I went to Fabric a couple years ago now, thought it was acceptable overall for physical plant (layout, very good sound system, etc.), and totally overrun by lager-hounds who really couldn't give a rip about who was playing other than it was some bloke they saw on a magazine cover last month. DJ Assault was in the front room and it sure sounded good out on the floor, but the place was packed and yet *not* moving, although in fairness what Assault does is pretty unique and perhaps disconcerting if you don't have previous exposure to that style.
The superclub is a perversion of what this scene was at its best or even its most average. I don't doubt it made a lot of money for promoters and a few DJs in the day, but it accelerated a star system that has squeezed the life out of the DJ scene in many ways and contributed to style over substance that has been the instant downfall of dance music through at least three major eras. Twas ever thus, I have felt for years that there was a certain inevitability to this whole cycle, which started in part as a reaction to mindless crowd subservience to the guitar-rock dialectic -- which continues onward even now. On the other hand -- three major cycles (late 1970s disco, mid-80s post-disco, and 90s house/techno/etc), and dance music always comes back when you least expect it. Or at least we better hope so. fred
