We’ve been on the hunt for Exodus footage for over six years now. The exhausting effort is detailed here. Unfortunately, we still haven’t found any footage from Exodus’ stay at 23 Hop in 1991. Strangely, no Hop footage from any event or year has ever surfaced.
We did however manage to find Exodus footage from their post Hop era. And what footage it is.
On Saturday November 28 1992 Exodus took over the Masonic Temple aka Concert Hall. The event boasted a live performance by Shut Up and Dance and Pete Bouncer whose track “Raving I’m Raving” was a commercial anthem earlier in the year. To the original Exodus faithful it was a bit of an odd selection, as we had always associated Exodus with cutting edge underground tunes. Toward the end of the year I’m Raving was very played out, mostly at The Factory in the summer months.
But it was a sign of the times, Exodus wanted to grow their audience and potential for profit. Despite being pioneers of Toronto rave – they were now competing in a different scene that was evolving way too quickly.
The commercial PA aside, John and Anthony also brought in a pair of DJs from the UK. Unknowns to us at the time, DJs Jason & Terry were from NHS 104.9 in Glasgow. They were billed alongside the remaining members of the Boomin’ System – and this was the Exodus we all remembered. The tunes turned out to be top notch. The rave was packed. New punters educated. Cries of commercialism quashed.
The best part of this footage is the music – partially because the PA wasn’t recorded. Although it would have been fun to watch, it’s better that the soundtrack to this video is by DJs. And while Sykosis and Pleasure Force had introduced us to faster jungle sounds earlier in ’92 (Loon-EE-Tunes was the week previous) Exodus mostly held true to their signature techno sound.
Thankfully the camera person kept the recording to only a few seamless shots – which means the music stays mostly intact. Sure, there’s lots of camera jostling, but the camera’s mic managed to capture the most important part very well. And, to his credit – the shooter also perched the cam in some pretty choice areas and just left it running. The stationary footage toward the end is amazing.
Go-Gos glorified by IntelliBeams. A large Easter bunny even makes a cameo (rumored to be Scott Fraser/Guru Skot from the Factory.) Ravers going hard in every corner and level of the venue. Dr. No on the MIC. Whistle posse in effect. A power outage. What more could you ask for?
By far the best footage we have discovered. We highly suggest playing it just for the tunes too.
Big shout to Jennifer O’Brien aka Chippy for preserving and providing this gem.
