tristanbaldock
Active Member
Finally Finished! - Review of week 15th - 22nd Sept '07
Sat 15th
Arrived at our hotel (Mira Mola Apartments, Figueretas) around 7pm, got showered and changed and hit the road heading for Playa D'en Bossa. Had a few drinks in a few bars and got stocked up and ready for we love... the next day! Then attempted to find Ibiza town, somehow ended up in a random back street in Figueretas at a bar called Kitsch. Yes, the name should have given it away but we soon realised we weren't on the right 'team' for this sort of bar. Ooops! However, being the friendly chaps we are, we started chatting to the guys at the bar, explained we were lost and ended up acquiring a guide all the way to Ibiza town, result! I can't remember the guy's name but thanks!
So we found the port at Ibiza town and sat down at the nearest bar. €6 for 2 large San Miguels, happy days! Started talking to a gent who could only be described as a character. When i asked him where he was from he replied 'The bottom of the ocean.' Ohhhhkaaaay i thought as i slowly sidled away from him (after the photo, obviously)! We moved not 100yards down the street and sat down outside Zoo bar where my mate Adam payed €16 for 2 large San Miguels! Can't believe there is such a difference in price on the same street! Needless to say we only had one there, then set off in search of a bar/club which was recommended to us by the barman in Zoo. I forget the name, but it was over the other side of the port. We set off but were taken in by the most chilled out Bar ever! The name was something like BeachCafeBar and was just down the road from Pacha. It has an amazing garden area with Middle Eastern style Linen Tents and comfy chairs, and a stylish glass bar area. The tunes were chilled and it was vey comfortable indeed. They kicked us out about 3am i seem to remember, so we decided to head back to the hotel and get an early night (well, by Ibizan standards) so we would be fresh for Space the next day.
Sunday 16th
Woke up, commented how hot it was, had the obligatory fried breakfast, which didn't go down too well if i'm honest, then set off for Space with very high hopes. It was Ad's first time on the white isle and my second, so i was full of exhuberant praise for Space, where i had enjoyed one of the best nights of my life the year before. I don't believe it's possible to overstate how very, very, unbelievably good Space is, so i was bounding about with excitement like a kid at Christmas!
We arrived about 1pm and when we walked into the Sunset Terrace and listened to the great soundsystem they have, and saw the DJ, imperious in his large DJ booth, and saw the up-for-it crowd, and felt the water mist blowing from the fans, and heard the aeroplanes overhead, i thought YEEESS! I'm home! After a quick boogie, we had a wander around the club. I always like the main room at Space the best. The soundsystem in there is the best i've ever heard, anywhere. The lights are second to none, and the music policy of moody, intelligent techno/tech house is right up my street. The Terraza is equally as impressive, with a fantastic, crisp sound setup. Early on, Tony Haze played a great set to a gradually filling up Terraza, dropping some nice tough, techy house including the amazing Untitled by Jorgensen, one of my tunes of the week. My only niggle with the Terraza is once it's filled up, it's impossible to navigate from one end to the other, and the main dancefloor area gets far, far too busy. They should have made it even bigger and sunk the dancefloor down, making some natural walkways around the edges. Anyway, enough with the griping and on with the story! Moving back into the Discoteca we listened to Juan Lopez who impressed me, Ribcage by Dubfire has never sounded so good as it did on that Funktion One soundsystem! The rest of the night becomes a little hazy in my head but I remember going into the Terraza for Groove Armada and walking back out as it was too packed to dance and a little commercial musically for us. Nic Fancuilli did a nice job in the Discoteca, as did James Zabiela, although he seemed a little self indulgent at times, with breakdowns lasting far too long and deck tricks which would have better suited the Sunset Terrace. Let the music do the talking in the Discoteca, no fancy tricks needed! Dan Ghenacia came on after JZ and played one of the most relentless and dark 2 hours of techo i have ever heard. It really got the main room rocking, and with the megatron ice canon overhead doing the business and the lightshow seemingly stepped up a notch, things were really going off. Unfortunately we were starting to flag, 15 hours at Space is a long time! Mindfull that we had DC10 the next day, we saw the start of Craig Richards who went deeper but not so hard as DG, then made a move back to the hotel.
