I arrived in Sydney on the 31st July. It was bitter cold and miserable with mercury barely hitting 16 degrees. I landed in Kingsford Smith Airport at early hour of morning, just after the sunrise. Even before walking along the airbridge, i can easily feel the sense of unease and discomfort. It was more than just the weather. I think it was the difficulty in comprehending the challenges before me such as university, re-integration to Australian culture and stacks of activities that must be organised.
It was 30 degrees in Amsterdam on that day. No doubt i would have preferred to be in Amsterdam for at least another 6 months to ride off the cold weather.
The sense of nostalgia was intense. Almost having withdrawal problems as reality has sunk in that i have just left Europe.
Thirty minutes after arrival, i paced to the baggage collection mall. It was very slow arrive… Then the quarentine inspection. The whole airport felt like it hasn’t had a renovation since the 80s…the era in which i was born. After going through the gate and into the public mall, the weather reallty did start to bite. Bitter cold wind just rushing through the concourse.
Hard to prepare for this weather when Singapore was 33 degrees and high humidity.
This is my first Q-Dance party since my time in Amsterdam last July. I didn’t have much expectation for this party because it’s smaller but managed to have a decent night out meeting mates i haven’t seen for years.
That day was a long day. I met several goers at Central Station waiting for the same bus as me. There was a Swiss couple coming along and only going to this party because they are on holidays in Australia for a few months. Also, there were two blokes from Brisbane who wouldn’t miss Q-Dance for the world after their experience and of X-Qlusive party held in their city. There was also a small group from Newcastle who arrived early because of infrequent train travel.
Obviously, we boarded the same bus and it was packed. About half are going to that party and the rest are just other passengers. A passenger beside me commented ‘It must be Q-Dance today. I should have bought my tickets’. I quickly replied ‘Nah, don’t bother’ and there was a spontaneous laughter for those who heard my wits. I don’t have high expectation for this party because of my previous experience in Europe, but thought i just come anyway because my mates i met in Sensation Black Amsterdam are coming along.
So, i arrived at Hordern Pavilion around 9.10pm and there was surprisingly a fast processing at the gates. I just go to the gates, security guards body search me and check all my possessions and then another bloke behind him collects my ticket. After that i met a mate who i haven’t seen for almost 2 years and we used to go to similar parties back then. Obviously, those days of frequent rave party attendances has past us but still we continue to come along partially for nostalgia. Our group started gathering up and we had a photo taken by one of us. We took out time going inside the venue, but before that some of our group were VIP members which means they were eligible for t-shirts and other goodies.
Eventually we went in. My first impression is that the venue was so small! It can fit about 5 thousand but at least the stage is decent for this kind of party. Yeah i know, those days of 48,000 fellas like in Sensation Black are behind me and it isn’t wise to compare it with this party. But i can’t help it. This doesn’t mean i’ll be ‘down’ throughout the party. Just have to make the most of it, no matter how difficult it be.
Fausto was pretty entertaining. He was keen to get the crowd going. He sometimes acts like an MC by jumping onto the desk and clap his hands above his head trying to initiate the crowd to follow him. I did a bit of dance with a can of Heineken on my left hand. No prizes there why i chose that beer, even if it costed me 7 bucks!
And so i met a bloke who started asking questions of my experience in Amsterdam and what the party was like. I replied back with few comments just to compare this party to that. But didn’t want to drag that comparison any further than necessary or else it makes me go upset.
…but ended up talking throughout the night. He wants to live in Amsterdam and party like i did but for an average Joe it just isn’t possible without a decent resume to compete with local Dutchmen. Suddenly, a Dutchman heard me saying about Amsterdam. He is from Eindhoven, but said he is from ‘Amsterdam’ because usually Aussies usually can relate to Amsterdam and never heard of Eindhoven. Then he started talking further about his 7 years of parties in Holland. “What do you think of Holland?” I replied “The weather is crap”. Then a sudden pause from him showing his defeat of trying to suss out a positive comment as my first reply. He then said “Yeah, the weather is horrible, but besides that what do you think?” I said in cool tone “Yeah it was a great experience. Big parties every fortnight”.
