The summer was another fantastic feather to the Tribal bow. While other clubs around the country dug themselves in and prepared for the struggle through the hot months, Sankeys and Tribal continued to prosper and continued to push the boundaries of what could be done with 800 people, in a small club on the outskirts of Manchester. The Sankeys anniversary was hailed with a visit from David Morales (who after he played said, like many others, that it was the best gig he’d done for years.). Sankeys closed for a refurbishment in the middle of August and re-opened on September 7th.

The improvements to the venue were clear: New Function 1 sound, more air-conditioning, more comfort, a new bar area and a totally redesigned upstairs room. Sankeys and Tribal had re-invested every penny (and more!) that had been made in their first year back in to the club. The re-opening night saw New York Tribal house don, Victor Calderone make his UK debut at Sankeys. To this day, he refuses to play any other UK club. Tribal, he says, is a part of him.

Also in September, Saturday nights at Sankeys were taken over by Tribal Gathering and named The Redlight. Now Tribal had total control over the music and creativity of the Sankeys weekends. The plan was to move the US house element of Tribal Sessions on to the Saturday, allowing Tribal sessions to really explore the tech, tribal and progressive sides and introduce new elements such as breaks that were quickly becoming a favorite with the huge fan base that Tribal Sessions had created. Thousands of people from all corners of the country now relished the thought of their weekly trip to the club. They were Tribal and they let everyone around them know just how Tribal they were.

Tribal Sessions had created a scene. Manchester had been devoid of any decent weekly club events until Sankeys opened and now it was making up for lost time. Tribal Gathering was hosting the whole weekend at Sankeys, with line-ups such as Layo & Bushwacka on the Friday and Erick Morillo on the Saturday at the Redlight

Tribal was starting to create a pool of DJs who were loved at the club and who themselves felt as though they belonged with us. Names such as Sander Kelinenberg, Layo & Bushwacka, Erick Morillo, Stanton Warriors, Steve Lawler, Jon Carter and many more, were now asking Tribal how they could get more involved. The tides were turning and the wonderful organic second coming of Tribal Gathering was now exceeding everyone’s expectations.

DJ Sasha came to play the Tribal Sessions first Birthday on October 5th 2001. While it was only a matter of time before the progressive master decided to check this monumental club that had sprung up in his own beloved Manchester, but David made sure by plying him with various pieces of Hacienda memorabilia. Anyway, on the Friday before Christmas Sasha and Steve Lawler were being interviewed by Tongy on his Radio 1 show. When asked about their number 1 moment of 2001, they all agreed that Tribal Sessions was every big DJs moment of 2001.

David Vincent announced to the masses that Tribal had a new objective. The aim of Tribal gathering was to eventually raise enough money to buy a tropical acid house party island in the sun were the Tribalists could go and escape society forever. While this statement was truthful in every way, it was surely a long way away, but that did not matter; it summed up perfectly what Tribal was about. WARPAINT AND FEATHERS

At the end of 2001 Tribal and Sankeys won many local awards. Manchester Evening News gave them Club and Crowd of the Year, City Life awarded them ‘Club Of the year and Muzik Magazine nominated Tribal as the number one night in the country.

However this was not good enough for David and Sacha and as 2002 got going, the stakes were raised once again. David and Sacha decided in the quest to make Sankeys the most suitable club for the Tribal events, i.e. the best small club in the world, they would have to buy a Phazon Soundsystem...so they did.

The Phazon Soundsystem felt like the icing on the cake. This was the best Soundsystem in the world, which had featured at the worlds most revered clubs such as Twilo. The man behind the Phazon, Steve Dash said that the Phazon in Sankeys was one of the best he had designed, and was way too big for little Sankeys -The Phazon was installed and a new wave of hype and gossip spread through the Tribal circles. With the club now sounding like thunder every week, the DJs kept coming,Darren Emerson, Green Velvet, X-Press 2, Sven Vath and loads more came to visit the club; all of them leaving with one thing on their lips, ‘When can we come back?’. The answer from Tribal was clear when the people ask for you.

Tribal Gathering has undergone a modernization since its residence at Sankeys but has kept true to all its original acid house ideals. It is now much more than just a party, it is a worldwide collective. This was proved when Tribal Sessions did their first international date, in Miami during the 2002 conference. While the tribal team knew that American clubbers were aware of Tribal Sessions, as there were regular appearances from several of them on the message board, no-one expected the kind of response that was received in the States. They were as passionate about Tribal as many of those who came to Sankeys each week. The war paint and feathers which had become a feature at the really ‘special’ Tribal events, were everywhere and as Greg spun an amazing Tribal set alongside Tom Stephan and Sander K the queue of American Tribalists along the side of the DJ booth waiting for David to paint their faces was there for everyone to see. (including now the squads of international dance music press who had flocked to Miami. With Ibiza lined up for the summer of 2002, at the most fantastically Tribal venue on the island and line-ups which literally make your mouth water, everyone at camp Tribal is set for a summer of proper feathers and face paint brilliance.

It is this that separates Tribal from the rest. It is now a movement which can easily infiltrate any area of the world because it appeals not only to the people who love the music that Tribal pushes, but also to thousands and thousands of people who want that special something. Tribal Gathering is now an international community and it is safe to say that Tribal Island really is only around the corner.

Tribal Gathering is now preparing to make moves away from Sankeys. While its beloved home will of course remain the nerve centre of all things Tribal, the Weekender later this year at the legendary site of the Southport Weekender is the next chapter in this fantastic story. If this were all a ‘story’ this chapter would be predicable. Have you seen Gladiator? Well Maximus, the mighty brave general returns to Rome to topple the evil Ceaser and give power back to the people. Well, that is the aim of this next Tribal event. While the super clubs continue to produce massive events with 100 DJs and a million flyers, The Tribal Gathering Weekender will be an event encompassing all the elements which are described in the above piece. This will be the event of the year. Anyone who denies this is just kidding themselves - everyone knows that the Tribal formula is just better - even if one event had every DJ in the world playing, Tribal would still be better. They’re all missing that certain special something.