Monday 17th
Woke up feeling R.O.U.G.H.! We seriously thought about not going to DC10, but rallied a little bit and decided we would brave it, after all it was one of the main reasons for this year's visit. Walked into Playa and bought our tickets from a bar then stood under the shade of the bar opposite Space and had a cold, refreshing Coors which really hit the spot. We jumped in a taxi and rode the short way to DC10. Arriving there around 3pm, I didn't know what to expect, but was really excited, and from first impressions it looked nice and busy, and from outside the music sounded great! Once through the amazingly stringent and alert security checks at the gate (!) we walked into the dark main room which was nicely busy, but it wasn't this room i wanted to see. After months of watching youtube videos of the terrace at DC10, i was anxious to see this fabled room. I wasn't disappointed! Straight away the vibe took me in and i started to dance unselfconsciously (like a fool!). The atmosphere was superb, the soundsystem great for the venue, and the sun streaming through the windows was the piece de resistance! The feeling you get of an underground party @ DC10 is one i haven't experienced at any other club on the island. It really is just a room with a big soundsystem in, but that's all you need! Although I love the superb lights, lazers and ice canons of Amnesia and Space, the Terrace @ DC10 is probably the best atmosphere i have ever experienced. Probably the main reasons for this are the excellent music policy and mad, up-for-it crowd. I was loving the minimal techno/tech house (whatever you want to call it!), being banged out by the DJ's. One complaint was that i had no idea who was playing, and couldn't see any posters up. Oh well, all the DJ's rocked it. Did spend a fair bit of time in the main room too, respect to the DJ who dropped the Dirty South remix of Josh Wink's Higher State, that absolutely tore the roof off! Also another tune that was played which i really want to get hold of was one that had what sounded like a filtered sound of an aeroplane, which just kept going higher and higher and higher. An absolutely storming track and one of the best tunes i heard all week, if anyone reading this has any idea whatsoever what it might be called, or any links to youtube vids with it playing, that would be amazing! If not, i guess it's just gonna be one of those lost tunes...! The club started to really fill up in the early evening, and although i wanted to kick it in the terrace i just found it too hot and crowded in there, some better fans in there wouldn't go amiss Mr DC10 man! That meant we spent most of the night in the main room, which although had good sound, would benefit from an upgraded system at some point in the not too distant future. However, we still loved it in there, and really enjoyed the day/night.
We left about 10pm, deciding to head to Playa to check out Bora Bora. Was pretty quiet when we got there, and we settled down inside with a couple of San Miguels, which started going down very well indeed! Soon, the place started filling up with fellow wide-eyed individuals, who had obviously come from the same place as us. Although the DJ in Bora Bora mistakenly thought he could scratch, and overdid it a bit with his effects button, he did play some nice tunes, hitting us with some bouncy, bass-driven house which was nice for a change after DC10. Some 6 pints later, midnight came and they opened up the little inner club which i hadn't even realised was there (but was very glad to see!). It was about this time i had a bit of a funny turn and sat at the top of the stairs for about an hour looking like a bit of a mong no doubt! Had there been anyone there i no doubt would have chatted absolute ****e to them! Anyway, everyone's entitled to a 'funny one' while they're in Ibiza, i'm glad mine only lasted an hour! (i blame the 'paractemol' i took after too many beers!) After recovering, i had a bit of a boogie, but was starting to feel it. As 2am approached, we took our leave and headed back to the hotel for some well earned rest!
Tues 18th
Our 'rest' day. Went to Ibiza town, had a drink and a look round, then climbed up to the castle. This is definitely worth doing, and we found ourselves up there just as the sun was setting, which was spectacular. You can see great views from one side over to Figueretas and Playa D'en Bossa, and from another side Ibiza Town itself. You can make out Pacha, El Divino, and even see the lights from Amnesia and Privilege on the highway. The streets in and around the castle are very old and picturesque, defnitely a Kodak moment at every turn! Headed back to Playa for a few bevvys then turned in for the night, ready for 3 nights serious clubbing in a row!
