Illuminaughty’s Bank Holiday Extravaganza Review!!

Illuminaughty?s Bank Holiday Extravaganza Review!! It was sometime past 3am, as I watched an impromptu conga line snake through the Speakeasy room of Illuminaughty?s Bank Holiday Extravaganza party to an electro remix of Wild Cherry?s 1970s classic ?Play That Funky Music?, that it sunk in: this ain?t just a psytrance party anymore. Illuminaughty may have already firmly established itself as one of the most legendary psy events in the country, but since the itinerant Illumi-goblins set down permanently at the Manchester Academy at the start of 2013, the size and scope of the event has expanded far beyond the psychedelic remit. While nowhere will ever match the atmosphere of the event?s spiritual home at the Ritz, the move to the Academy has given the organisers license to go crazy. Sprawling across three floors and an outdoor arena that cover psy, breaks, electro swing and drum ?n bass, 2013-model Illuminaughty is the closest you can come to an indoor festival, complete with the atmosphere, the antics and the sheer variety to suit every party-goer. With so much going on it?s literally impossible for anyone to catch more than a quarter of the musical delights on offer, so a healthy degree of room-hopping is in order. The thousand-capacity main room pumped out full-on psychedelic trance all night from headliners Lucas and Hypnocoustics and the clutch of resident DJs, with jaw-dropping visuals and production design combining with some amazing outfits and fancy dress from the always-amazing crowd to create a mind-melting main room psychedelic experience. Dipping in and out all night, we were particularly impressed by resident Matt Lickess? set, which took a crowd still finding their feet early in the night and whipped them up into a frenzy. Downstairs in the basement, the IllumiNasty residents served up a generous dose of twisted crunching breakbeat funk to augment the riotous electro noise of Far Too Loud and the storming psy-breaks of Bad Tango. For sheer foot-stomping dirty second room madness this room was probably the most fun of all, and it?s just a shame it wasn?t discovered by more of the crowd. Back up on the ground floor, Leeds? finest electro swing crew Speakeasy had made the trip across the Pennines to take over the Union Bar, with promoter Wolfie Razzamtazz more than happy to step behind the turntables and lay down the funk, while outside in the smoking area Manchester?s premier bass ambassadors Drop Productions brought drum ?n bass to the table and were welcomed with open arms. Both of these rooms brought something fresh to the Illuminaughty equation and offered a welcome alternative to the relentless intensity of the other arenas. More of the same next time, please! Apparently there was even a silent cinema to be discovered somewhere in the building, but sadly we didn?t get time to take it in. The Union Bar also doubled up as the Market Hall where a plethora of quirky stalls peddled their home-crafted fluorescent wares to all comers. Amidst all the chaos, this was a reminder of what makes Illuminaughty so special. Take away the jaw-dropping production and decor and forget about the high quality DJs and performers and you still have a right-minded rave collective prepared to collaborate with creative-minded people of all backgrounds, fostering an inclusive community spirit that helps generate the unbelievable atmosphere at every party. In this age of uber-commercialised club nights and cynical promoters, here is a lesson on how to run a party. Already legendary throughout Manchester and beyond, on the evidence of the Bank Holiday Extravaganza, the Illuminaughty party is only just getting started.

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