I'll step in and say FUCK SUPERDOME! Well, not really, but in my opinion, it's overrated.
Sure, when I stood at the top of the stairs to the Main arena for the first time, I agreed with what i'd heard - it's a spectacular arena....but I was pretty much over it by the time I reach the bottom of the stairs (note: lasers and lights weren't out in full force at the time). Anyway, if you're not the main arena type, and you like your Hardcore, it's the most annoying venue in Sydney. If you manage to find the Hardcore arena, you realise it's at least a 5 min journey to any toilet/tap. If you're in the middle of an awesome set and you're dying of thirst, you have to miss about 15 mins of the set. This goes for the outdoor Chillout area as well, which is slightly further than the Hardcore arena. It's just frustrating.
I'll admit, that's my only complaint about the Superdome, though. It'd be the ultimate venue for a one or two arena event, I say.
I MUCH prefer Utopias to be held at the Dome, at the Showgrounds. That's where the September 2001 event was, which happened to be my first Utopia, and although not my favourite, it was definitely a good night. There are no annoying stairs to climb, all the arenas are lined up side by side in massive warehouses and the outdoor chillout (which has grass, something Superdome chillout lacks) runs the length of the venue. Oh, and toilets galore.
Now, production wise, Utopias are fairly good. I disagree with melancholic saying the sound is usually average, I think the sound is always at least "good" - it's always fucking loud, just not always crystal clear. The lasers, I think, could be much better. I don't think i've ever seen full colour lasers used. Events such as Thrillseeka use full colour, and they shat on any i've seen at a Utopia. Though, the lights they set up in the Supderome Main are fucking awesome and unprecendented in my experience. The visual screens at Utopias are pretty cool, not that I care much for what they show, but they do add extra class to the event.
I won't comment on the music, except for saying if you like Hardcore, miss this upcoming event, because I think there's only two actual Hardcore DJs on the lineup. It should be called the "Hard Dance" arena, like i've heard they call such arenas in England.
Even though I had a reasonably good night at NYE 2001/02 Utopia, I do agree that it was a very poor joint-effort by Powerhouse and Wonderland. The ridiculous wait to get in (nearly 2 hours), the over frisky security guards, the cost of bottled water and the dirty Main arena were the biggest complaints, I think. They learnt a lesson though, as i've noticed significant improvements and really enjoyed every Utopia afterwards, bar the October one. This upcoming one, will most likely be the first Utopia i've missed since my first. The lineup just doesn't tickle my fancy.
Damn, I didn't expect my reply to be this long.
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