Monday Bar sets sail!
What an awesome weekend! Just take a moment and look into the festival schedule two weeks back. We had Mysteryland with its ‘Dawn Of The Planet Apes’ Q-Dance stage, you could have step food into the dark woods of Bussloo and party to the heavier sh*t of the Scene, with an awesome 10th anniversary of Ground Zero or you could have gone on a completely different party starting in Sweden – it was time to enter the MS Romantika and celebrate the Monday Bar Summer Cruise in style!
Yep, we already published an article about Summer Cruise and Monday Bar, so if you have absolutely no clue about what I’m talking about or if you don’t know this party, go and check out the article over here.
This time I would like to have a different structure in my review. I would like to just tell the story of how I perceive the Summer Cruise 2015 at each day. So, there will be no split between facilities, show and design, the sets and the service.
And I had 2 weeks off work, so this was also some sort of vacation for me, which I really, really enjoyed – therefore, thanks again Monday Bar for creating such an awesome party!
Friday
But let’s just start on Friday. Meh, my alarm just started ringing at 03:45 a.m. – Straight in Your face like a mother*cking Psycho, my ringtone everybody – and I made myself ready for the flight to Stockholm, Sweden. I had muesli, a bun with jelly and coffee (greetings to Alive At Night) and thankfully my dad just dropped my off at the airport at 05:00 a.m., where I teamed up with my friends.
We arrived in Stockholm at 07:00 in the morning and entered the ship with a bunch of people we know at 15:30 p.m. Just don’t ask what we’ve done until that. I want to underline that this was not only the first time I’ve visited Summer Cruise, but it was also my very first time on a cruise ever, so I was kind of nervous when the Ship left the harbour at around 17:00 p.m. We made ourselves comfortable at the Sundeck, where they set up some speakers and a DJ booth, the sun was shining and the DJ was already spinning the decks, we grabbed the first drinks and I was really enjoying the time before the party would start down in the ship. The DJ was playing some house music, they continued with trance and after the 4th beer I somehow began to nod my head to the beat.
In the last hour on the sundeck the DJ started playing hardstyle, finally and thankfully. More and more people just stood up and started dancing, including me. It was mix of well-known tracks, most of people can sing along, some older tunes and a few rougher tracks. But no matter, the party was just about to begin the people we’re so ready and pumped. Everyone was so happy and already dancing their asses off during the first 3 hours of the cruise, although the real party hadn’t even started yet!
Also, some people were so crazy, wearing masks and costumes and these techno / trance typical clothes. It felt like this was the weekend everyone on this cruise had been waiting for the whole year and guess what, it was amazing! And damn, what beautiful sunset, while cruising through the fjords.
The party continued in two clubs inside the ship. The main stage was of course the bigger one. The stage was pretty colourful with a huge LED wall behind the DJ booth, lots of spots, lights and lasers. Hanging above the crowd there was some sort of decoration, fitting the trance, house and techno music perfectly.
There was enough space to dance and to sit down and relax. The bar was in the back of both areas. The sound was really good, pumping, but also very clear and highly enjoyable.
The Monday Bar Black area was smaller and the speakers literally blew you away. It was actually the first party I really needed some earplugs – It was loud! Especially later with all the raw sounds you definitely needed earplugs. But, somehow, it was not bad at all.
Starting with trance and techno I just sat down and relaxed, got myself a drink and had some fun with friends. What I recognized was, that all the Swedish or Scandinavian people really love these techno sounds. It was, honestly, funny to watch them dance to it, you know this typical techno dance, the biohazard masks, the neon dreadlocks, the different coloured contact lenses, moving their body to the ever similar beats and sounds for like one hour. Again, is there a climax in these tracks?
But let’s get back to business, because The Picher was about to hop on stage and f*ck, what a cool set! This guy knows how to bring people into mood and make them dance to the rhythm. Starting with some old euphoric classics like Savor Time or Marlboro Man, slowly getting rougher and rougher, switching to his Shock & Awe tracks – it was the perfect first set!