Wed 19th
Woke up late, went to the beach for the afternoon, got burnt (obligatory, really!), caught up on emails and Facebook stuff, then went back to the hotel for a bit more kip before the Meganite closing party at Privilege. We wandered into Playa and had a meal at the Moorea, next to The Jet Apartments. Ad's kebab looked very nice, unforunately my Spaghetti Bolognaise was, at best 'interesting,' and if i was being honest - crap! Anyway, it filled me up and gave me some energy for the night ahead. We got on the free disco bus at midnight, and found a whole new breed of people which we hadn't experienced so far that week - very pissed, young English people! With chants of 'oggy oggy ogyy,' 'get your tits out for the lads,' etc etc (all the classics), they did grate a bit after, well about 5 seconds. Still, they were all fairly friendly, although it did make me wonder what sort of a crowd to expect at Privilege. When we got in the queue, we found out that loads of people had been given free tickets for the night. Considering we'd paid €35 each for the pleasure, we weren't very happy with this, but **** it, we vowed to have a good night anyway. However, i found Privilege to be quite a disappointment. It seemed a bit shabby and run down when compared to somewhere like Space and the music was way, way too quiet. The only saving grace of the night was the Coco Loco room, which was nice and LOUD and was playing DC10esque techno and minimal. I believe the DJ was one of the Moreno's although I can't be sure, but whoever it was, he rocked it! A bit gutted the music stopped in there dead on 7am, as we were flying and wanted more, but the DJ had obviously been told to stop as it wasn't busy enough. Mauro Picotto played on for a while in the main room, but as already mentioned, it was way too quiet, so we thought we'd beat the crowds and took our leave. Got a lift from one of the many guys stood outside the club (the unlicensed taxi trade seems quite a thriving business over there!), He seemed a nice enough guy and charged a reasonable price back to the hotel and bed!
Thu 20th
Woke up, got ready to go to San Antonio for a wander round and of course to see the world famous Sunset Strip. By this point in the holiday, we were both very skint, and knowing how expensive amnesia was (we were heading for the Cream closing that night), were having to budget quite considerably! However, we had enough cash for a couple of beers in the Orange Corner bar (my local last year) which is a great place to watch the world go by, and always plays some good tunes. After a bite to eat there, we wandered along to my favourite bar on the island - Baybar. I love this chilled out bar, it's just far enough away from San An to be more laid back, but close enough to walk to, and the chill out area there is superb! We met a crazy Spaniard and his girlfriend who spoke very minimal English. Of course, our Spanish was no better, so conversation was a bit tough but good fun! Our main subject was Formula 1, and basically involved us saying 'Hamilton' and putting our thumbs up, and him saying 'Alonso' and putting his thumbs up! Still, we did manage to get him to teach us some Spanish swear words, which, of course, i have forgotten now! With sunset approaching, we strolled over to the strip and sat on the wooden bleachers outside of Mambo. However, our shop-bought water and San Miguel was not appreciated and we were politely asked to move on if we weren't going to purchase anything from the bar. So, we had to park ourselves on the comfy (!) beach. Sitting there chatting to everyone, i got the impression that the whole world was heading for Cream that night, so i was expecting a busy one! Unfortunately the sun went behind a cloud about 5 minutes before sunset, which was a bit annoying, but i took the chance to have a quick disco-nap.
We got on the bus for Amnesia at 11.30pm and arriving at the club, saw a fair size crowd waiting there already. Once we got in, it was good to have a quiet club for 20mins so we could have a good wander round, and show Amnesia virgin Ad what an amazing place it is. In terms of lighting, sound (not so much in the terrace) and the overall professionalism of the place, i think Amnesia and Space are head and shoulders above anywhere else on the island. The main room in Amnesia is amazing, although trance really isn't my cup of tea anymore. I think i shall have to pay a visit to Cocoon next year (or Circo Loco if the rumours are to be believed) to check that amazing room out with some 'proper' music! Although trance is ok, i'm always a bit concerned when a DJ resorts to playing about 50% classic tunes in their set, as PVD did. Apparently he even played Darude Sandstorm which i think is ****ing shocking! Not that impressed with his mixing either so a bit of a thumbs down for Mr Van Dyk. From what we heard of Ferry Corsten before, he seemed to be doing a much better job. Anyway, most of our night was spent in the terrace, which i think is an absolutely amazing room. One drawback (and i know i keep banging on about this) is the sound quality in there. It's a very large room and there are certain spots there which are crying out for extra speakers! Axwell & Ingrosso also seemed to be having problems with the sound, it would cut out a lot and sounded a bit strange every now and again. Still, this didn't stop them enthusiastically banging out some top tunes with the usual assortment of classic accapellas, and the crowd loved it. Highlights for me were Not Exactly by Deadmau5 (BIG, BIG tune) and the Born Slippy remix which tore the ****ing roof off! Heard Smack My Bitch up a couple of times that nght, once while i was looking from the balcony the dancefloor did a sit down/stand up for the breakdown and drop, which i will always remember. The DJ that came on after played a pretty eclectic mix including Superstylin which goes down well on any dancefloor. However 'Cars' by Gary Newman was a bit much for me and Ad, and we decided to catch the end of Paul Van Dyk in the main room. Still absolutely rammed in there with PVD doing what he usually does (i think he played the same cd as when i saw him last year!), i decided to stand back against the bar and just drink in the spectacle of the Amnesia main room. We stayed there til the end, and on leaving walked 100 metres up the road to get a bus to Ibiza Town. Judging by the size of the queue outside the club for the disco bus and taxis, i don't think too many people realise they can get a normal bus just up the road from 7.30am! Was a bit strange sitting there wide eyed while all these sleepy Ibizans were just getting ready for a day at work, but pretty amusing! Back to the hotel and sleeeeeeep!
