CONTACT
The Red Rooms, Titchfield, 8pm – 2am, Friday 12th August 2005.


Matt Handy appears to have quite an intricate network of fun going on at the Hands On HQ. As busy as the wayward techno wizard may seem, it’s all for a worthy cause especially if you enjoy a Friday or Saturday night on the right side of a set of Technics.

His foray into re-locating his party engagements to the very plush Red Rooms in Titchfield seemed to have worked very well for him with a successful and very intimate setting for a full on dance music onslaught each and every Saturday for the over 21’s. Now as bingo hall as that may sound, think again, as the Hands On Records MD has managed once again to recapture an era and atmosphere long since buried and breathe new life into it; rather like a child who bottles a wounded bug and then gives it a new outlook on existence.

Trust me floor fillers, this is a bottle you really wouldn’t mind being trapped in. Claustrophobic metaphors aside, the Red Rooms is a beauty of a find as far as venue location is concerned with it’s plush interiors, expansive chill-out areas, ample top floor and ground floor bars and variously spaced arenas catering for whatever your musical taste in the underground buffet. Let’s not forget either the spacious garden, ideal for an outdoor arena and a few cheeky burgers and hot dogs. Be it Techno, Old Skool, House or otherwise, each and every tried, tested and loved genre is catered for under the Hands On banner and Matt continues to do what he does best, throw a party like no-other.

My recent visit to the venue afforded me the opportunity to sample the delights of one of my all time favourite Hands On offerings, the unstoppable and extremely successful ‘Contact’. The one gig that has managed to surpass all others and that said had its chance to shine in the high society take over at the Red.

During my time there, I was treated to a mixed pallet of audible pleasures and somewhat of a manic maze feeling to the venue rather like the days of Sterns and The Manor. Could it be true? Has Matt fully restored a generations thirst for club sessions in the old style middle of nowhere fraternity; trapping us out in a country house and feeding us non-stop Techno, Old Skool, House and a long list of other deep and meaningful tastemaker tunes? The answer is yes; it was a long time coming but I don’t see anybody complaining about the wait. There’s a good reason for that, all requests here have clearly been satisfied. Big spacious venue... check. Smoky, busied atmosphere with a couple of hundred good looking superstar lunatics trying to find their way to sanity... check. Well dressed and very polite doormen greeting the entranceway... check. Full on light shows, with smiley boys and girls praying to a utopian legend on the Technics, whilst he (or even she if you were outdoors) belts out unending streams of weekend excellence… check, check and check.

‘Contact’ in it’s own right has become the stuff of clubbing legend, no matter where you take it, it will always deliver due to it’s hundreds of thousands of loyal supporters all working together to create a happy vibe at each and every event and moving it to the Red Rooms for the August session was in retrospect a wise move on Matt’s part; it worked and an amazing night was had by all.

Rounds of applause should go to Paul EP, Matty Phact, Project Bosh for groundbreaking sets in the main room, not least blown to the stratospheres by the likes of Matt Handy himself, a stunning turn from Mitt and a full on technical turbulent onslaught from Kevin Energy, a bad boy that is easily at the top of his game.

Back room antics (and break dancing apparently) came courtesy of Ben Wilcox, DJ Headrush, Barry K, Hooky, Chamberz and a man never out of favour with his peers, old skool champion Druid.

However, remembering respect where respect is due, mucho gusto must go to the Ravenous team for their work on the outdoor marquee which had a really really good feel to it. These boys and girls, despite any early sound problems and any re-locating that might have had to be done, still kicked out an awesome rotation of sets; blowing off the roof with some well thumbed vinyl destined to induce good feelings all round. My only hope is that the Ravenous and Section 63 massive will be gracing our ears again soon.


Simply put, despite the luscious trappings that the Red Rooms offers, the ‘Contact’ crew will follow the ‘Contact’ moniker anywhere on the planet and it’s clear as to why. Young and fresh faced promoters on the block take notes, this is where you should be heading and this is definitely how it’s done. The crowd continue to speak, Matt continues to listen and then deliver to the needs of the new school raver. So long as ‘Contact’ is this good, all the time and the quality and balance of preparation, production, clever booking and promotion stays in play, ‘Contact’ could quite easily be hosted in a field in the middle of nowhere and we, the thousands would all still happily show up. Now there’s an idea…..

VISITED, LARGED, WRITTEN & CUT BY JON BROWN

The next ‘Contact’ will be taking place at it’s home on South Parade Pier, Portsmouth on Friday 2nd September 2005 from 9pm – 2am and will feature ‘Proteus’ as the headliner. Andy Leppard, Wade and Kalvin will support alongside main man Matt Handy. Cut and paste the link below for further information into your browser:

http://www.dontstayin.com/uk/portsmouth/south-parade-pier/2005/sep/02/event-18001


THE LOWDOWN
-----------------------
‘Contact’ ‘Wot kind of house party is this?’ at The Red Rooms, Titchfield, August Edition.

Those all important out of five’s:

SECURITY & HOSPITALITY STAFF: 5 / 5 –
Polite, well dressed, thorough, good to the genuines, harsh on the idiots. Nice.

UP FOR IT GEEZERS: 5 / 5
A good blend of well dressed and not dressed, sweaty, up for it party loons and that’s exactly what a good party should be about, much respect to all of you lads, you looked like you had a wicked night. No attitude either, I was well impressed.

