January 25th - Rave-O-Lution , Oss

Last friday it was time for the first bigger rave with lots of happy hardcore dj's .. RAVE-O-LUTION !

A party with Mental Theo, Highlander, Dune, Paul Elstak and The Rizzler .. 

Our settime was from 2 to 3 AM, after Paul, and I was crazy ill ! I had been in bed all day so that I could perform an hour in the evening ..

We arrived at 1.30 AM in Oss, a place about 20 min from Den Bosch, a bigger city in Brabant.

It was a big sports hall with about 900 people. Pretty big stage with a big LED screen.

Our set went rather well, although it was very hard for me to focus due to my illness ... But I managed! And Bruce did an awesome set !

To show you what the party looked like, check out the pictures made by Danny from PF ..

Thanks Hardmotion Events & Confusion Events for having us !

- overview of the party -

- Dj Paul Elstak -

- Our very own Bruce -

- ... and myself -

- Highlander -

- Mental Theo -

- Dune -

- the big LED screen -

- Critical Mass dj team -

- put your hands up in the air -

- Theo & Paul -

- Great stage at RAVE-O-LUTION -

Schedule week 4

The first bigger party of this year is taking place in week 4 already ... With the biggest names in happy hardcore land ... 

• January 25th - Rave-O-Lution , Oss

Dj's like Mental Theo, Dj Paul, Dune and The Rizzler will play so the bar is high ! Make sure you will be there, this will be one wicked party !

Our photographer Jasper will be there too to take pictures !

January 19th - It All Started In The 90's , Horn

On saturday it was time for another 'It All Started In The Nineties' from our friends from Minority Events.

By now you know these parties from the 90's poster/flyers.

It was not too far from where we live, in s very small place called Horn, about 50 km from our hometown.

The club was called 'De Postkoets', which means something like 'The Stage Coach' ...

Don't know why, but because of the name of this club we didn't had high expectations, but boy oh boy were we wrong !

When we arrived, it was about 1.30 AM and the placed was pretty packed ( about 500 people ), the club looked very good and had a big stage.

That gave us so many energy, that it was time to rock that stage ! Our setttime was from 2-3 AM.

We played lot's of happy stuff, and people were dancing and singing like in the early days ! Very good ! The vibe was awesome ! This is the way to start 2013 !

Thanks partypeople at De Postkoets for partying this hard and ofcourse to proof us wrong and thanks Minority Events for having us again ...

Partypictures that our photographer Jasper took will follow soon .. check out our facebook page for more info !

January 18th - Arno's Birthday Bash , Beesd

The first gig of the year is a birthday party ! Arno invited a bunch of dj's and gave his party in a wellknown club in Holland, called Club Rodenburg in Beesd, near Utrecht.

When we arrived, it was unfortunetaly not very crowded, but there was a good atmosphere.

They had 2 area's, one hardcore where dj's like Marlice, Amada, Quitara and Dailucia played and another area where early hardcore and hardstyle was going to be played ..

Because there were not many visitors, they closed down the second area, and we had to play in the first area. There was a pretty good vibe! We played after our fellow 'Limburg' ( that's the region we live ) dj colleague, Quitara. We played a mix between old and new, kind of a Critical Mass vs. Darkside Warriors set ...  Loved it !

We got great respons and we even heard some singing here and there ...

Thanks Arno for inviting us ! And thanks to Mister Ruffian for taking care of stuff ;)

Here are some partypictures that Extreem Party and Dj Guide took :

- Bruce and MC No-ID -

- MC Ruffian -

- Me and the partycrew -

- Me and Dj Quitara -

- Bruce at work -

Schedule week 3

The first gigs of the year ! Love it ! After a 2 weeks break ( well actually I had one hosting job last week at Darkravers Hotzone in Germany ) it's time for Critical Mass dj team to get started again ! I hope it's going to be a busy year, just like last year. The first gigs are : 

• January 18th - Arno's Birthday Bash , Beesd
• January 19th - It All Started In The 90's , Horn

Let's do this ! Let's get this 2013 thing started !

Welcome to 2013

Welcome to 2013 my fellow hardcore nation !

Let's make this one a beautiful hardcore year ! With lots of cool parties, festivals ...

Let's accept every style as it is ... don't criticize dj's or styles, just because you don't like it. If you don't like it, just don't listen to it .. 

Everybody has a certain taste, but that doesn't mean some other style is not good .. it's just isn't your style right ?

People complain too much ... let's stop the complaining about different music styles and dj's going mainstream etc. in 2013 and make it one HARDCORE NATION again, just like in the early days ! Go to parties and party !

