Raving in a car park

Car parks: they are all the rave, says Molly Gunn (left)

10 April 2012

The last time I went to a rave it was in a field somewhere near Guildford in 1993, after joining a convoy at a Shell garage on the A3. So, when I see that Go!Zilla are holding a rave in Shoreditch I decide it has to be worth a Saturday night out.

And despite the venue being a local car park, it's legal and completely aboveboard. This isn't your run-of-the-mill rave, this is a concert rave (yes, I was flummoxed by the title, too).

Promoter Terry Hart tells me a concert rave involves bands and DJ sets, and the car park is going be plush, not grim. Thank goodness, since with advancing years, my friends and I are no longer so keen to rave in abject discomfort - heaters and loos are much appreciated.

So I persuade some friends that car park concert raving will be much better than staying in and watching The Shawshank Redemption and we all head out to give it a go.

Hearn Street Car Park is located just off Curtain Road in Shoreditch, and is becoming a hot spot for fashionable parties.

Open-fronted onto the street, the rest of the car park is covered over, and on arrival we spot luxury portaloos, a cloakroom and some industrial-sized heaters. This is civilised, by anyone's raving standards! We head to the bar and see the staff are all dressed in boiler suits, fluorescent accessories, hot pants and comedy raving outfits. It's just like the early Nineties.

The bar is a very long trestle table set up on the left-hand side of the car park and there's enough staff to mean there's never a queue. We swap the tokens we bought for beers and vodka tonics, which makes the whole rave experience feel even more authentic.

London band A Mountain Of One, a self-proclaimed "grandiose psychedelic rock band" comes on stage.

The lead singer's 16-year-old daughter is jumping up and down cheering for her dad, and soon everyone else joins in.

ID Magazine recently described the band as "the sound of England dreaming again", and they're brilliant.

With Balearic twinges and arresting melodies, aided by a crystal-clear sound system, they fill the car-park.

You wouldn't expect anything less from Go!Zilla; run by Hart, 39, a promoter who has experience running Nude and Relight Afterhours, and James Priestley, the 29-year-old DJ of Secret Sundaze fame (who is wearing what looks like a gent's smoking jacket tonight).

Go!Zilla was born in May 2005 as an antidote to the usual warehouse parties and has previously played host to the likes of Erol Alkan, Mark Moore, Riton, Damian Lazarus and The Glimmers.

Go!Zilla runs parties on a regular basis around London and tonight it has teamed up with event organiser My Beautiful City (which designs events from parties to fashion shows) to make sure it's a pleasant experience for all.

Next on stage is Ali Love, the guitar playing singer who does the vocals on The Chemical Brothers' new single.

He is brilliant, suitably rock'n' roll with a Seventies feel and a touch of new wave thrown in for good measure. It's fun being in a clubbing environment and listening to bands at the same time.

It's something that seems to be happening more often if Friday nights at Fabric and nights such as Together at Turnmills are anything to go by. Love is the perfect lead-in to James Priestley's set at 2am.

During the next hour, the crowd thins out, giving everyone a chance to breathe and dance in a little more space. It's a friendly crowd from all over London.

A notorious sitter on nights out, I find a comfortable seat and rest my limbs while crowd-watching.

Folk are easy on the eye, well dressed and generally having a good time.

And then, a miracle happens, I get up and find myself dancing. This is a surefire sign that Priestley's mix of inviting electronic grooves is hitting the spot.

As well as a full car park, many people are now dancing on the stage too, and it's all good vibes.

At 5am the music stops abruptly and the disappointed crowd is very keen to carry on. Most people head to one of the city's many after parties, such as Jaded at The End.

An incredibly enjoyable evening was had by all and car park concert raving could well be on the cards again.

Go!Zilla and My Beautiful City present Radio Soulwax feat. Nite Versions and 2many DJs on Friday, 25 May. For more dates, see myspace.com/thezilla1 or mybeautifulcity.co.uk

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