Auld Lang's Shine

The glitter cannon has been primed. The pyrotechnics are sorted, likewise a series of 40 foot video screens. A massive sound system will have been freighted in from London. And at midnight on New Year's Eve, a Shine club special at the King's Hall in Belfast will be hailed by much noise and a computerised system sequencing animation, music and samplers - a millennium shindig that's likely to be the best of its kind in Ireland.
Meantime, a series of name DJs will be boarding specially chartered planes to bring them to the show. They'll be arriving from Cream in Liverpool, via the Millenium Bug Ball in Chelmsford and from The End in London. The bill will include the likes of Darren Emerson, Mr C, Dave Clarke, Justin Robertson, Andrew Weatherall, David Holmes and Billy Scurry. It's a logistical challenge, but the organisers have done their utmost to involve the Shine favourites.
Alan Simms and Phil Donaldson don't appear to be worried by the scale of the gig. Seven thousand punters at #75 a pop. Based on past experience, they reckon that tickets sales may be slow for while, then pick up in the days before the bash. In previous years, they've hosted end of year parties at the Students' Union in Queens for 3,000 punters. So there's no question of the event being an abject failure. "It's not a question of whether it's a total flop or a total success," Alan figures. "It's whether it's a success or a total success."
Alan is just back from an 800 mile trip around Ireland, gigging, meeting heads and dropping off 50 000 flyers in Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Sligo and Donegal. Everybody is up for the Shine event, he says, adding that enthusiasm is greater outside Belfast. He's actually surprised at the lack of competition, that so few other clubs are trying to do anything ambitious.
In fact, the Shine party has only just been finalised. The King's Hall had been booked well in advance for another event, offering up grand prizes (luxury cars and holidays) to those willing to pay #1000 for the privelege. It didn't work out. So Shine put together their package in conjunction with Wonderland Promotions and Smirnoff.
The late timing wasn't such a bad thing, as the eclipse experience at Cornwall had just stiffed out, causing some people to rein in their hysterical expectations about New Year's Eve.
Alan: "It was fortunate that we set the whole thing up just when the Millennium backlash was kicking in, so people weren't talking crazy money . . . although the DJs are maybe getting ten times their normal fee."
It's a key moment for Alan and Phil. The started the club four years ago, with a Friday night residency. Over time, they shifted to Saturday, introduced DJs from London, New York and Detroit and enjoyed the benefits of a refitted Mandela Hall at Queens University, which upped the capacity and the comforts. But if you suggest to Alan that Shine is the nearest thing Belfast has to a superclub, he just snorts.
So what other problems will the New Year's Eve special present?
"The King's Hall is a difficult room to fill with sound, so we're using the people who developed the sound system for the Millenium Dome. We've been sourcing stuff to make it sound and feel brilliant. We're doing the only thing that would cater for our end of the market. To be honest, the whole millennium thing will be a washout for the older generation anyway. But for a lot of the younger clubbers, it's gonna be a success, because of the late licences and stuff. People can go out and dance legally until about six in the morning, which is a brilliant thing for Belfast."
Meantime, Brian Kenedy is in the City Hall Banqueting room in Belfast, crooning 'The Flower Of Magherally' to the breakfasting media corps. He's launching the City Council's plans for New Year's Eve, bannered and branded as BFS2K.
"Belfast is cool, y'know?" Brian lilts. "It's become cool and sexy. When people ask me what I'm doing on New Year's Eve, I tell them that I'll be outside the City Hall, singing my head off. I feel very proud of that . . . I'd love to see harmony on the streets that night."
As well as the City Hall freebie, the council is throwing parties outside the Waterfront (with Bjorn Again and Glam Slam) and at St George's Market with some jazz bands. There's a historical enactment (that'll be 1799) in the Cathedral Quarter and a family fun fair at Victoria Square. Many streets around the City Hall will be closed off and there will be fireworks over the Lagan and a large video screen by the Albert Clock. Best of all though, is the fact that a series of buses will be working circular routes, covering a fair part of the city for #1 a ride. So you don't have to deal with demented cab drivers, if you don't care to.
The mood will be sustained on January 1, with more fun possibilities, including Afro Celt Sound System and Watercress at Lanyon Place. The Saw Doctors will feature at the City Hall with the James Peake Band. You can check out all the variations and scheduling on the website (www.bfs2k.com). Likewise with Shine (www.shine.net). And hey, have a good one. n