EVERY now and again something out of the ordinary happens that leaves a mark imprinted on your mind that you cannot forget.

If the shock of hearing that the Crystal Rooms was to be closed was not enough, then Roni Size's titanic Saturday night performance made sure the lucky 900 souls inside the Bridge Street venue will remember March 6, 2004, for a long time to come.

First up from the Bristol-based drum 'n' bass gang of Reprazent was Tali, and the New Zealander did not disappoint with her melodic, yet intense lyrics, that did much more than simply warm up the crowd.

Finishing off with the title track from her first album, Lyric on my Lip, Tali quite literally blew the sound system away - a short power cut ensued before the main event turned up.

Ably supported by Dynamite MC, it was like a throwback to the mid 90s as Roni Size raised the sound levels with a powerful rendition of Brown Paper Bag, which put the Lock Up crowd in the right frame of mind for what was to come.

Who told you? and Simon Says then tested everyone's fitness as the relentless up-tempo beats saw the dance floor vibrate with nervous excitement.

By the end of the night, the bubbling enthusiasm was replaced by the sad realisation that artists of the calibre of Roni Size would no longer be turning up to play at the alternative Hereford venue.

And it seems Mr Size was another who was saddened by that fact.

"It's a real nice, intimate place, where you can really see the crowd going for it," he said.

"You can play at venues where there are 4,000 people, but it's not the same - you don't get the same interaction with the crowd. It will be a shame for the place to go."

And just as the masses had nodded their heads to his beats, they will surely do so again in appreciation of his words.

Ian Morris