[Report] Liberty White (BE)

Magazine

Party Pictures

After the success of the 4 year anniversary (believe it or not this was two years ago), Liberty White knew they had the potential to grow in terms of location and the number of visitors. Therefore, the 5 year anniversary got the location it deserved: the notorious Flanders Expo in Ghent. Home of probably the most renowned techno-concept in the world, this was a perfect setting to celebrate five years of fusing (hard)techno and hardcore/industrial.

The only trouble was the lousy planning, which led to a date clash with Belgium’s premier techno/industrial concept Footworxx which always celebrates the birthday of its leading man Sandy Warez in the beginning of February. Plus, since last year this concept also used Ghent as their home base. Anyway, Footworxx was postponed about two months and Sandy Warez himself was booked at Liberty White so we guess… problem solved?
For us, it had been a few years since we last visited the Flanders Expo. After the disappointing results in sound at the Bassleader-event, we wondered if Liberty White would succeed in changing this for the better. After all, the incredible line-up in four areas suggested they had spent most of their budget on the artists booked for the party. This did of course have its results for the ticket sales, the Dutch reactions were especially noticeable since nationwide bus trips were organized.

After years of using public transport, we went by car and found out the road to the parking lot was quite confusing and ridiculously curvy. Also, it wasn’t clear which parking lot should be used, as parking guards were almost nowhere to be seen. Then again, parking was free of charge so no complaints there. The entrance was quick, which could be a result of the lack of frisking. One could easily pass the security and just walk in without being checked for guns or anything. A blessing in the sky for some visitors at least, especially those who are used to carrying around backpacks filled with their own drinks.

Once inside, the area on the left proved to be the hardtechno area. It was already fairly crowded and the atmosphere was great! Strange that this area was in fact larger that the so-called main area, where Sven Wittekind was playing his techno records. Apparently, he has turned his back on hardtechno. The area next to it was the small chill-out room and further down the hall was the hardcore area, separated by no more than a large curtain. Thinking back to last year’s Footworxx edition, which had the same setup leading to the expected sound problems, we didn’t exactly see this turning out too good. Fortunately, the sound in the hardcore area was of such a quality that it didn’t become a problem.

X&Trick opened the night and played some heavy darkstep records, getting the crowd ready for The Outside Agency vs Mindustries who had been given a very early hour in our book. Maybe this was the reason they refrained from playing drum & bass and showcased a slower tempo. Nevertheless it was great, and in the end, tracks like “Industrial Cooking Spray” and some new crossover stuff made for a happy ending.

Next up was the man from the UK, Hellfish. He filled his set with lots of hiphop sounds, which led to loads of laughs and funny moves among party people (including ourselves). Furthermore, his setlist contained tracks like “Dogfish”, “The Dj Producer – Positive Outlook” and an oldie called “Negative Burn – Gates Of Hell”. One of the better sets of the evening for sure! The same could be said for Promo & Lenny Dee, who spinned “Gnomes Tinker With Time (Hellfish Remix)” but surprised us in a negative way by ending their set with “Klaar Om Te Rossen”.

During the set of Nekrologik, we decided to get some drinks. The choice was rather limited as usual because when it comes to softdrinks, Belgium is known for its lack of Sprite (or in The Netherlands “7-Up”). They did have Kriek-beer though, a very sweet beer which recently inspired Dj Smurf. Drink tokens were for sale in a few options instead of the usual and pretty annoying 5-pack. Tonight, 20 Euros would buy you 14 drink tokens. Of course, soft drinks were 2 tokens a piece and Red Bull was 3.

A food stand was set up in the entrance hall, together with a merchandise stand where the organization offered new party shirts. In the hall between the hardcore area and the chill-out, some benches offered relief after too much partying and a merchandise stand by streetwear shop DC’s Special was set up on the other side. We saw a lot of security, but usually they hung around in groups and didn’t seem very active. This was proven by the large number of people peeing against the wall, refusing to pay for the toilets located outside.
Back in the hardcore area, Tymon was responsible for the most explosive set of the night. It seemed like he was applying for a gig at one of the “Ten Years Of Music”-events by The Third Movement, seeing as he dropped several industrial classics from a few years ago: “What The Fuck”, “Ophidian – Nurse”, “WW III”, “Ophidian – Black” and his own creations “Gucci” and “Weapons Of War”. We loved every minute of it and consider this his best set to date.

Sandy Warez unfortunately didn’t play in his usual style, but chose frenchcore instead. As we are far from fond of this genre, we can’t give you any titles but in any case, at least the first five records contained loads of over-the-top well-known vocals such as “Lollipop” or “We Will Rock You” which sounded pretty childish. After a while, we saw it fit to finally return to the hardtechno area and heard Fernanda Martins & Lukas blow the crowd away. A little ahead of time, we left the party with a good feeling and a positive outlook on the future of this organization.

Apart from the toilet-issues and the occasional sound hiccups, it was a great party!

Aftermovie