Remember the words of this famous happy hardcore track :

'So Join Your Hands Across The Nation, And Let's United This Generation' 

Schedule week 1

The last day of the year 2012, but already the first week of the year 2013! New Year's EVE ! What are you guys doing ? We have planned our own mini tour ! Starting in our own region, and ending in Brabant. Are you ready for the schedule ?

December 31th - January 1st

• 11.30 - 01.00 : Celebrate 2013 , Kerkrade ( Mogwai & Mass MC )
• 02.00 - 03.00 : NYE Special , Weert ( Critical Mass dj set )
• 04.00 - 05.00 : Mega Oud en Nieuw Party FTS , Venray ( Critical Mass vs. Mogwai )
• 06.00 - 07.00 : Nonsens , Boxmeer ( Critical Mass dj set )

Yeah that is some schedule huh ? Tight as a MF ! Hope everybody has a great NYE! And we will see eachother probably sometime in 2013 ! We already have some cool parties and festivals planned ! Keep ya posted as usual !

December 25th - Army Of Hardcore, Oberhausen

Last tuesday it was time for the annual christmas party in Oberhausen !

ARMY OF HARDCORE !

With a line up, hardcore minded people can only dream of !

Mainstream ( 2 area's ), frenchcore, speedcore, freestyle and ofcourse, early !

Dj's like Evil Activities, Art Of Fighters, Angerfist, Bass-D, Paul Elstak, Tha Playah, Viper, Neophyte, Korsakoff and many more were bringing you some serious damage in your ears !

When we arrived, we came in at the main 1 where Dj Korsakoff was playing. She was almost finished and after that it was time for our good friend Kelly ( Evil Activities ) and E-Life, to begin their live act ! It was massive ! What a sound !

We had to play in the early area together with Darkraver, Dune, Paul and Panic which is quite the early line up !

It's always more difficult choosing your tracks when so many awesome dj's are in the same ine up as you. You want to be different, and that's not always easy.

I think we did a good job. The people danced, although it was freakin' hot in the early area. They even sang along! We had a great time ! Afterwards we talked some of our colleagues, and at 4 it was time to go .. It had been a long day !

Here are some partypictures by my man Danny from PF :

- Art Of Fighters -

- Dj Korsakoff -

- Jeroen / Neophyte -

- Dj The Viper -

- that's me -

- Kelly / Evil Activities -

- Elvis / E-Life -

- Mainstage - 

Schedule week 52

The last week of the year ! And wow what a year it was ! A mega ride ! Lots of cool gigs, in Holland and abroad ! What to think about Intents Festival ? And Defqon ?! Then our 2 gigs in Moscow ! And ofcourse Italy !

This week it's christmas time ofcourse, bur also with this 'holy' festivity, it's not a reason not to party! Cause it's 'Army Of Hardcore' time !

• December 25th - Army Of Hardcore, Oberhausen (Germany) 

Army Of Hardcore is BIG, and LOUD! More than 75 dj's, MC's and live acts ! Some christmas ey ?

Then on saturday it's time to kick off a new project called Darkside Warriors. Can't tell you much yet, because it's work in progress ... but it's Bruce and mine's new mainstream project. Our first official gig will be :

• December 29th - Hard2DaCore, Aachen (Germany) 

We love hardcore, always have .. and because we also have love for the new hardcore scene, it's to get started with the mainstream side. You will be hearing more from the Warriors in 2013 !

 ........ Stay tuned ........... !!

December 21st - Rave The 90's, Uithoorn

Last friday it was time for a new concept, called Rave The 90's. As the name tells you, this party wants to take you back to the infamous 90's !

The line up is great ... a few real 90's heroes! Bass-D, Raoul DKC, Flamman & Abraxas and Darkraver!

The party was in Club Bright, located in a place called Uithoorn, about 20 km from Amsterdam.

Our settime was quite early, from 12.00 till 1.00 AM.

We did a clean set ... people danced, but unfortunately the dj booth was in a strange corner, that we couldn't really see the people.

Nevertheless, we had a good time! And we took care of a solid bass for the next dj's ... After us was Bass-D, and after that Flamman & Abraxas. All dj's had a good mood and I even saw Dj Ruffneck dancing.

It was not super crowded, but it was a good start I think. Ofcourse with Thunderdome still in mind, and Christmas ahead, people can spend their money only once right ? The atmosphere was good, so let's hope for a more crowded edition next time ...

Schedule week 51

Last weekend we had 2 gigs and THUNDERDOME, so next weekend will be a bit more quiet ... Ofcourse, a bit more quiet doesn't mean sitting at home .. cause we have a very nice party to play ... 

