Dirty South @ The Met, Brisbane (15/02/08)

Since The Met opened just over a year ago it has played host to some of the best international artists in the business. On a balmy Friday night however, it saw one of Australia’s most prominent DJs tearing up the Valley club for two hours ahead of what looks set to be an intense two and a half month tour that will take the former Yugoslavian born producer all across the States, SE Asia, and Europe. In the past it has sometimes become fairly predictable what kind of crowd you’re going to get in The Met but after being ushered in by the beautiful girl at the door (she told me to say that), and making our way to the main dancefloor where Brisbane’s Murray Brown already had a swelling crowd enthusiastic about what he was dishing out, it was clear to see that tonight would be something other than predictable. There was the distinct possibility that tonight, the fake tanned hides of the boys and girls would be turning their attention to the music rather than each other.

Brown delivered a set very much in keeping with the average mood you’d expect from the start of the night. Lots of comfortably predictable house tunes to keep the crowd pumped, and entice anyone not already on the dancefloor. While passing on the offer of putting my “Hands Up For Detroit” for the millionth time, the crowd were certainly up for it. Old favourites like a techno-addled reworking of Da Funk, Toca’s Miracle and the wheeling out of Jack’s House kept the dancefloor full and the speakers working overtime. Mercifully, the quality of the remix allowed the crowd to even endure James Blunt’s 1973, but still those grating vocals manage to sear through you like a convict who’s being electrocuted.

Thankfully the blistering opening of Dirty South’s set eradicated all traces of Blunt. The combination of the blinding spotlights suddenly blasting through the outpouring of smoke, while Carl Orff’s Oh Fortuna is unleashed upon everyone, all made for a memorable opening. The Melbourne DJ kept up the energy of the intro with the penetrating bass of his recent release Let It Go. With the lasers being used to good effect, and the lighting complimenting the music perfectly, it was clear to see that The Met had never been so packed. The dancefloor was nothing short of a seething mass of bodies and when Dirty South worked Soulsearcher’s Can’t Get Enough into the set, it was clear that a mixed bag was the order of the night.

As the nostalgia brought on by the aforementioned track that dominated a decade ago faded, it was replaced by another of Dirty South’s recent releases, Better Day which itself is reminiscent of the feelgood dance releases that so dominated the 90s. Underlying the nicely crafted electro and the omniscient bass is Dirty South’s almost signature guitar riffs that all combine to deliver a sound perfect for people that just want to dance long and hard into the night. The inclusion of the Seven Nation Army bassline just added to the frenzy. The build ups and peaks were all professionally delivered, and expertly timed to provide the crowd with the optimum clubbing experience and the energy needed to stay pumped well into the early hours of Saturday morning. Finishing, with delicious predictability that won’t get old for quite a while, with his most recent tuneThe End. So as Jim Morrison bid everyone farewell on Dirty South’s behalf, he wrapped up his set as he had opened it, with energy and generous helpings of that penetrating bass.

Pete Smith couldn’t have asked for a better DJ to take over from, as, when he opened with a nice techno reworking of Daft Punk’s live Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, the crowd responded with a lot more enthusiasm than when Daft Punk had been played earlier in the night. The visuals during Smith’s set were especially impressive, with footage from Daft Punk’s Alive tour featuring heavily and always a joy to watch. The same treatment was given to an almost unrecognisably hardcore version of Salmon Dance.

The heightened mood of the night was in safe hands as he picked up where Dirty South had left off and kept the atmosphere on the dancefloor present, and the crowd energized. The resident then had his own version of nostalgia to set loose amongst the crowd when he broke out a nicely altered version of Utah Saints’ Something Good. The night couldn’t be topped after hearing Kate Bush’s vocals given the electro house treatment so it was time to leave the still-brimming crowd to it. If The Met can keep up such an impressive portfolio of DJs paying it a visit, then it will remain one of the best clubs in Brisbane; because it’s the DJ that makes the club, not the other way round.

Spoonbill @ Über, Brisbane (18/01/08)

Situated in the West End of Brisbane, Über sits pride of place along Boundary Street and enjoys an atmosphere that differs greatly from the blues bars and cafes that surround it. It has played host to some impressive names, most recently Dr. Octagonand Kool Keith. But the night before it saw Melbourne-based DJ Spoonbill pack the house and release a sound not being produced by any other Australian musician.

The night began with a glimpse into the very curious world of Suckafish P Jones, whose combination of dubstep, grime and hiphop had the few in attendance looking on in quiet bewilderment. The hardcore but formulaic sound of the dirty hiphop that came out of his laptop and pads clashed almost comically with the image of the wildly energetic skinny white boy with glasses jumping around the stage. He deserves credit for maintaining his over-enthusiastic energy throughout the set, in the face of a totally unresponsive crowd who refused repeated requests to “give it up!” and “put [their] hands in the air!”

The change in mood was palpable when Simulcast took to the stage. Unfortunately that mood changed another twenty times during his set, as he chose not to settle on one particular flow for the night but skipped uncomfortably from genre to genre. A brash and unwelcome hip hop beat would often cut in on an easy djemba-addled sound that was just beginning to take flight one minute, and then force its way between a smooth breakbeat synth concoction the next. The set was peppered with great moments, but all too often they were interrupted by what seemed to be the same tired hip hop backtrack, and not as a way of blending one tune into another, but merely as a means to cut one sound off and use it as an intermittent to the next.

