Judgements at The Ministry of Sound

[Number2Fan]

I'm just going to start a report of last night as so many of us went I am sure there'll be stuff to add with everyones point of view in it.

I will start by saying something i think we all agree on though, Coldplay/Leona Lewis/Black Eyed Peas should never be played in the big room or any room at The Ministry of Sound. They do not get a massive reaction, the only reaction I saw them get was people stopped dancing, some people left the dancefloor completely and then a few mephadroned gentlemen mouthed along in tearful mode at the sky to the horrendously slow drawn out lyrics!!

However, I'm glad I then left there and went into The Bar now renamed 103 and slightly darker than before room. Where Jules immediately played his 'backroom' and I enjoyed that much much more. I was disappointed by his first set, especially as when I went back into The Big Room, Sean Tyas was absolutely rocking.

I loved meeting everyone that came along, MikeW was apparently there but I never him??? However everyone else seemed to be exactly how I imagined them to be, all just really really nice knowledgable people with a passion for great dance music!!

Maybe we'll all do it again sometime.

kml if you're reading this, those earplugs you recommended to me were an absolute GODSEND! It did seem to be muffled from time to time, but even by 5.30am I could still recognise what was being played by Micky Slim (rinsing the dubstep and Sub-Focus) and I can hear today, got the ringing but only the ringing I have every day anyway. So that's good as tonight I'm off to see Marcel Woods, Jon O'Bir and Tall Paul!!

I'm not sure I'll be too bothered about seeing Jules do a big set again actually, he played better in Brighton last time I saw him and in the so-called Backroom, and his set appeared to be back to front, ending with Faithless, an ok tune, not too great to dance to though and lets face it, when you've been clubbing as long as I have, that new tune is just like dancing to every other Faithless tune since the bloody nineties!!! :rubbish: I look forward to seeing them live at Global tho.

Nice also to meet Sparks and I had a good dance!!! Which is what it's all about for me!

What did everyone else make of it all then?

Here's a photo, if anyone doesn't want it here just say!!

[Tremor]

Nice picture Lynn.

I had a great time last night. It was great to meet Chrissie for the first time and also to see Lynn, Christian and Noff again. In my line of work I can be required to work all sorts of hours of the day so when booking an important clubbing date into my calendar I usually have to book the day of the event plus the day after the event off to ensure that I don't end up having to work at times which infringe on the event. In this case I had therefore booked off all of Friday and Saturday and my mate who came with me had also got the Friday off so we began our weekend in the pub in the afternoon, having a couple of pints with some other friends before heading into London. Early evening we then caught a train in, had some food in Leicester Suare and then headed for embankment to meet up with Noff and Christian. We had a few drinks with them in a couple of bars so by the time I got to ministry I'd had a good few drinks but wasn't feeling very drunk as I'd also eaten a large meal!

Once in the club I went straight to check out Cosmic Gate who had just started their set. The first thing that hit me was the sound in the main room - it was pretty much perfect during Cosmic Gate's set - just the right level where the bass was hitting you in the chest but the treble was crisp and clear whilst being kind to your ear drums. The other guys all had guest list entry meaning they had to wait in a slightly longer queue so after hearing a track or two we went to find them in the house room which is where you first enter the club. At this point we met up with Lynn and Chrissie as well. One of Noff's mates had managed to blag a load of VIP wristbands so we all went up into the VIP area to get a drink and watch the mainroom from the balcony for a while before heading down to the dancefloor. I was really impressed with Cosmic Gate and I think they often get overlooked but they are a massive part of the trance scene and have been from the beginning really. They finished their set with a nice sing-a-long moment to their remix of John O'Callaghan's 'Find Yourself.'

Jules stepped up next and started things a bit slow, mixing out of Cosmic Gate's set at around 133 bpm I would guess. He got into the set fairly quickly though and as ever it was a mixed bag for me. Early on I heard him play Claudia Cazacou's 'Quattrain 3,' which I've been enjoying recently. It wasn't long however before 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' and 'Rock Your Body' made an appearance - both of which I can't stand. I don't remember loads of the tunes he played but I certainly heard David Forbes - 'Aria Waves' and Faithless - 'Not Going Home' (AVB Remix) both of which I really like. So overall Jules played some stuff I liked and some I didn't. The mixing was good and CD-J tomfoolery kept to a minimum in the main room with just a bit of looping in the Faithless track at the end of the set so that was a relief. When he moved into the house room I was up in the VIP bar chilling for a while and could then hear him dropping the usual "somebody scream" samples over every other track which is so cheesy it's embarrassing but I wasn't too bothered as I wasn't into the stuff he was playing in the back room anyway.