• December 21st - Rave The 90's, Uithoorn

It's a new concept, with a very cool name. We are going oldschool ! Let's see what this first night will bring us ... !

December 15th - Rainbow Rave, Uelsen

Last saturday it was time for an old fashion 'Happy Hardcore' party ... the winter edition of RainBow Rave. 4 years ago, we started Critical Mass at this party, at this location, so it always cool to be back.

The location is the megaclub ZAK, in Uelsen, Germany. It's pretty long drive for us, but always worth it.

The line up was awesome. 2 live acts, and 4 dj's! Bass-D, Waxweazle, Paul Elstak and us ! Plus our friends from 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor and 4-Tune Fairytales !

We had the kick off. Our settime was from 12.30 till 02.00 AM, which was okay since we were attending Thunderdome after this.

The club was not too crowded when we arrived ( the night was still young ). The dancefloor was empty, and all people were having drinks and stood around it. This I had to change ofcourse.

After 5 minutes the first people came to the dancefloor, after 15 minutes this was changed to let's say 25 people ... At the end of our set the dancefloor was full and the hands were all the way up in the air ! Very nice Uelsen ! We liked it !

After us it was time for Des'ray and D-Rock to play for all those enthousiastic people ! As the vibe was set, I think that would not be a problem ! Unfortunately we had no time to see the others, because we were attending the last Thunderdome in Amsterdam !

Here are some partypictures made at Rainbow Rave :





- Our very own Critical Mass dj, Mr. Mogwai !  -

  

- the one and only Dj Paul Elstak -





- Dj Waxweazle -

  

- Lilian aka. 4-Tune Fairytales -

 

- Des'ray and D-Rock aka. 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor -




December 14th - 90's Party, Geldrop

Last friday we were invited by our friends from the 'It All Started In The 90's' dj team to play a happy hardcore set on a new location in Geldrop, a small place near Eindhoven ...

It was a new venue, so we had no expectations, and the organisation already texted me that it was not very crowded. But that doens't mean it will not be a party when we arrive !

We arrived at 1.45 AM and there were about 30/35 people, dancing a bit to the sounds of some 90's R&B and popmusic ... Hmmmm, this party needed some BASS! At 2 AM, we started our set and immediately people were awake !

All of a sudden 15 more people came in ( don't know where they came from ) and they started to dance. It was time to get these people sweatin'.

We played from happy to early, to hardcore ... and back. We even played some Yellow Claw tracks. For the people that don't know Yellow Claw, it's a 2012 dj team which takes old tracks and put them in 2012 refixes, but with a touch a dubstep, trap and hardstyle ... it's a crazy style !

The people went for it ! Massive energetic ! Geldrop showed us their love ! The venue was pretty cool too ... This could be one for the future !

Schedule week 50

After a weekend of no gigs ( believe me, sometimes that is very relaxing), this weekend we have two gigs, and a special event we are attending ! The whole hardcore nation is talking about it ... THUNDERDOME ! The final one ! But first, we can't forget our gigs !

• December 14th - 90's Party, Geldrop
• December 15th - Rainbow Rave, Uelsen (Germany) 

Yes, we are going abroad again ... This time in megaclub ZAK .. at the famous happy hardcore party Rainbow Rave .. looking forward ! Friday we are closing down, so it's going to haaaaaaardcore hehe ... 

December 1st - Wonderful Days, Dordrecht

After our big party in Gorinchem, it was time for a smaller, but not less exciting party from our friends from NRG Events ~ Mister OCD !

Our settime was from 3 tot 4AM, so we had to close down. Always cool !

It was a pretty cool line up, with all sorts of oldschool heroes ... Waxweazle, Dj Norman, OCD and Human Resource!

The party was in club/bar called Dolhuis, and it was next to the studio of the one and only Evil Activities !

When we arrived, Mister Waxweazle was playing the decks, with some very cool tunes. At 3 it was our time to 'shine' ... We immediately got into the flow, as the people on the dancefloor wanted an hour of pure energy ! That was very good !

It was a fine night ! Love the energy they gave us !

It was really a cool small location ! Hope to be playing here in 2013!

December 1st - Pump Up The 90's, Gorinchem

Our first gig last saturday was a big one ! Almost every time these Pump Up The 90's parties are sold out, and this one was no exception. Although the 'Evenementenhal Gorinchem' is a little smaller than the one in Hardenberg, there will still 1900 people ! Wow !

The artists at this party were 2 Brothers on The 4th Floor, The Darkraver and us.

Our settime was from 11.45PM to 12.30AM. Very short for a dj set, so it had to be powerful !