I wondered why is he in this party? He explained to me that him and his mate are on Working Holiday visa and planning to travel around for about a year as a backpacker. His friend decided to come to this party for just a novel factor. So we talked about 20min outside but it was long enough. Didn’t want to be rude but my mate is feeling ‘left behind’ while me and the Dutchman was talking about stuff he cannot relate. While i was heading back inside he did said to me that he felt isolated. I expected he would say that.
I came to this party to meet my mates i met in Amsterdam and i won’t leave this place without meeting them and share my greetings. I got in contact with them by exchanging text messages and eventually i tracked them down by their description of their whereabouts. It was a challenging task for me to find them because there were so many blokes in black shirts and jeans. After 5 minutes, i found them and tapped on their shoulder. An instant excitement by them. We stayed together in groups and constantly exchanged comments about our thoughts of the DJ sets, the stage presentation and crowd mood. I did admit to her and him that the crowd in Q-Dance is more bubbly and energetic than in Sensation Black where they just bobbed around and acted much more passively.
I left the party about 4.45am. We got bored of the party because the sets were very mellow and patchy. I personally preferred general hardstyle and not this hardstyle-happy hardcore fusion with 30sec patchworks. Call me old skool but i preferred the scene back 3 years ago. Maybe i’m getting too old for this party.
When i was studying, actually finishing uni was my goal. Now that i have achieved my goal, my whole ground is in a shaky ground. Most of my friends in uni have gone back to studying Honours or Masters. Currently i have an option of working as Research Assistant at the Macquarie Uni but the contract is only for few months. In the mean time i am applying for Graduate positions, mostly with the public sector since my degree is more useful that way.
I have been writing lengthy selection criteria reports which contains my personal, academic and professional experiences. The latest report was 8 pages in length and took me 4 days, just for one government position. March is the period where graduate positions are being available for next year. I should really find a researching job now while looking for a more sustainable career path.
I got other activities i can take my mind off. Photography, fitness training and going out at night. But these activities are merely just expenditures instead of generating income.
It’s been over a month since first setting back in Sydney. So naturally, i feel compelled to write this journal what i dearly miss about my experience abroad to that fascinating and philosophically challenging city.
Utilitarianism
By definition, utilitarianism means functionality over extravagance or design. All things must serve a rational purpose or else it would be deemed irrational and extravagant. Some may say it’s just very conservative economic rationalism and this mentality of ‘why fix if it ain’t broke’. I view it as post-modern perspective considering that Amsterdam does not feel threatened by not keeping up with other societies. Modernity can be perceived as over-hyped and unnecessary for function of society. Thus, bikes, drawbridges, clocktowers and canals are still in use. It may feel nostalgic to old times but in my view, it is just customary make things simple as it is.
Furthermore, speaking on the notion of function, utilitarianism also views that everyone has a function in society. No matter if you’re a carpenter or doctor or lawyer, each and everyone has function in the general fabric of society, since we all serve some purpose in duty and capitalisation. Thus, everyone should be treated as equal. What’s the point of having everyone as doctors or lawyers when there are no ganiters to mop the floors or construction workers to build hospitals? I guess, through this lens it gives a magnificent clarity why there’s such tolerance in prostitutes and not allowing the state to dictate individual concerns. This includes euthanasia, homosexual recognition, no age in alcohol consumption, stem cell research or any other issues that are considered ethically controversial. Empowering individuals as a node of functionalism ensures liberty that we, through our own rationality can base our own judgement without hindrance.
There is a natural tendency for a sense of order. Although the state itself doesn’t show such authoritarian statehood to bind the living within its realms together, nationhood still remains as a profound movement to serve that order. Simply, the collectives of the people through their own participation and motive of collaborating with its distinguished interest serves greater order than any authority put down by the state. For instance, the urban planning in Amsterdam has been basically built in the Golden Age where it considered at the time that all decision-making will have lasting legacy for future generations. Many may consider this as a conscious deliberative system. Canals were built and so were the outer ring of park which originally served as a defence system from outside invasion. When viewed from above, the historical centre of Amsterdam is shaped as a half spider web, where it psychologically would gravitate to the centre in terms of trade and expression on information.
Over the past two months, i have been travelling around Sydney metro to use different Fitness First gyms. From CBD to North Sydney, North Strathfield, North Sydney, Chatswood, Parramatta and St Leonards.