We all went and had a little rave in the Baby Box room where I think it was Tristan Ingram on the decks but I'm not sure. He was playing full on trance old and new and I was delighted to hear 4 Strings - 'Sunrise,' one of my all time favourites in there. After 15 minutes in there we headed back to the main room for the rest of Simon Patterson and then Sean Tyas. Patterson appeared to have been smashing it whenever I dipped into the main room during his set but it was pretty bangin and I didn't quite have the energy at the time of his set to really get into it. The tunes were great though and I do have a lot of respect for his producing skills. When Sean Tyas came I found a second wind for about 40 minutes and got quite into his set. During this time Christian, Noff and his mates all said their goodbyes and soon after Chrissie and Lynn went to chill out for a bit so at that point I called it a night and left for the train.

In all it was a superb night and I hope it wont be long before I go back to the MOS as it really is a quality club.

[Simcut]

Glad you folks had a good time can't believe Jules played Black Eyed Peas, Leona Lewis & Coldplay, yikes :S

[lennox2s2s]

Glad you folks had a good time can't believe Jules played Black Eyed Peas, Leona Lewis & Coldplay, yikes :S

I am shocked that Jules plays such trash bootlegs which he should be embarrassed as he produces them. Like seriously what do the other djs think when he drop such shite in his sets. Fair enough many djs have there custom edits/mashups of certain tracks (Gareth Emery, Markus Schulz and Armin) but Jules seems to regularly destroy great tunes (ie. Skyteck - Commet) with a commercial vocal with the end result a disastrous bootleg. Them bootlegs will destroy his reputation

[Briggsy]

Them bootlegs will destroy his reputation

I think its a bit too late for that. I think people stopped respecting Jules a good few years ago now.

[lennox2s2s]

I think its a bit too late for that. I think people stopped respecting Jules a good few years ago now.

I agree totally brother, but what I ment was that was what ever respect for his legacy was left could be shattered by them dreadful bootlegs he has been playing for the last 2/3 years. I stopped enjoying Jules around 2005 to be honest and discovered Markus Schulz and Gareth Emery...But sure the good old days of the 1999-2002 era could never last

Sure even Tiesto has gone to the dogs...but around 1999-2003 he rocked in my opinion....Surbain Train is still one of my favorite tracks of all time..his recent material compares with the like of Spice Girls..dreadful

[Ian_k]

next stop luminar leisure, i.e ikon. liquids etc :whistling:

[Number2Fan]

I just saw tall Paul, marcel woods and jon o bir. Their sets were amazing. Jules' set on Friday really was bad.

[Ian_k]

seen jon o'bir last friday, he was pretty good too.

as was MIKE, pulsar, gareth emery & ben gold.

[Number2Fan]

I wont be making any more journeys to specifically Jules anymore. I probably wont go to the Ministry of Sound again actually.

I ended on a Judgements night with other JJA members and fans, and Jules getting me in. That's a good way to end. His backroom set I liked, but it's a bloody long night for an hour and half set, only to hear what I'd hear in my local Ritzy, black eyed peas etc!

Jules has been a BIG BIG part of my life for years now, and I will always remember that. But I'm just not feeling it anymore from him. :confused:

I hope he continues to introduce people to dance music in his own special way, I hope he tells Tristan D to just DO ONE, aswell.

I'm moving on!! :mrgreen:

I'll possibly play his radio show on iPlayer through the week, as a radio show it's ok. He's a good presenter, and alot of tunes I do like, he's always been very kind and friendly to me too. But I love dancing and I can't dance a set like that, dunno whether you're coming or going BPM's allover the shop, and then just when you are getting into it he drops a piece of shit in there. He has always been a bit like that but that's the worst laid out set I've ever known him do.

[Tremor]

Fair comments Lynn. I agree it was a messy set but at the time I still enjoyed bits of it. I have to say I rarely bother going clubbing purely to see Jules anymore either. I was attracted to this night as a good number of board numbers were going, it was at Ministry which I've always wanted to go to but never got round to it and there were other good DJ's on the line up. I was really impressed with Cosmic Gate and Sean Tyas. I also would have been up for Patterson on another night, but at the time he was on I was too knackered for the pace of the set.

N2F - what did you think of Sean Tyas, Patterson and Cosmic Gate?

[Moonman]

I really wanted to go to this and was all set too, but 2 weeks ago at work, i got a new shift pattern, and had to work friday till 2200hrs, instead of the 1700hrs i was expecting to work. Sadly i couldnt get the time off either, so had to bail on it.

Looked good though, the pics look cool and it looked like you all had a good time. Re the bootlegs, i cant for the life of me see why Jules plays them, he must be so blind to the damage they do.

Nice to hear Mickey Slim bringing the bass tho, top DJ he is.

[Number2Fan]

Mickey Slim's a really nice bloke too! :thumbsup:

[Briggsy]

I must admit N2F, I never thought i'd see you turn on Jules - so for you to do that must highlight just how bad Jules has become.

I know we had a massive argument in that thread last year, and this was exactly my point - the route that Jules has gone down. I've never meant any harm in my opinions towards Jules - he used to be my favourite DJ, and will always be my favourite DJ of all time - but over the last three years, Jules has become shocking.