Fri 21st
Woke up at 2pm, had something to eat then went back to bed for another 4 or 5 hours. Got up, went to the supermarket for Vodka & Sprite (€4.50 for 75cl Vodka, man we're ripped off in England!), whacked the music on in the apartment and got ourselves in the right frame of mind for Pure Pacha. Was really looking forward to this night, mainly because i hadn't been to Pacha the previous year and really regretted it, so couldn't wait to see it, and also because i've been a fan of Pete Tong for many years. Tongy gets quite a bad press from a lot of 'cool' clubbers, but he's been there for a long time and The Essential Selection and Essential Mix have been compulsory listening for many years. His label FFRR have been pretty influential in the scene for many years too. Anyway, i digress. Started walking over to Pacha to get there early so we could have a look round while it was still quiet. Was very impressed straight away. The whole place screamed style and class. I loved the decor in there, and the little touches, like the cushioned edge for the bars, so you kneel down to order your drink. The whitewashed walls gave the sense of being outside, and the main room sound was sublime, the whole place was really just very cool indeed! Had a look in the Global Room (although hip hop is not really my idea of what most people want from an Ibizan club!), and chilled there for a bit. The terraced sofas were very nice! Wandered up the steps of the main room, through the funky room, which was cool, although we didn't spend much time here, and found ourselves on the fantastic roof terrace! I thought the Premier Etage @ Space was a great roof terrace, but the one at Pacha is in a different league! So stylish and chilled, if the rest of the club wasn't there, it would still be one of the coolest places on the island! Only downside in my opinion (and a lot of other people's too) is the ridiculous amount of VIP areas in the club, imagine that main room without any VIP, it'd be ****ing amazing! Anyway, we found a spot on the steps next to the DJ booth around 2am and spent most of the rest of the night there grooving to Pete Tong. He played a predictable, but very enjoyable set, his sound was even more housey than i thought it would be, but i wasn't disappointed. Joe T Vanelli came on afterwards and picked the pace up a bit and played a harder style to a packed dancefloor. I found Pacha probably the most friendly club of the week, and chatted to more people there than at any other time during the week. We left about 7am, well satisfied with our final club night of the week. We were with John and Yvonne, a really nice Scottish couple who we had met that night, and we decided to finish the night off with a few pints. We found a Cafe that was open and started sinking the San Miguels. I was determined to anaesthetise myself as much as possible for the inevitable queues at the airport and i did a fairly good job of it! Around about 9.30pm there was a full-on tropical style rain shower, we weren't too bothered as we were off home, but it was John and Yvonne's first day, so i just hope for their sake the weather was better for the rest of the week! Got back to the hotel an hour or so before our coach was due to pick us up, whacked the music up as loud as it would go and danced around the room like lunatics, a fitting end to the holiday! Got to the airport and (surprise surprise) big queues to check in. I whacked my Ipod on and shuffled along in my own little world then once on the plane, passed out and came to on the descent into Exeter. Went out in Bristol that night and did it all again, but that's another story........
All in all, an amazing holiday, one of the best weeks of my life and i'm definitely going back next year, hopefully twice. Really want to check out the Space opening for a kamikaze 2 day trip, then go for a week in September with a big group of us.
Thanks for taking the time to read this review, i hope you enjoyed it, I certainly enjoyed re-living my holiday, and it helped a little bit with the Ibiza blues!
