It was the time again for North Germany, to go completely Insane! Seriously, I’m pretty happy about every single Hardstyle event taking place in Germany. We can be proud of events like Syndicate by Art Of Dance & I-Motion, the hardstyle floor at Airbeat One Festival, Q-Base .. although this is pretty much a Dutch festival, Toxicator and probably all the events taking place in the Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen.
As you see, all of them are taking place in west Germany , not far from the border to the Netherlands. Smaller Event organizer like Musical Madness already shown, that hardstyle events even in smaller clubs are possible and highly appreciated.
So let’s take a look to northern Germany, normally associated with Fish, cold weather and flat land. It was the 2nd of October and the Atrium in Kiel opened its doors for nearly 3000 people from all over the country!
The organisation could gather huge names for this edition, such as Warface, Jack Of Sound, Bass Modulators, TNT, Zatox, Ran-D, Korsakoff, Partyraiser, The Sickest Squad, Dr. Peacock and many more. They offered six areas, with a wide range of styles as well as an open air area, with a food both and enough space to relax.
The main hall was probably the most interesting area. Over the years, since the first edition of Insane, the line up grew and more and more international DJs claimed the stage. It was a nice edition. The lasers, lights, flames and C02 fit the concept and were a little highlight, since the venue was still a club. You could feel, that the organizers tried to be on the same level as events in the Netherlands.
But somehow they could really work on the sound. It was better than last year, but still not the best – using ear protection was highly recommend. The sets were solid, nothing special. There was no complete failure and you really got what you did expect, which was nice.
The second area was packed with the hardcore queen we all know and some supporting acts. The third area was the Dr. Peacock Records tour area, with just the best music above 200 BPM and people dancing like they touched a electric eel, seriously, this is so funny to watch! The other areas were very small, with Hard Classics, Techno, Schranz and various music styles.
If you take a look at the service and price, you really feel like it’s a good deal. Tickets for just 19€ / 22€ are absolutely fair and more than cheap for what you got, line up wise. So all in all I would really recommend this event – I’m happy that it is organized since 3 years now and that the event is growing and growing.
But this is also the biggest problem in my opinion: There were too many people! You had no chance to dance, the floor was absolutely packed till it’s maximum of capacity. It was not only hard to dance, but also hard to even find your way through all the people, to get a drink or go to the toilet. Additionally they really have a huge fresh air problem, especially because of all the smoke, fire and C02 it was hot, stinky and in between not really comfortable.
So, dear Insane-Team, you’ve already proven, that you can organize good events, that you have the opportunities for a huge Line-Up, the show equipment and that you have a solid fan-base, with people from all over Germany travelling to Insane.
Although the Atrium is a nice location, Insane is growing too fast and is seriously too big for this kind of location! I could imagine, if you find a bigger venue, you could really set the bar high for Hardstyle events in Germany, next to the bigger events such as Syndicate or Q-Base!