I do have a feeling that FF customers closer to the city are tend to be more reserved and resistant to people talking to them. They would quickly help you and after that, they don’t want any more communication. They are far more independent, self-responsible and resistant to any form of influence from others as they wish to be impartial and not peer pressured.
In Parramatta, much of the participants are segregated to their racial background. So you’ll have students who are Chinese who go to gym together and still around in big groups and rotate using the same machine until all have sufficiently used them. Same goes for Afghanis and so on. Gyms outside of Eastern Suburbs, North Shore and City are very messy. For example, the weights are not placed back on racks and weights are still on bars on benchpress.
I usually go to Carlingford FF because it’s the closest to where i live. People are more open during non-peak hours. In peak hours, its a lot more challenging and busy, and the last thing they want to do is to talk while trying to finish their routine asap, after coming straight from work.
I had a long conversion with a few members in Carlingford FF and were pretty keen to work with me next time. I need support when doing weights because i’m hesitant to using heavy weights in case of injury. So if i have a supporter, i can go aggressively and push hard, such as bench press. I won’t really improve unless i have a support.
So there’s my analysis. It’s very basic, but that’s just my opinion
In my honest opinion, i think you can discover the town in a day. Three days is pretty long, but i took that duration anyway. Keeping it steady paced and chilled.
My first impression was that the town is very small. More of a village feel. It is very touristy and i wouldn’t want to live there. However, it is indeed well maintained and cleaned while keeping the original and authentic feel of the city. It is UNESCO heritage listed for historical reasons.
From the station towards to Markt are lined with chocolate stores, candies and souvenir merchandise retails. You may also come across fast food joints such as frites (French Fries) and Belgian waffle kiosks.
It is a walkable city. You can hire a bike for your time of stay but it isn’t necessary.
This is my favourite place to chill. Underneath the propeller of the windmill.
I’m in Singapore at the moment. Last two weeks has been hecktic and haven’t had a relaxing ample time to write up posts. But to summarise what i have done in a fortnight…it’s pretty much made up of trips to Belgium and Germany. I will type them up for the record when i’m back.
My plane leaves at about 6pm 30th July, which is tonight.
My last leg of journey overseas. Will be back to Sydney on 6am 31st July.
Introduction
It was generally a decent party, but certainly not the best i’ve been to. This view was shared by my friends who has been to other major hardstyle parties in the Netherlands. There is a mixed reaction amongst the group of friends depending on whether it’s their first Dutch hardstyle party or one of many.
The Aussie Meet
In Amsterdam on the day of the party, there was an unpredictable precipitation which hindered the logistics or having to effectively organise the meet in general. It was only when i had to take chances by temporarily vacating myself away from the place of meet and search for the nearest internet cafe as another form of communication, was when trouble started. I quickly strolled to the Amsterdam Bibliotheek (library) and logged onto my email to send details on how to reach to me by phone. Just before my natural reaction in composing a message, i already got email from Louise citing to contact them through their Australian mobile number. My instant reaction was ‘is it possible? Can i actually contact their Australian number while they reside in Amsterdam?’.
After my brief email reply, i travelled back to Centraal Station’s concourse and protected from the rain, and gave them a quick phone call citing a new place of meet. About ten minutes later, i met them and gave them a tour of the library and had a quick bite at the restaurant.
After lunch, we descended to the City Centre near Damrak and meet the other crews from Australia. They were sitting in front of a coffeeshop on a bench just chilling, after, if i should guess, some joints. There were five blokes originally from Perth who travelled to Europe for a party and continuous festivities. One was studying in Germany and from my re-collections, i think the rest visited him as a chance to ’see’ Europe. They saw Europe alright. Staying in Amsterdam for a week doing what most bold tourists does. Many rounds of joints mushrooms and pub crawl within the confounds of the city canals. They said that a week of Amsterdam in Amsterdam is far too long…? That doesn’t help me at all considering that a year of residing in Amsterdam is too short?
All of us had a brief stop at the mushroom store (no prizes in why) and another coffeeshop were we all sit around this small corner at the front of the ’shop’. Pretty much chatting for an hour and eventually we split up with the guys from Perth wanting to have a nap and the Louise and friend wants to continue the tour.
