Well, here I am on a cold and wet Saturday morning, still buzzin’ and trying to figure out just how to describe one of the best nights I’ve had for a long time. I am, of course, referring to Dance Concept’s North Meets South event at Club Kinetic, Stoke-On-Trent, October 6th. Put simply it was an excellent night, but I guess you’ll want to know more, so here goes.

Under orders to arrive early, I got there half an hour before the doors opened and discovered there was already a decent queue outside. I go in search of food and return at 8pm just as the doors open. The queue by now is four deep, and stretches around two sides of the building. Entry into the club is swift, and after a short delay due to "technical problems”, the night kicked off with Dougal setting the pace with a set of stompin’ bouncy breakbeat.

Hot on Dougal’s heels came DJ Frantic, playing a set that befits his name. With the main room getting fuller by the minute and Frantic doing his stuff, I decided to have a wander around and see what else was going down. First stop was one of the three well stocked bars selling all the usual stuff, both alcoholic and non alcoholic. On from the bar we came across a snooker hall, a little unusual for a rave club don’t you think? Anyway, this room proved to be the source of endless amusement, have you ever watched someone tripping trying to play snooker?

Having amused myself in the snooker room I made my way back to the main room. I arrived to find the room full to overflowing and hotter than my local sauna. The reason why? Scott Brown. In typical Scott Brown fashion he had the place stompin’ like crazy at a pace with Clarke taking over from Scott Brown. Time for another break, I decided.

Now I’m not the world’s greatest house fan, but this place has a house room, so what the hell, I took a look. I walked into the smoke filled room and to my surprise found myself in the middle of an excellent old skool set. Surprise number two came when, as the smoke cleared, I caught a glimpse of the DJ. It couldn’t be, could it? I took a second look. It was. There, high above the dance floor on the platform, was none other than the master of bangin’ techno Mikey B. With Mikey playing some of my favourite old skool tracks I stayed until the end of the set. Feeling relaxed as Mikey’s set finished, I ventured back into the main room once again.

By now it was close to midnight and everyone had finally got into the club. In order to accommodate everyone, two extra rooms had been opened. These two rooms are well kitted out with plenty of comfy seating, so are the perfect place to chill out and relax in. Meanwhile, for those who chose to keep on stompin’ Brisk and Stu Allan kept the place rocking until the star of the night made his entrance.

Enter once again the master of bangin’ techno, Mikey B. With not an old skool track in sight, Mikey slipped into techno mode, moved the pace up a notch and preceded to give the crowd what they wanted, some of the best, bangin’ tunes around. In between spinning the vinyl and dancing like a man possessed, Mikey managed to find time to take over from guest MC G and introduce surprise guest DJ Demand. The night was rounded off with Mikey and Demand playing the last half hour or so back to back. All in all, an excellent night full of surprises.

Finally, on a slightly more serious note, while I was talking to some of the Kinetic crew I discovered that Neil, one of the original Kinetic Crew, is having a rough time in hospital at the moment. So, I would like to join with Paul and Terri in wishing Neil a speedy recovery and to let him know that everyone is looking forward to having him back soon. Respect.