I had planned to be at Nu Religion for 10pm (as that's when I thought my friend was playing). Predicably I got there late but was pleased to find out he wasn't on till 11 so all was not lost. After walking in straight away pretty much I set about getting a drink from the bar and settling in for the night. Hidden is one of my favourite venues, I love the 3 room layout, the chilled atmosphere of the bar area, the seating in the upstairs bit of the red room and the full on club vibe in the main room. Speaking of which the main room was soon open and Miz B2B The Great White got the show on the road. Pretty much spanking from the off I knew we were in for a good night. Tunes like Tinrib's "Ride me Baby" and Olive Grooves "I can't let go" set the pace for a hard dance extravaganza. It's always good to see local talent playing in London and the Portsmouth crew were certainly out in force to support these two local boys and a host of other Portsmouth dj's who were on the roster for the night. A tip top set and a great start to the night.

I found myself wandering at this point and I made my way to the red room which was trance.I started my clubbing career as a trance head but don't really get much opportunity to sample real trance in clubs these days as I'm usually djing or supporting friends. For the next few hours I was literally hooked and must say I did keep returning to the trance room when I wanted to chill out upstairs or when I wanted to float away for a bit. I did make one quick return to the main room for the end of Hoopz & Bilbstars set. Big props to whichever one of them dropped Nick Rafferty & The Coallition's mix of Blue Amazon - "No Other Love" - I was properly dancing like a loony, huge grin on my face, brilliant, brilliant tune!! Anyway again I soon found myself back enjoying the delights of the trance room, I have no idea what any of the tunes were but I was loving them. Absolutely fantastic! Phil Metcalfe deserves a mention here and also Dan Thompson (ended up having a lovely chat with his girlfriends proud dad who was stomping away with me by the dj booth). I really enjoyed the atmosphere in this room and chatting to new faces. Everyone was so friendly. I also love being able to hang over the dj booth and watch the djs mix in this room (nerdy I know ;).

I'd promised myself that I would spend some time in the bar area as I'm a strong PunchFunk supporter (who were co-hosting the room with Shuffle) so I made sure I caught some of Chris Vaux's set and also some of the lovely Beta Blokka as well. Chris Vaux heads up PunchFunk, one of Portsmouth's finest exports in recent years and again it was great to see some homegrown talent rocking the joint in London. Beta Blokka were promoting the launch of their new self-titled release on PunchFunk records. You can read my interview with the boys here. Again, a sea of happy, smiling faces and a great vibe.

It wasn't until some of the way through Lisa Pin-Ups set that I found myself back in the main room, disappointingly missing Matt Handy's set (another Portsmouth person who was on the bill) - if only I could clone myself! Lisa played some quality tunes - I always like hearing "It's Over For Me" despite how cheesey it is, but I didn't feel there was a real flow to her set. Still the crowd were entertained and still going so I plonked myself on top of a speaker as my poor feet needed a wee rest. It wasn't long before K-Complex and Kevin Energy were busying themselves setting up for the Nu-energy live PA, the culmination of the night and one of the hard dance acts I haven't actually seen before. Quite frankly I wasn't disappointed, they rocked! I've heard recordings of their shows before and always been taken by how energetic they sound but witnessing it first hand was quality. 5am in a club is always an awkard time but they kept the pace up and really went for it, performing tune after tune and really putting on a stellar show. Finishing on Adagio was of course excellent!!!

I'd decided to make my way to Twist afterwards but after the boys had finished James Condon popped himself back in the booth and stuck a few cheeky tunes on. By now the dancefloor had thinned considerably as people started to make their way home but there were a few of us still stomping away, loving the extended tunes. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and it was soon time for me to be leaving. All in all a wicked night, with a nice variety of tunes, a friendly, smiley crowd and in one of my favourite little clubs. Big up to Damo and the crew for a job well done.

\0/

**claps** I heartily agree.. buds in..

to be fair i didnt think it was all that, and it was my 21st bday - but thats just my opinion!! glad every1 else enjoyed it tho!! xx

Wicked review K8-e!!! Thanks for the mention... was a top night!!! ;o)

"no other love"....thats become one of the king of grins staple tunes!!!!

"no other love"....thats become one of the king of grins staple tunes!!!!

Would you like that on your nexus special demo? ;) x

"no other love"....thats become one of the king of grins staple tunes!!!!

Nice one Nex buddy!! haha It would normally be me im sure though has to be said on this occasion it was Bilbstar!!! No complaints from me though fella... ;o) QUALITY!!!!!

nice work k8-e

Yesh please K8! :D

Its just one of them tunes that gets EVERY body off their asses and on to the dance floor!...much like a certain version of kick it that ive heard once or twice regardless whether they been putting the holes in the stomp floor for hours!

much like a certain version of kick it that ive heard once or twice

I will sort it babe. A promise is a promise. Any other tunes you really really want?

hehehe!!! i wasnt getting at you babe!!...Nope! any tune you want to put on there id be uberly greatful :D

Good review - wicked night;0)

GREAT REVIEW ,GREAT CLUB,GREAT NITE.XX

It wasn't until some of the way through Lisa Pin-Ups set that I found myself back in the main room, disappointingly missing Matt Handy's set (another Portsmouth person who was on the bill) - if only I could clone myself! Lisa played some quality tunes - I always like hearing "It's Over For Me" despite how cheesey it is, but I didn't feel there was a real flow to her set.

Lisa rocked the place if only nu energy didn't set up in front of her and cut her last track off!


agreed it was a good night though. i'm liking hidden more and more!!

Lisa rocked the place if only nu energy didn't set up in front of her and cut her last track off!

I tried to be as kind as I could with my statement. Her set didn't work for me but I could see people dancing and I appreciate not everyone feels the same way about set structure and flow as I do. Personally she didn't do it for me that night but she did play some good tunes.

Nu energy are a live act.. they have to set up although I have seen people make this comment before. But would you have rather we waited around 10 minutes with no music while they did all the setup after Lisa's last tune? I appreciate it could be a bit off putting but actually I found it all rather exciting as I hadn't seen them before and was really looking forward to it.

Glad you had a good night. Hidden rocks. x

Since I've first discovered it, Hidden has alway had many excellent and rave reviews, especially those who stage their events there.

I was there back in August and I very much liked what I saw and as I don't live in or anywhere near London I am looking forward to my next return vist.

Whateverthe venue staged it seems to be a very nice club with a very friendly atmostphere, unlike some many of other big named clubs I could mention.

Lets hope 2007 will be a good year for Hidden.

I could say Hidden is my Escape from home.
i.e. Escape is one of my local nightclubs.

Exelent review, glad you enjoyed the set and thanks for the mention K8-e

Great review! Thanks for the mention too! :D

i thought nu energy live act was wicked and even though my feet were in a bit of pain.....i cudnt help but want to dance....loved it.xx

i thought nu energy live act was wicked and even though my feet were in a bit of pain.....i cudnt help but want to dance....loved it.xx

I loved the way you kept dancing then had to sit down cos your feet hurt but then had to get up and dance again cos you couldn't sit still. RAAAA! xx