Black Denim Shorts
We eventually met up with another bunch of Aussies who were residing in London and Greece. They both were in desperate need of new clothes from head to toe. So i scrammed them around the pedestrian mall in the City Centre finding what was indeed impossible. A black denim short that stretches to the ankle. I stopped counting after 15 shops we visited. Poking our heads in each stores, asking series of questions to the staff, and in many cases they didn’t have a clue what we were talking bout. Any stores which has the word ‘denim’ in their store description would be inspected by the Black Denim Shorts patrol. Yes fellas, the Dutch men don’t wear black denim shorts. Anything that exhibits skin from ankle to the feet is considered indecent and would be swiftly be taken to the Dutch etiquette class. Or was that the conclusion we inconclusively thought up?
Just 30min before the official store closing at 6pm, these two blokes had to make drastic decisions. Whether to buy the black jeans and cut it up or not be allowed entry to Black at all. Quick decisions lead to some results…till the last minute. Just buy the black jeans, and tell the staff to cut it up in front of us. Then came the shoes, black socks searching. Finally completed about 6.10pm, when a bloke refused to get out of a shoe store unless he found a pair he wanted.
Arrival
Just fast-forwarding the story…(yes, it was an exhausting day before the party)… we arrived in Bijlmer ArenA station at 9.10. Everyone was split depending on the gates that are designated by the ticket from A to J. I couldn’t join them because i had to collect the ticket from the box office. Just when i thought that the crush capacity is over after that train ride to the station, i now had to face another exhausting and frustrating time for 2 hours. When Europeans are desperate, they quickly step-aside the etiquette and just push ahead. Six lines eventually meet up in front of the box office’s window. Just when i thought it cannot be worse than this, many women almost got squeezed off or totally sandwiched by Europeans at least 1.90m tall and having to endure the almost suffocating experience of breathing their cheap deodorant originated from their armpits and from their back. How indignifying.
I never thought it would take such push and shove just to get my ticket. Furthermore, the blokes who landed in Schiphol Airport at 10pm actually were waiting behind the entrance gate J until 11:10pm. Drew whisked me to the locker room and so i shoved my belonging and my hoodie inside. Then strolled to the dancefloor to finally get the party started, with me included.
The Party
Once i got there, the music was great. Wonderful pure hardstyle from Fausto and as natural the crowd reacted with enduring lapses of dances and spontaneous hands in the air moments.
This is by far the most energetic crowd i have ever seen in hardstyle parties. I really don’t care about them taking drugs since its their personal thing, but at least they are having fun and not making any trouble amongst them.
Interior Design
I will give credit that they have put effort in the interior design. The floating jellyfish looking like bunch of space ship tripods beaming their three lights onto the crowds below. They bounce around vertically with strings attached. The centre stage looks like a Van de Graaff generator (look it up if you don’t know) with electric spikes beaming out.
There are also catwalk like paths spanning across the long-width of the football field. Not just walkway but about ten water-jets on each side of the centre which are choreographed depending on the melody. Some jetstreams can be sprayed radially and images are projected with spotlights as if the waterjets are projector screens. Pretty much the dancefloor was split into two with a walkway underneath the spanned catwalks on each side.
The bottom level of the stadium seats are open for public. You can sit there and watch or dance by folding the seats if you desire. But the vast majority did stay in the dancefloor until in times of grieved pain, they need to sit down.
The Music
As noted in the introduction, the music receives a mixed blessing from our group. Louise, Drew and I didn’t really like it. In fact, it was one of the worst hardstyle party when based purely on music. The amount of cheese inserted into Donkey Roller’s set is just insulting to the hardstyle movement in my honest opinion. The re-mixed tracks from Coldplay, U2 or whatever and then adding pounding bass just to give the crowd a head kick in dancing. We can admit that we had high expectations for this party. I considered this to be the pinnacle of all hardstyle parties without reservation. Purely based on the hype and the scale of capacity of course. But ID&T doesn’t sound like they have interrogated the DJs well enough to get some previews and check which tracks go in and out. Sort of like filtering the plethoria of crap many DJs seem to be playing. Us were more purist in form, and never liked how the hardstyle scene seem to be trying to bend over backward in attracting new members. Just like the sixteen year olds in Power House Production parties in Sydney only going there because of the cheese and happy hardcore.