See you in Space!
Sat 15th
Arrived at our hotel (Mira Mola Apartments, Figueretas) around 7pm, got showered and changed and hit the road heading for Playa D'en Bossa. Had a few drinks in a few bars and got stocked up and ready for we love... the next day! Then attempted to find Ibiza town, somehow ended up in a random back street in Figueretas at a bar called Kitsch. Yes, the name should have given it away but we soon realised we weren't on the right 'team' for this sort of bar. Ooops! However, being the friendly chaps we are, we started chatting to the guys at the bar, explained we were lost and ended up acquiring a guide all the way to Ibiza town, result! I can't remember the guy's name but thanks!
So we found the port at Ibiza town and sat down at the nearest bar. €6 for 2 large San Miguels, happy days! Started talking to a gent who could only be described as a character. When i asked him where he was from he replied 'The bottom of the ocean.' Ohhhhkaaaay i thought as i slowly sidled away from him (after the photo, obviously)! We moved not 100yards down the street and sat down outside Zoo bar where my mate Adam payed €16 for 2 large San Miguels! Can't believe there is such a difference in price on the same street! Needless to say we only had one there, then set off in search of a bar/club which was recommended to us by the barman in Zoo. I forget the name, but it was over the other side of the port. We set off but were taken in by the most chilled out Bar ever! The name was something like BeachCafeBar and was just down the road from Pacha. It has an amazing garden area with Middle Eastern style Linen Tents and comfy chairs, and a stylish glass bar area. The tunes were chilled and it was vey comfortable indeed. They kicked us out about 3am i seem to remember, so we decided to head back to the hotel and get an early night (well, by Ibizan standards) so we would be fresh for Space the next day.
Sunday 16th
Woke up, commented how hot it was, had the obligatory fried breakfast, which didn't go down too well if i'm honest, then set off for Space with very high hopes. It was Ad's first time on the white isle and my second, so i was full of exhuberant praise for Space, where i had enjoyed one of the best nights of my life the year before. I don't believe it's possible to overstate how very, very, unbelievably good Space is, so i was bounding about with excitement like a kid at Christmas!
We arrived about 1pm and when we walked into the Sunset Terrace and listened to the great soundsystem they have, and saw the DJ, imperious in his large DJ booth, and saw the up-for-it crowd, and felt the water mist blowing from the fans, and heard the aeroplanes overhead, i thought YEEESS! I'm home! After a quick boogie, we had a wander around the club. I always like the main room at Space the best. The soundsystem in there is the best i've ever heard, anywhere. The lights are second to none, and the music policy of moody, intelligent techno/tech house is right up my street. The Terraza is equally as impressive, with a fantastic, crisp sound setup. Early on, Tony Haze played a great set to a gradually filling up Terraza, dropping some nice tough, techy house including the amazing Untitled by Jorgensen, one of my tunes of the week. My only niggle with the Terraza is once it's filled up, it's impossible to navigate from one end to the other, and the main dancefloor area gets far, far too busy. They should have made it even bigger and sunk the dancefloor down, making some natural walkways around the edges. Anyway, enough with the griping and on with the story! Moving back into the Discoteca we listened to Juan Lopez who impressed me, Ribcage by Dubfire has never sounded so good as it did on that Funktion One soundsystem! The rest of the night becomes a little hazy in my head but I remember going into the Terraza for Groove Armada and walking back out as it was too packed to dance and a little commercial musically for us. Nic Fancuilli did a nice job in the Discoteca, as did James Zabiela, although he seemed a little self indulgent at times, with breakdowns lasting far too long and deck tricks which would have better suited the Sunset Terrace. Let the music do the talking in the Discoteca, no fancy tricks needed! Dan Ghenacia came on after JZ and played one of the most relentless and dark 2 hours of techo i have ever heard. It really got the main room rocking, and with the megatron ice canon overhead doing the business and the lightshow seemingly stepped up a notch, things were really going off. Unfortunately we were starting to flag, 15 hours at Space is a long time! Mindfull that we had DC10 the next day, we saw the start of Craig Richards who went deeper but not so hard as DG, then made a move back to the hotel.
