Fantazia Big Bang - Review - Mixmag

Glasgow Exhibition And Conference Centre 1993

70 Feet above the 12,000 strong crowd, perched on a scaffolding tower for photographic purposes, it all feels remarkable peaceful.

There's a constant, muted roar from the darkness below while the darkness itself is broken here and there by the greenish glare of hundreds of wavering day-glo sticks.  It's almost like being high in a tree above a tropical rainforest humming with fireflies at dusk.  Then the MC breaks the spell: "Ow you doin' out there? C'mon Fantazia! Make some noise!" Back to reality...

Boiler suits, gas masks, white gloves, people dressed as clowns and lashing of day-glo sticks.  If you're drinking Bacardi? Or if you're at Glasgow's exhibition and Conference Centre for Fantazia's first venture on Scottish soil.  There's not too much conferring going on but there's definitely plenty of exhibition.

Graham and Andy are wearing matching black and white check boiler suits, white gloves and masks (little white masks like the one Michael Myers wears in the Halloween movies) and they're telling me, rather unnecessarily, that they want "to stand out from the crowd."

They reckon (and they weren't the only ones who said it) that this = Graham gestures around at the fairground rides, laser games, gyroscope and DJ Ellis Dee pounding out the breakbeat behind us - "is better than any Rezerection do, it's the best."

Now, there are those of you out there who probably gave up on all nighters in cavernous barns years ago.  Who only hear something approaching breakbeat when The Prodigy's latest opus get some airplay.  Who applaud quietly when you hear DJs talk of 'educating' audiences and who probably think that inserting a red hot poker into your anus would be "better than any Rezerection do."  Well, you'd for sure be in a minority tonight.

Fantazia's House Room, where DJ's like Glasgow's own Michael Kilkie are booked to play, is actually more of a House Corner off by the main hall.  The capacity crowd here have no desire whatsoever to be 'educated' musically.  They've passed their 160bpm plus and are busy getting it "just how they like it", as the MC would put it.

And who's to criticise?  Fantazia put on a ferocious show.  The enormous stage and dancer packed catwalks are backed by huge towers of scaffolding containing yet more dancers.

There's more lasers in the main room than in Star Wars.  There are coloured fountains of water jetting 20 feet into the air.  And the faithful are going bonkers.

When Carl Cox is on it dawns on you; hundreds of thousands of people like to hear this kind of music - and only this kind of music - all night.  This might depress those of us looking for a little light and shade here and there but consider this: if there had been an ambient / Trance/ progressive /dub night held to raise money for AIDS charities (as this event was, all profits being split between the Terrance Higgins Trust and Scottish Aids charities) then there might have just been enough money to buy a few new pencil sharpeners and some Letraset.  Fantazia I imagine, Scotland will have you back anytime.

John Nivens.