, neck - and snarling as he tweaks the cross fader across to unleash successively harder drum patterns. In a more restrained way the crowd are loving this too.
However, it''s in the Plasma Lounge that the party''s really swinging. Danny Rampling''s just finished his live broadcast to the nation and hands the sweaty mob over to the capable hands of David Morales. At first Dave seems a little apprehensive. Maybe it''s because a field in West Yorks is a million miles away from the Manhattan sweatboxes he normally frequents. Yet, as each tune drops Morales seems to ease into the groove. By the fifth track he''s grinning from ear to ear, waving at folk on the dancefloor and looking like he''s on the peak of orgasm as he fiddles with the EQ knobs. It''s great to see a star of his stature loving every second of it and dispelling the myth that all US DJs are moody so and so''s. It''s also wicked to see that some of his peak tunes are British productions like an assortment of Basement Jaxx gems and Daddy''s Favourite''s "I Feel Good Things For You''.
Morales'' den may not have been as packed as the main trance arena but it was certainly peaking on the party gauge. It''s probably a demographic thing. The Morales flock were mostly pushing mid-to-late 20s and more in tune with space between the beats (and people on the dancefloor), funky basslines and the opportunity to swing their hips. Over on the trance ship, the under 20s were more up for the football stadium vibe of cheering on the epic breakdowns, extended snare rolls and chunky synth stabs.
That''s the great thing about events like Gatecrasher. They might not be the urban hotbeds where true dance music is being played and created, but they do give the opportunity for punters to experience a bumper pack of music all in one night. At Lotherton Hall you could have caught DJs spanning the musical spectrum from Annie Nightingale to Liam Howlett of The Prodigy.
That is, of course, unless you''re a fully paid up member of the Gatecrasher clan. In which case there''s only one tent you''d be in along with your big grins, light sticks, spiky red hair and ''mad for it'', friendly as f**k attitudes - and no one should turn their noses up at that. Roll on next year. In the meantime I''m getting my hair died, and does anyone know where you can pick up hand held lasers?