When we walked to the stage, I noticed that the crowd was standing about 10 meter from the stage. Pretty strange. For me an extra challenge to still get them to come closer! At parties like this you cannot play everything .. the crowd is more commercial so there will no 'Geleihoofd' from Darrien Kelly to name one ...

We started pretty relaxed, playing some cool happy hardcore tracks, but then trying to test the audience. I saw a lot of people dancing their asses off, even girls on high heels making that gabber moves .. so cool !

In the middle of our dj set it was time to play '98 To Your Mind' the ultimate bootleg made by Viper & Evil Activities .... First people sang along to Highlanders ' Hold Me Now, and after that the great 98 To Piano melody comes in ... I think 1000 or more people were standing with their hands up in the air ! What a great moment !!

The set was great, and half way the people were already close to my stage. So everything went quite well ! We were really satisfied and so was the organisation.

Hoping to do some cool stuff for them in 2013 !

Schedule week 48

After our adventures in Russia, it's time to hit stages again in Holland. On saturday, we have to gigs !

• December 1st - Pump Up The 90's, Gorinchem
• December 1st - Wonderful Days, Dordrecht

Very cool parties .. one pretty commercial and the other good old happy hardcore ! YES! 

November 24th - JE Crew anniversary party, Moscow

The day after it was time for Moscow ! Since the last time we played there in april we have a lot of love for the scene there ! You guys just now how to make a party !

So our expectations were a bit high.

We travelled from St. Petersburg to Moscow by Sapsan train, and although it's approx. 700km, we did it in about 4 hours. Great trainride btw. Deluxe! We got served food and drinks, and it was better than most flights.

When we arrived at Moscow, we were picked up by Yury ( from JE Crew ). The drive to the city was about 45min. ( with the crazy ass Moscow traffic! )

The hotel we stayed in was called Oksana, and it was not too far from the club ( north from the city ). The rooms were okay although we had a one person bed ( it was a while ago I slept in an one person bed lol ). The rest was fine though.

We waited for my man John ( Dj Nexes ) and Pavlenty ( Dj Nail ) to go to the restaurant. We all wanted to go to eat sushi, so we went to
Тануки ( Tanuki in English ) avery stylish Japanese restaurant which was all in Japanese theme .. even the waitresses. Very cool.

The food was more than delicious. We had plenty of maki's, and some special dishes like tofu. We also had fun talking, because we have never met Dj Nexes before.

Before we went to the club, it was time to get ready in the hotel. A quick refresh and off we go !

Monaclub was just around the corner, so this time no long drive. It was pretty much Dj Nexes' turn to play so we could say hi to people we already knew .. so cool to see lots of people who we already saw in april. Hardcore people worldwide are always dedicated to hardcore, that's the beauty of the scene !

After John's set ( which was very energetic and raw, I loved it ! ) it was time for us to rock the stage ! Again, it was not super crowded, but the people who were there partied like it should be ! Much much respect to the Moscow hardcore scene !

Although we were a bit tired of the night before, on stage I got so much energy from the people there that I was all hyped up ! After that, we drunk some with the anniversary crew ( JE ! ) and signed lots of t-shirts, cellphones and entry tickets. It was awesome really ! For me, at the moment, the best dedicated hardcore crowd lives in Moscow!

After the club closed, we were safely brought to our hotel for a good night sleep.

The next day our plane left at 10PM so there was still time to see the city. I actually wanted to see bunker42, but for some reason we couldn't because you had to book it in front. Because of
John's first time in Moscow, we had planned to be tourists again and so we went to the famous Red Square and some other sightseeings. That part of Moscow always looks awesome ! The GUM department store looked very nice with all the christmas decoration! We took some nice pictures, and just chatted.

After a long day in the cold, it was time for a hot Starbucks coffee and our trainride back to the Airport. It was a very cool weekend!

I hope we get invited again in 2013 because Moscow is pure hardcore for us ! The scene is incredible !

Again I uploaded some pictures from my iPhone so you can see a bit of our trip :

- John, Bruce & Pavlenty -

- Tanuki restaurant -

- sushi time ! -

- Great looking restaurant -

- the crowd at Monaclub -

- Moscow subway -

                          

- Moscow subway is like Moscow traffic, mostly crowded ! -

- beautiful historic buildings -

- Christmas is coming ! -

- Red Square panoramic -

- GUM department store -

- make a wish ! -

- Proezd Voskresenskiye vorota near Red Square -

- great patriotic war monument with eternal flame  -

- so beautiful!  Pokrov cathedral @ Red Square -



- Moscow river in the evening -



- STARBUCKS ! -

- just me happy with my latte macchiato -

- arrived at the trainstation -

- last stop : Aeroflot to Brussels -