Monday 17th
Woke up feeling R.O.U.G.H.! We seriously thought about not going to DC10, but rallied a little bit and decided we would brave it, after all it was one of the main reasons for this year's visit. Walked into Playa and bought our tickets from a bar then stood under the shade of the bar opposite Space and had a cold, refreshing Coors which really hit the spot. We jumped in a taxi and rode the short way to DC10. Arriving there around 3pm, I didn't know what to expect, but was really excited, and from first impressions it looked nice and busy, and from outside the music sounded great! Once through the amazingly stringent and alert security checks at the gate (!) we walked into the dark main room which was nicely busy, but it wasn't this room i wanted to see. After months of watching youtube videos of the terrace at DC10, i was anxious to see this fabled room. I wasn't disappointed! Straight away the vibe took me in and i started to dance unselfconsciously (like a fool!). The atmosphere was superb, the soundsystem great for the venue, and the sun streaming through the windows was the piece de resistance! The feeling you get of an underground party @ DC10 is one i haven't experienced at any other club on the island. It really is just a room with a big soundsystem in, but that's all you need! Although I love the superb lights, lazers and ice canons of Amnesia and Space, the Terrace @ DC10 is probably the best atmosphere i have ever experienced. Probably the main reasons for this are the excellent music policy and mad, up-for-it crowd. I was loving the minimal techno/tech house (whatever you want to call it!), being banged out by the DJ's. One complaint was that i had no idea who was playing, and couldn't see any posters up. Oh well, all the DJ's rocked it. Did spend a fair bit of time in the main room too, respect to the DJ who dropped the Dirty South remix of Josh Wink's Higher State, that absolutely tore the roof off! Also another tune that was played which i really want to get hold of was one that had what sounded like a filtered sound of an aeroplane, which just kept going higher and higher and higher. An absolutely storming track and one of the best tunes i heard all week, if anyone reading this has any idea whatsoever what it might be called, or any links to youtube vids with it playing, that would be amazing! If not, i guess it's just gonna be one of those lost tunes...! The club started to really fill up in the early evening, and although i wanted to kick it in the terrace i just found it too hot and crowded in there, some better fans in there wouldn't go amiss Mr DC10 man! That meant we spent most of the night in the main room, which although had good sound, would benefit from an upgraded system at some point in the not too distant future. However, we still loved it in there, and really enjoyed the day/night.
We left about 10pm, deciding to head to Playa to check out Bora Bora. Was pretty quiet when we got there, and we settled down inside with a couple of San Miguels, which started going down very well indeed! Soon, the place started filling up with fellow wide-eyed individuals, who had obviously come from the same place as us. Although the DJ in Bora Bora mistakenly thought he could scratch, and overdid it a bit with his effects button, he did play some nice tunes, hitting us with some bouncy, bass-driven house which was nice for a change after DC10. Some 6 pints later, midnight came and they opened up the little inner club which i hadn't even realised was there (but was very glad to see!). It was about this time i had a bit of a funny turn and sat at the top of the stairs for about an hour looking like a bit of a mong no doubt! Had there been anyone there i no doubt would have chatted absolute ****e to them! Anyway, everyone's entitled to a 'funny one' while they're in Ibiza, i'm glad mine only lasted an hour! (i blame the 'paractemol' i took after too many beers!) After recovering, i had a bit of a boogie, but was starting to feel it. As 2am approached, we took our leave and headed back to the hotel for some well earned rest!
Tues 18th
Our 'rest' day. Went to Ibiza town, had a drink and a look round, then climbed up to the castle. This is definitely worth doing, and we found ourselves up there just as the sun was setting, which was spectacular. You can see great views from one side over to Figueretas and Playa D'en Bossa, and from another side Ibiza Town itself. You can make out Pacha, El Divino, and even see the lights from Amnesia and Privilege on the highway. The streets in and around the castle are very old and picturesque, defnitely a Kodak moment at every turn! Headed back to Playa for a few bevvys then turned in for the night, ready for 3 nights serious clubbing in a row!