TASTY LADIES: 5 / 5
We’ll start with the legendary ladies of ‘Contact’ (which will probably develop into a feature at some late stage) HRH Nutbar, Anthill, Tekno Fairy, Liz and a fair few of you who I always see and never remember your names, mucho respect for your continued support and to those new and very beautiful faces and figures who have proved that ‘Contact’ is not just a room full of sweaty geezers, there be a few sweaty ladies too, but we’ll talk about that another time…

ATMOSPHERE MEASUREMENT: 5 / 5
Always clapping, always cheering from start to finish and every single person you speak to will happily have a conversation about just about any subject you suggest, is it possible to have all the good people of clubland in all in one spot… I think so!

VENUE: 4 / 5
Yes it’s plush, yes it’s tasty and all that woodwork and big ass sofas definitely add to the gravitas; especially the rave in a barn feeling you get from the main room’s lowered beams. However, the fact that its so god damned hot let’s you down a point. Sorry lads….

ENTERTAINERS: 5 / 5
From the unknown to the A – list, each and every player from the DJ to Steve Laser and his antics put in 100% and then some. Clearly more about the music than the money.

SOUND SET-UP: 5 / 5
Gav Rav, any further questions? No, didn’t think so.

MUSIC POLICY: 5 / 5
If it’s dark, dirty or makes you feel great, it’s in one of these record boxes.

PRICE TAG: 5 / 5
A tenner for all of that entertainment AND Druid and Kev Energy? Value for money we reckon.

You 4got my partner in crime on the decks dave sayer cheers 4 the write up jb7 enjoyed readin that and you covered it well bud the red rooms is a quality venue and has a proper good vibe and all round CONTACT family house party sort of thing goin on with kickin sounds and atmosphere 2 go with it !! not sure about the 5's maybe 10's would be better!! ha!! take care and stay safe!! Paul EP!!

Paul,

Well done my friend and apologies for leaving Dave out, there wasn't any partiuulcar reason for that - he did a wicked job :o)

On the 10's front, the original magazine and websites it is being used for structures the out of 5 system, I cut and paste and thought it would look better in DSI, as I know people will actually read it in here!

Take it easy buddy, thanks for your comments and hopefully see you again soon.

JB

WOW! He said it in one!!!

Lengthy post that. I will have to fully read it later.

Front room sounds (Left Hand Side) powered by UKClubDJ.com (Plug), and now on full time loan to The Red Rooms. I will be upgrading the system, and improving the output and DJ monitoring as time goes on, as part of my commitment to better clubbing in the South coast.

hiya the break dancing was by my bud "fordster "wont ever let him forget that.

.....aitn gonna read all that! sum break it dwn 4 me....lol

hes basically sayin that matt handy has dun well in gettin the redrooms in fareham and that it is a awsome place; which it is im a regular and love it. allway have a top time everytime i go it gets betta

it was a top night have been doing contact for yrs spot on as ever
that dosnt mean though that on friday spankins will not be occuring because they will haha
but as i have been given a mention in the top 5 tasty ladies wahhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy
jb your safe haha ;)


over and out from
the royal nutbar spaceshipxxxxxxxxxx

cant make friday so gutted love pier thats where it started again for me on the fishtank nights .

well done JB7! Very thorough and enthusiastic review. an exellent read, its bringing back memories just reading it! spot on mate, no one partys like the contact crew!! big up to matt handy and my boy,paul EP!!

Matt (UK Club DJ),

Thanks for putting me straight on the sounds. A fine job you've done there too, much respect to you sir and I will happily retract that and re-instate the fact you are due for a credit.

Well done my friend and thanks for coming forward. Happy to be plugging you!

JB :o)

oh god i really need to go to the Mansion/Red Rooms arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Lisa, Sayer, Nutbar, thanks for your comments... there will DEFINTLY be a full review of tonight's (Fridays CONTACT, so the more madness and activity going off, the more there will be to report.

Up for it nutters, you all know who you are, so get to work on your outfits / props and loony ideas... and Nutbar, thanks for excusing me from the whippin.

Amazin what alcohol buys these days ;op

Raa,

You read all that...

lol ;o)

JB7, that was a splendid account so feckin well done me old china! Well done also 2 our Matthew 4 his latest mission with da red rooms. He has pulled out all da stops over the years and dis mansion malarkee is yet another breath of fresh air. Us old skoolies are smiley as ever and indeed da new skool crew too. Nuff said really, will see you later on for what can only be double quotas of utter mayhem and mizchief. OI feckin OI & RAVE ON!! Would be nowt but bloody rude not to really I say ('';)

I agree, Matt does continue to find new, original and more importantly interesting ways to keep us old schoolers entertained; and indeed the new schoolers coming back for more.

It's a mega amount of hard work for him and all of his team, so massive massive amounts of respect and credit to them all.

See ya again soon ;o)

Good Gawd, you articulated yourself well, JB7! Spot on, agree with everything said! Fix a few sound issues outdoors, open up more of the space and let some more air in, and I think we have 5s all round! Boom!
Bartztah.

you really hit the nail on the head with that reveiw well done jb7 and a BIG shout out to matt 4 another wicked crackin nite CONTACT ALL THE WAY BRING ON THE NEXT 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .C.O.N.T.A.C.T.

now i have got to the end of what i can safely say, is the most reading i have done since i left school a few too many moons ago i couldn't
agree more:-
top venue
top atmosphere
party nutter blokes
and oh my god how fit are you women

The partysmurf tour bus will need a parking permit if these nights get any better!!!!! cheers all