Next up Fusions rising star Requiem. The sound became rougher and rougher and also slightly faster. Between all common raw tunes, Requiem played some old classics as well, which was really cool. At that time nearly everyone was freaking out to every song that came up. What an awesome crowd!
It was already 01:30 at night and I slowly recognized my hurting feet’s and legs. But c’mon Jason Payne was about to play, an act which I was looking forward to the most. And holy sh*t! This guy knows how to heat up the crowd and make them go wild. Playing at 158 BPM, the raw tracks just became even stronger and reached the perfect drive to make you dance. For me, this was one of the most enjoyable sets of the cruise.
Followed by Ophidian, who started spinning some hardcore – obviously. I never heard a set of him, but I was positively surprised. His set was diverse, had a good flow and nice tracks, although I think I didn’t even notice one of them. You could describe his music as very melodic, with long breaks, underlined by chords, creating the perfect atmosphere.
It was 04:00 a.m. I was really tired, but I also felt to euphoric to go to bed – I mean Isaac and f*cking Warface to go – hell yeah, let’s do this. Those two sets actually took place at the bigger stage. While going to the other side, I just noticed how the whole ship was shaking, since it was my first time on a cruise it was really weird, especially while dancing – am I drunk or is it the ship?!
Well, all I can just say is, that Isaacs set was really nice, with its euphoric touch, some hard drops and of course some classics. Warface set was .. well .. like always but with his new tracks from the album. I really can’t wait for that one and I think it will be again the best album of the year for me. Supported by DV8, the crowd went insane!
Saturday
Waking up around 10:00 a.m. I just walked to the breakfast buffet – thanks Monday Bar for this nice buffet, really needed that. Ate some fruits, muesli and buns. We were already in Tallinn, our destination. You had the chance top just leave the ship and take a look around Tallinn – I was told it’s a really nice city, someone who agrees?
But I was way too lazy to leave the ship, walk around and party again at night, so I just went upstairs to the sundeck, made myself comfortable next to DV8, Requiem and The Pitcher, who also stayed for the whole weekend, had a drink and just relaxed in the shining sun, while listening to some house music and later some techno beats.
Thankfully they set up a BBQ and I just couldn’t resist getting myself some food. It was really delicious and I could gain some energy. So the Saturday was probably all about drinking, relaxing, talking to different people and wait until the party starts again.
But who was playing today? It was time for some finish raw power by no one else than Riiho and Digital Mindz – sadly not in a b2b set, but two solo sets. Really cool guys, we caught up with them just before their performance in the evening to have an interview with Riiho, which will be online soon. Originally they should have played in the third area, a really small one, but thankfully Monday Bar just opened the same area as yesterday for today’s party.
The sets of Riiho and Digital Mindz were highly enjoyable. Besides their own tracks, they dropped a good mix of common raw tracks. Both started with euphoric, slightly going harder and harder. Especially Riiho’s ending was just crazy. In the last 20 minutes he just went wild, playing his tracks at 160 – 180 bpm, playing Mad Dog – A Real Voice and ending up with a big bang.
For those who were still standing it was really awesome. Less people, but somehow the same mood – just amazing.
Sunday
We went to bed at around 07:00 in the morning, because we just relaxed and grabbed some last drinks at the main area and I just woke up at 10:00, made myself ready, packed my stuff and just realized – f*ck it’s already Sunday, I really don’t want to go. Time passed by so fast – too fast.
Time to say goodbye to all the people I’ve partied with, to all the people who turned this weekend into a weekend I will never forget. Special thanks to Monday Bar – keep it up!
So, something left to say? Yes, of course! All in all Summer Cruise is definitely worth to go! You should just grab 3 of your friends, get a cabin and damn, have one of the best weekends ever. I honestly need to say that the cruise is not about the biggest speakers or spectacular shows, although the main stage was packed with lasers and lots of lights.
It’s about the feeling, the music and the people around you. You’re just far away from land, on a ship, partying to your favourite music and DJs, where else could you experience this? The mood of the people is unbelievable and can’t be described.