At least there was a concession. Good that Dana was not playing on the night. Her repeated performance over the years is below average and should stay away from meddling with the equilizer. Nobody likes distorted music.
Evidently, three of us went out with a sour note. But as a complementary side at least we can say we have been to Amsterdam’s Sensation Black.
On the other hand, the guys who just came to Amsterdam from Down Under thoroughly enjoyed it. I can imagine that the pairs from Sydney and the group from Perth really got blown away by the magnitude and crowd of the party. Yes, there is nothing compared to what’s going on in Australia and i am empathetic to their reaction of disbelief and in trance.
I would like to finish up saying that i think over the last 12 months in Europe, the best moment in hardstyle party was in Qlimax Belgium and Sensation Black Antwerp. Both were not in Holland coincidently, but the vibe i got especially from the crowd and the will of the DJs of making the scene as conventional as possible. No more happy hardcore or cheesy rock band tracks, just humble and thrilling hardstyle tracks for us Old Skool…
Photos…finally
Here you see the centre stage and the revolving DJ deck around that white trunk in the middle. That MC sure is glued to that mike screaming or pretending that the crowd really cares.
Here are the waterjets. On each side of the waterjets were flame-throwers.
Floating jellyfish with tri-lights
Tri-lights at work
…and the crowd are lovin’ it.
Massive speakers and distortion-free as expected
Uncommon to see glowsticks. Not readily used in hardstyle parties.
Simultaneous arm gestures
Sun about to rise…after 5am
Illuminated waterjets
Just when the sun was rising and the stadium was lighted up, people call it a day. It was way bigger crowd than this.
Just a sense of proportion of the props and the designs
A bloke repairing the light
At 6.30am
Videos
Evil Activities playing ‘Nobody Said it Would be Easy’. You can see the waterjets and flamethrowers.
Technoboy
Crowd getting into the tunes…
I’ll edit this while adding more videos. Stay updated!
12th July - Working Holiday Scheme Applied @ Sydney Consulate
24th July - Visa received & Studyplan proposal sent.
27th July - UvA Semester 1 Subject Selection
15:40 10th August - departure
07:05 11st August - Arrival @ Amsterdam. Depart to Tilburg
13th August - Accommodation Commences & Interview with Immigration.
22nd August - Dave's Arrival
5September - UvA Semester Commences
9th September - Travel Eftaling (theme park).
11th September - Meet the neighbours party
28th September - Interview with Tax Office
5th October - No class for International Law course
19th October - No class for International Law course
27th October - Ferry Corsten @ Ahoy, Rotterdam
17th November - Trip to The Hague to attend the International Court of Justice hearing
30th November - Trip to The Hague to attend the International Court of Justice hearing
1st December - Qlimax Belgium in Hasselt
24th December - Travel from Amsterdam to Rome
25th December - Midnight Mass in Vatican City
27th December - Travel from Rome to Florence via Eurostar
28th December - Travel from Florence to Bologna via Eurostar
29th December - Travel from Bologna to Milan via Eurostar
30th December - Travel from Milan to Rome via Eurostar
2nd January - Travel from Rome to Brussels via Brussels Air
3rd January - Laurie in Amsterdam
11th January - UNISCA Commences
15:45 25th January - Lawrie in Amsterdam
14th February - UvA Semester 2 Subject Selection
23rd February - Trance Energy 2008
1st March - Running Dinner @ Stavangerweg
19th April - In Qontrol @ RAI Amsterdam
25th April - Sensation Black @ Antwerp
30th April - CityMoves Armin's Queen's Day Edition @ Leiden
11th May -CityMoves feat. Rank 1 & Marcel Woods @ Alkmaar
1st June - Armada @ the Beach @ Beachclub Vroeger
8th June - Citymoves @ Groningen
12th June - DefQon 1 @ Almere
12th July - Sensation Black @ Amsterdam ArenA
24th - 27th - Trip to Berlin
28th July - Amsterdam Schipol to Singapore Changi Airport
29th - 30th July - Singapore
- 31st July - Arriving Sydney