Wed 19th
Woke up late, went to the beach for the afternoon, got burnt (obligatory, really!), caught up on emails and Facebook stuff, then went back to the hotel for a bit more kip before the Meganite closing party at Privilege. We wandered into Playa and had a meal at the Moorea, next to The Jet Apartments. Ad's kebab looked very nice, unforunately my Spaghetti Bolognaise was, at best 'interesting,' and if i was being honest - crap! Anyway, it filled me up and gave me some energy for the night ahead. We got on the free disco bus at midnight, and found a whole new breed of people which we hadn't experienced so far that week - very pissed, young English people! With chants of 'oggy oggy ogyy,' 'get your tits out for the lads,' etc etc (all the classics), they did grate a bit after, well about 5 seconds. Still, they were all fairly friendly, although it did make me wonder what sort of a crowd to expect at Privilege. When we got in the queue, we found out that loads of people had been given free tickets for the night. Considering we'd paid €35 each for the pleasure, we weren't very happy with this, but **** it, we vowed to have a good night anyway. However, i found Privilege to be quite a disappointment. It seemed a bit shabby and run down when compared to somewhere like Space and the music was way, way too quiet. The only saving grace of the night was the Coco Loco room, which was nice and LOUD and was playing DC10esque techno and minimal. I believe the DJ was one of the Moreno's although I can't be sure, but whoever it was, he rocked it! A bit gutted the music stopped in there dead on 7am, as we were flying and wanted more, but the DJ had obviously been told to stop as it wasn't busy enough. Mauro Picotto played on for a while in the main room, but as already mentioned, it was way too quiet, so we thought we'd beat the crowds and took our leave. Got a lift from one of the many guys stood outside the club (the unlicensed taxi trade seems quite a thriving business over there!), He seemed a nice enough guy and charged a reasonable price back to the hotel and bed!
Thu 20th
Woke up, got ready to go to San Antonio for a wander round and of course to see the world famous Sunset Strip. By this point in the holiday, we were both very skint, and knowing how expensive amnesia was (we were heading for the Cream closing that night), were having to budget quite considerably! However, we had enough cash for a couple of beers in the Orange Corner bar (my local last year) which is a great place to watch the world go by, and always plays some good tunes. After a bite to eat there, we wandered along to my favourite bar on the island - Baybar. I love this chilled out bar, it's just far enough away from San An to be more laid back, but close enough to walk to, and the chill out area there is superb! We met a crazy Spaniard and his girlfriend who spoke very minimal English. Of course, our Spanish was no better, so conversation was a bit tough but good fun! Our main subject was Formula 1, and basically involved us saying 'Hamilton' and putting our thumbs up, and him saying 'Alonso' and putting his thumbs up! Still, we did manage to get him to teach us some Spanish swear words, which, of course, i have forgotten now! With sunset approaching, we strolled over to the strip and sat on the wooden bleachers outside of Mambo. However, our shop-bought water and San Miguel was not appreciated and we were politely asked to move on if we weren't going to purchase anything from the bar. So, we had to park ourselves on the comfy (!) beach. Sitting there chatting to everyone, i got the impression that the whole world was heading for Cream that night, so i was expecting a busy one! Unfortunately the sun went behind a cloud about 5 minutes before sunset, which was a bit annoying, but i took the chance to have a quick disco-nap.
We got on the bus for Amnesia at 11.30pm and arriving at the club, saw a fair size crowd waiting there already. Once we got in, it was good to have a quiet club for 20mins so we could have a good wander round, and show Amnesia virgin Ad what an amazing place it is. In terms of lighting, sound (not so much in the terrace) and the overall professionalism of the place, i think Amnesia and Space are head and shoulders above anywhere else on the island. The main room in Amnesia is amazing, although trance really isn't my cup of tea anymore. I think i shall have to pay a visit to Cocoon next year (or Circo Loco if the rumours are to be believed) to check that amazing room out with some 'proper' music! Although trance is ok, i'm always a bit concerned when a DJ resorts to playing about 50% classic tunes in their set, as PVD did. Apparently he even played Darude Sandstorm which i think is ****ing shocking! Not that impressed with his mixing either so a bit of a thumbs down for Mr Van Dyk. From what we heard of Ferry Corsten before, he seemed to be doing a much better job. Anyway, most of our night was spent in the terrace, which i think is an absolutely amazing room. One drawback (and i know i keep banging on about this) is the sound quality in there. It's a very large room and there are certain spots there which are crying out for extra speakers! Axwell & Ingrosso also seemed to be having problems with the sound, it would cut out a lot and sounded a bit strange every now and again. Still, this didn't stop them enthusiastically banging out some top tunes with the usual assortment of classic accapellas, and the crowd loved it. Highlights for me were Not Exactly by Deadmau5 (BIG, BIG tune) and the Born Slippy remix which tore the ****ing roof off! Heard Smack My Bitch up a couple of times that nght, once while i was looking from the balcony the dancefloor did a sit down/stand up for the breakdown and drop, which i will always remember. The DJ that came on after played a pretty eclectic mix including Superstylin which goes down well on any dancefloor. However 'Cars' by Gary Newman was a bit much for me and Ad, and we decided to catch the end of Paul Van Dyk in the main room. Still absolutely rammed in there with PVD doing what he usually does (i think he played the same cd as when i saw him last year!), i decided to stand back against the bar and just drink in the spectacle of the Amnesia main room. We stayed there til the end, and on leaving walked 100 metres up the road to get a bus to Ibiza Town. Judging by the size of the queue outside the club for the disco bus and taxis, i don't think too many people realise they can get a normal bus just up the road from 7.30am! Was a bit strange sitting there wide eyed while all these sleepy Ibizans were just getting ready for a day at work, but pretty amusing! Back to the hotel and sleeeeeeep!
