Review Cream 8th Anniversary

Too many house events these days seem tired and repetitive, with lineups to make you go, meh.

Disclaimer: The article below has been contributed by the event promoter or somebody representing the event promoter. As such we take no responsibility for accuracy of the content and any views expressed are not necessarily those of Skiddle or our staff.

Date published: 24th Dec 2014

Our heads at skiddle have just about recovered from our latest trip to the second city, to visit the glorious Rainbow Venues, for Cream Birmingham?s 8th Birthday party?.it was insane. Too many house events these days seem tired and repetitive, with lineups to make you go, meh. Booking a headline DJ is always a good idea, book 2 and you pretty much guarantee a belter, book 3 and you know it?s gonna be special. Do that, then throw in a 4th; one of the biggest names in house and you are left with a lineup that makes you wonder how there can be misery in the world when things are this good!

Over it?s 8 year existence, the team behind Cream Birmingham have continually evolved and improved event on event. They have been in-situ at some of the cities most notorious and legendary venues, The Q Club, Gatecrasher Birmingham, Gibb Street Warehouse and of course The Rainbow Venues. They have turned the city inside out in pursuit of the perfect locale for it?s parties. WeLove The Rainbow, purely for it?s raw industrial feel, and now that money has been spent on its appearance and the addition of The Mezzanine, the venue and its Co2 cannons and upgraded sound system, is the perfect partner to this monster of a brand.

The experience of a Cream Birmingham event begins the second you arrive, the security team, led by the Original Man Mountain ?Lenny?, is next to perfection, having a respectful and organised security team ensures that trouble is weeded out at the door and the party isn?t affected by dickheads. To this date, we have never seen any trouble at these events and credit the door team with this, *claps*. As we entered the main arena, we were treated to the audio delight of the tattooed wonder, Rue Jay! Boy can this dude mix. Rue threw classic after classic out to a wanting crowd, the main room bounced nicely to his set.

Next up in the main room was Brandon Block, a WeLoveDJs fav! His cheeky mixing and stage persona once again commanding respect from the crowd, he rocked! Chopping from Pete Hellers? ?Big Love? to Subliminal Cuts? ?Le Voie Le Soleil?, and then some, Brandon delivered on every level. Meanwhile, over on the darker side of town, the innerwarehouse was delivering some fierce techno beats courtesy of local boys Scott Bleeps and Elliot Croft, if you?ve seen this pair play, then you know, if you haven?t, then do. Perfect mixing, mind bending warped synthesised baselines and enough loops to sort the wheat from the chaff! WeLove these boys.

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Back in the Cream Arena, Danny Rampling had taken to the decks to serve up one his trademark sets. There?s something nostalgic about seeing a ?legend? play, a link to the origins of the UK party scene that commands an unspoken respect, a feeling of pride among the house-faithful. Danny is and will forever be revered among house-heads in the UK and beyond for his contribution to house music. What he does in return, is perform a 90 min consummation of the best that the genre has to offer. I caught up with Danny after his set and asked him what he likes about playing at Cream Birmingham; ?the crowd! There is always a positive energy in the room here in Birmingham?. When I asked him what his ?track-of-the-night was, what summed up his experience, the response was almost a given? ?LOVIN??. Which segways us nicely into this?

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When we heard that David Morales was playing at Cream, we let out a little excitement squeal. It?s not often that you get to see your heroes, especially when they reside stateside. Morales encapsulates a period of history in house that won?t be repeated. The Grammy winning Puerto Rican Dj/Producer/Remixer is one of those DJs that makes you reminisce about the hazy house days of the ?90s. The ?party-line? 8pm Friday text message to alert you to a dis-used bingo hall in Hackney, a ?cave? somewhere off the A38, just past the Ledbury Road turn-off , or the ?Exodus? field of Milton Keynes. House back then had a different vibe and ethos. The magic of a DJ like Morales is that he has the technical brilliance to recreate THAT moment, today. His set was nothing but brilliance. A combination of the lighting, the sound, the C02, the production, the crowd and the music delivered something beautiful. Morales is more than a DJ, he literally performs, at times, he would lower the mid-range and sing along to the tracks, it was spine-tingling. His ?LOVIN? track was played again, this time to raptuous applause and appreciation. It was something special and a set that we will not forget in a long while. Kudos to George Kafetzis for this booking.

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The Tall one himself was last to grace the decks, we had been ?quashing the grape? earlier with Paul Newman earlier alongside local DJ Simon Patchett: they said that Darius Syrossian?s ?10 miles from Lima? was their stand-out track to sum up the night. Tall Paul is an amazing DJ, he knows exactly when to drop and when to loop. He controls the crowd with his impeccable mixing and upfront house. WeRemember Paul from his Sundissential and Gallery days, and as a seasoned disco-bitch, it?s always fabulous to see one of your favourite jockeys rocking the shit out of a pair of turntables, watching him perform and begging for him to drop his white label ?Love Rush?, I had to remind myself that this was not Trade. Enough said. Ahem!

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Birmingham once again proved that it has some of the best local DJs around. Ste Savage [Smak Pony], Simon Patchett, Steve Young, Alex Smitz, Alex Parkin, Harry White and Jonze, all stepped up once again. The talent in this industrial city is outstanding, nights are filled with a plethora of genre mixers, that ensure a well planned and booked event is a success. Well Done Cream Birmingham. Oh! And if that wasn?t enough! I bumped into a personal favourite of mine, the one and only Katy B rocking out to Cream?s vibes! xx #vip!

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There have been certain sets over the last 8 years that have stood out, Rampling playing to a sold out Q Club, Smokin? Jo tearing apart the main room back in 2010, Sonique?s annihilation of the Street, the countless PA?s from the likes of Angie Brown and Rozalla, when Graeme Park and Robin S chopped up and looped the baseline from ?Show Me Love? for 15 min to a packed warehouse, the legendary Back2Back sets in the ?Garden? of Kafetzis vs Catherall, the night that Sister Bliss took to the stage and literally had the crowd fighting for space as the original handbag himself Jon Pleased enticed them in the other direction, the glorious Alex P, *swoon* and the bad boi of house Brandon Block bouncing and smashing the garden at Rainbow, Yousef and the dirty bird himself Claude Von Stroke serving up the techno feast to the black-clad fist bumpers, Ibizan Godfather Alfredo dropping ?Bangles ? Walk Like An Egyptian?, Jason Herd?s impromptu afterparty and now this. David Morales will sit up there with these memorable nights.

We leave you with one thought, 7th March 2015. Erick Morillo. No need to say anymore. Just fucking buy a ticket or miss out!!!

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WeLoveCreamBirmingham

WeLoveMorales

WeLoveHouse

WeLoveDJs xxx

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