The average person has to work for two months to earn what Jules earns for DJ'ing for 90 minutes - so I think its disgraceful that he turns up drunk, playing half-assed sets with no flow and, a lot of the time, very sloppy mixing. As for those bootlegs - they're not even club standard. He has the odd one or two brilliant bootlegs - but 95% of the time, they're cheesy novelty bootlegs that are more suited to the Luminar Leisure venues where the crowd are, generally, quite clueless and just love well-known tunes. Cheesey, novelty, bootlegs just aren't going to work in a 'proper' dance club like the MoS, Godskitchen, etc where the crowd are, generally, very clued up. It amazes me that Jules still puts "and they seemed to get a good reaction" in his diary even though the crowd are leaving the dancefloor and looking at each other in a puzzled "WTF?" way. Either Jules is completely out of touch with his dancefloor, or he's trying to convince everyone that reads his diary that he's still "rocking it" even when he's blatantly not.

Jules is a legend, and I have a lot of respect for what he's done in the past. He's played some amazing tunes in amazing sets, and launched many producers and DJs careers - but now, he's living off his past reputation. If he was just starting out and playing the kind of sets he is now, he would hardly get any bookings because he's just not good enough. As for those cringeworthy "somebody scream" jingles - he'd be boo'd off the decks if he was an up-and-coming DJ playing those. Jules has become incredibly cheesey.

It baffles me as to why he still gets booked at Godskitchen and Gatecrasher. His style doesn't suit those venues any more. Jules's current style is more suited to the small bars/clubs, or chain-owned commercial clubs.

Its a real shame because every now and again, he can still show glimpses of his old self. I remember seeing him at the MoS about 18 months ago, and he was superb - he played a fairly hard BXR-esque set, and there wasn't any cheese in site. His mixing was superb. A month later - he was the complete opposite and shocking. He was also abysmal when I saw him at BCM last July. Dodgy looping, lame attempts and scratching and annoying "somebody scream" samples.

Sort it out Jules - you're better than this!

[Number2Fan]

I thought tyas was great, nice bpm going throughout. I ended up not seeing Patterson coz I was at jules' other set.

Briggsy I actually did think of you at the time. Jules must like the records he's playing, or Tristan d is blackmailing him. His set in Brighton wasn't bad, I think he's going down a route I

Never want to go down now though. And actually briggsy you'd have played a set twenty times better than that particular one. Going clubbing is not generally cheap, and can be quite an effort for me what with children and my job being thu/fri/sat/sun/mon ... I can't be wasting the clubbing time I do get on the gamble that jules' has become.

[JasonB]

Nice pictures,glad the meet was good.

On subject of growing out of Jules, when he came to Radio 1, I'd basically coinicidentally just stared getting properly into dance music, I'd started, he along with Tongs shows , what they played that came out on UK labels I bought. Over the years my tastes diversed a bit thanks to hearing other DJ's on the Essential Mix and so forth. Its come to the point now that nothing Tong ever plays, well rarely, interests me, I still listen to Jules for the odd couple of tunes that I would probably buy along with quirky stuff and to hear tunes only Jules seems to pick up on.

We grow older and our tastes change, as do DJ's (or maybe not in some cases! lol)

[Number2Fan]

But if there was another board meet up, and the line up looked good I'd defo come along!!

[Briggsy]

Thanks for the kind words N2F

[Number2Fan]

Btw tremor, we got vvip wristbands because we were on the jules' guestlist?

I thought cosmic gate were ok, found them A little bit boring.

[Tremor]

Nice...

OK... Matt who came with Noff made it sound like he'd blagged the wrist bands. Was obviously a misunderstanding there. But who cares anyway... at least we got them

[Number2Fan]

Ahhhhhhhhhh

I just wanna say I agree with what noff just said too!!

[Ian_k]

I would most def be up for more meet ups, it's not often i get to enjoy a trance night out with people that share same enthusiasm about the choonage as me

bit gutted i couldnt make the other meet up, but im deffo up for future events, depending obviously when & where they are.

[Number2Fan]

Yay I can read it on my I thing!!! Woohoo!!!

I said .... Nice one bruvvaaaaaaaa!!!!

[MikeW]

My other half & I were at MOS for this one as part of our visit to London this weekend & it was an excellent one.

I thought both Jules' sets were good overall - enjoyed the majority of the tunes that he played. Absolutely LOVED that first tune Jules played in the main room (I have a suspicion it may have been a new Jules tune, not heard him play it before?) If anyone remembers it at all or can ID it, that would be great!

My only gripe was a bit of dodgy looping on the odd occasion in both sets but apart from that, I wouldn't have said his sets were terrible at all.

Was really cool to meet Christian (Thirddrive) & Chrissie in person in the main room. Had a good chat about Jules & tunes, etc... Went back to the bar after that for a couple of drinks & didn't manage to see any other JJA members afterwards? (sorry! will have to keep an eye open for future board meets )

[Tremor]

ah that's a shame Mike. Not sure how we missed you as I was with Christian for most of the night. We all pretty much stuck together throughout so I can't imagine we were far away. Never mind though - glad you had a good time.