Fri 21st
Woke up at 2pm, had something to eat then went back to bed for another 4 or 5 hours. Got up, went to the supermarket for Vodka & Sprite (€4.50 for 75cl Vodka, man we're ripped off in England!), whacked the music on in the apartment and got ourselves in the right frame of mind for Pure Pacha. Was really looking forward to this night, mainly because i hadn't been to Pacha the previous year and really regretted it, so couldn't wait to see it, and also because i've been a fan of Pete Tong for many years. Tongy gets quite a bad press from a lot of 'cool' clubbers, but he's been there for a long time and The Essential Selection and Essential Mix have been compulsory listening for many years. His label FFRR have been pretty influential in the scene for many years too. Anyway, i digress. Started walking over to Pacha to get there early so we could have a look round while it was still quiet. Was very impressed straight away. The whole place screamed style and class. I loved the decor in there, and the little touches, like the cushioned edge for the bars, so you kneel down to order your drink. The whitewashed walls gave the sense of being outside, and the main room sound was sublime, the whole place was really just very cool indeed! Had a look in the Global Room (although hip hop is not really my idea of what most people want from an Ibizan club!), and chilled there for a bit. The terraced sofas were very nice! Wandered up the steps of the main room, through the funky room, which was cool, although we didn't spend much time here, and found ourselves on the fantastic roof terrace! I thought the Premier Etage @ Space was a great roof terrace, but the one at Pacha is in a different league! So stylish and chilled, if the rest of the club wasn't there, it would still be one of the coolest places on the island! Only downside in my opinion (and a lot of other people's too) is the ridiculous amount of VIP areas in the club, imagine that main room without any VIP, it'd be ****ing amazing! Anyway, we found a spot on the steps next to the DJ booth around 2am and spent most of the rest of the night there grooving to Pete Tong. He played a predictable, but very enjoyable set, his sound was even more housey than i thought it would be, but i wasn't disappointed. Joe T Vanelli came on afterwards and picked the pace up a bit and played a harder style to a packed dancefloor. I found Pacha probably the most friendly club of the week, and chatted to more people there than at any other time during the week. We left about 7am, well satisfied with our final club night of the week. We were with John and Yvonne, a really nice Scottish couple who we had met that night, and we decided to finish the night off with a few pints. We found a Cafe that was open and started sinking the San Miguels. I was determined to anaesthetise myself as much as possible for the inevitable queues at the airport and i did a fairly good job of it! Around about 9.30pm there was a full-on tropical style rain shower, we weren't too bothered as we were off home, but it was John and Yvonne's first day, so i just hope for their sake the weather was better for the rest of the week! Got back to the hotel an hour or so before our coach was due to pick us up, whacked the music up as loud as it would go and danced around the room like lunatics, a fitting end to the holiday! Got to the airport and (surprise surprise) big queues to check in. I whacked my Ipod on and shuffled along in my own little world then once on the plane, passed out and came to on the descent into Exeter. Went out in Bristol that night and did it all again, but that's another story........
All in all, an amazing holiday, one of the best weeks of my life and i'm definitely going back next year, hopefully twice. Really want to check out the Space opening for a kamikaze 2 day trip, then go for a week in September with a big group of us.
Thanks for taking the time to read this review, i hope you enjoyed it, I certainly enjoyed re-living my holiday, and it helped a little bit with the Ibiza blues!
See you in Space!
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so will do it later.