Promise VS Goodgreef @ Foundation Newc - 31 Oct 03

Ever since going monthly, Promise has managed to attract a good trance/hard trance loving audience. The last few monthly Friday’s have seen Foundation packed as the likes of Eddie Halliwell, Matt Hardwick, Scot Project and Guy Ornadel have graced the decks.

It hasn’t all been about the big names either. Promise residents, Lee Foster and Richard Tulip have also impressed. Tulip being described as one of the best residents in the UK.

The night of Halloween usually digs up a few tricks and treats but those who witnessed Promise vs GoodGreef at Foundation were treated to something extra special.

With Mauro Picotto headlining the event and GoodGreef residents Adam Sheridan and Shan joining Tulip and Foster, it was perhaps surprising that this turned out to be a night where the residents shone through.

With Foster warming the night up with the first set of the evening, it was only when Sheridan took to the decks that the dancefloor really started to get moving. I had heard a lot of good things about Sheridan but had never seen him myself.

Thankfully for us all, the hype had been well deserved as he went onto do a brilliant set, including Motorcycle - As The Rush Comes and Signum – Push Through before finishing with his own new tune.

Promise resident Tulip followed and, as always, never failed to impress with some hard trance. His set being cut to an hour being the only drawback.

By this time, the club was packed as people waited in anticipation for Picotto. If Sheridan had got people on the dancefloor then Tulip should be credited for keeping them there.

Having played Promise before and gone down a storm, the crowd were expecting more of the same from Mauro this time around. However, I wasn’t too sure how he would fit in with the style of the Promise and GoodGreef residents.

As it was, he got mixed reactions with some people claiming that the start of his set spoiled the atmosphere that Foster, Sheridan and Tulip had built for him as he dropped the tempo at the start before building it back up himself. There were quite a lot of people who looked bored during his set, me included.

However, many others seemed to enjoy his set and the dancefloor was still full from the start to the finish which must say something. Even when the sound went for five minutes (with Mauro apparently blowing a mixer), creating a surreal quiet in the club, the crowd remained up for it. With tunes including Chris Liebing - Golden Age, New Time New Place, Amazing, Pulsar, Cave - Street Carnival and DK - Murder Was the Bass, it was a change to the normal Promise sound.

Upstairs in the backroom, Luke Nixon and Pete Robinson were treating people to a bit of funky house. Providing a refreshing change from what was going on downstairs, both Nixon and Robinson were impressive. Robinson, in particular, showing a lot of energy and enjoyment behind the decks. You could tell he was loving it almost as much as the sizable crowd that had gathered up there as he kept it busy until the bouncers called time on proceedings early.

Back downstairs, the best was saved until last though as undoubtedly one of the best residents in the country finished the night off in style. Shan seems as if he can never fail to impress and he was no different on this occasion.

Even after six hours of tunes, this man managed to pull out a set that kept Foundation dancing until the very end. If you had been bored by Picotto then Shan was the wake up call that you needed. And, even if you hadn’t, you could not fail to realise how far Shan could go in the future. Tunes included Scot Project – Overdrive, Ricky Forbis - No Regular, Signum – What Ya Got 4 Me and Tiesto – Traffic as the Geordie crowd went home very happy indeed.