When the great moments came, they were Simulcast doing what he does best, and that’s producing laid back minimal breaks reminiscent of a DJ Food soundscape. This, coupled with the smatterings of comic sampling that the DJ is so adept at using, such as the inspired use of Ray Parker Jnr’s vocal talents at one point. The flashes of Mr Gibbs’ brilliance were all to few and although, by the look of the crowd on the night, the sound may have catered to their tastes, it wasn’t his sound, that otherwise makes him great.

Room, then, was made for the feature presentation. Spoonbill, with visual mixing assistant in tow, took his place with macs, samplers, and mixers aplenty. I saw Mr. Moynihan when he supported Amon Tobin and Kid Koala on their joint venture to Melbourne a couple of years ago and was very impressed with a splendidly appointed supporting cast to what turned out to be one of the best live music events I’ve had in this country. His set geared everyone up sublimely for the night of Ninjatune majesty, and so was intrigued to find out what a night with a top-billing Spoonbill would be like.

As suspected, he didn’t disappoint. Having two hours to play with the audience, he unleashed a sound that simply no other Australian DJ is making at the moment. Certainly there is no better influence to have than the aforementioned genius Tobin, and he is evident throughout much of what Spoonbill does, but not enough to make him simply a cheap Australian equivalent. He has captured the essence of great technical ability with his sampling, and funnelled it into a seemingly easily-produced rhythm that on the face of it sounds generic, but doesn’t hang around getting stale and repetitive, quickly snapping you back into a healthy breaks mix with yet more finely tuned samples.

The sounds on offer were matched only by the visuals that synced up with them, and were a treat to look at, especially during the Gum Tree sequence. In a style reminiscent of the seamless visual extravaganza that makes up a live Coldcut performance, Spoonbill put on a show that was a treat for the eyes and the ears. He has the makings of a true pioneer within the Australian music scene, engineering a sound that no one else coming out of this country has attained. Despite some bizarre comparisons to The Avalanches that are doing the rounds (true only insofar as he is Australian and has a sampler), Spoonbill’s sound is a lot more technical and his samples more foley orientated as opposed to borrowing from entire riffs or the vocal verse. His music has divided critics, some not grasping what he is trying to do, and this is only ever a good thing for an artist, for it separates those who can appreciate technical ability from the chaff.

His utter uniqueness, combined with a live performance that is visually superb (he even finds the time to incorporate some carefully ironic marketing campaigns in the shape of piss-taking ads into his sets) means that Spoonbill will garner the attention of many, fans and critics alike, in the future. Now, if only he could be reviewed without the predictable barrage of avian-based punnery…

Salmonella Dub @ The Arena, Brisbane (03/11/07)

When it comes to a band that can fuse dub, drum & bass and reggae, there are few names that spring to mind as quickly as Salmonella Dub. It was good to see Brisbane’sArena rightfully full for this roots band from the beautiful Aotearoa town of Kaikoura. The vast majority of the crowd were Kiwis out to support one of their greatest musical exports, and so despite the venue being packed and the bar being understaffed, the mood was appropriately laid back. The band were in town to promote their new albumHeal Me, their first release since former frontman Tiki Taane left in January to pursue a solo career, and their eighth album overall.

The support came in the form of Budspells, the duo of MC Kye and Ant who originally hail from New Zealand but met and now operate out of Sydney. They opened a little later than billed, but they chilled everyone out with some of their combined early work from the 90s, keeping the mood very mellow. The crowd couldn’t have been more in the mood for their smooth dub beats, enjoying their latest offering Ruckus. It was refreshing to see a varied demographic of ages filling out The Arena, showing that dub appeals to anyone with a love of urbane and positive music.

It was a shame Budspells only played for about 50 minutes as the crowd were clearly ready to enjoy a lot more from the duo, but the anticipation was already growing forSalmonella Dub to take to the stage. Unfortunately they didn’t do so for well over half an hour, and although the crowd never seemed to tire of the tunes being played in the interim, it was still a little disappointing to hear Salmonella’s own tracks being played before they came on!

When they did take to the stage at 11.30pm, they opened with Push On Thru, the seminal track from 2002’s release Inside The Dub Plates. Everyone was instantly enthralled, the breathy vocals and beautiful harmony washing over the crowd in a wave of chilled out grooves that had the crowd swaying and moving in unison. The night progressed and the band focused their attention a little more on their newest material.

Love, Sunshine and Happiness is an instant reggae classic, and along with the almost effortless warm feeling it evoked, it was the visual element of the gig that played a vital role. Blending perfectly with the tunes were visuals courtesy of Tim Budgen, the band’s VJ. Images of scenery from all over New Zealand have been a big part of their live show, and they do it especially for the expatriated Kiwis who appreciate their country’s beauty. Looking around the Arena it was clear to see a lot of people appreciating just that, and for a moment at least a little bit of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley became 100% New Zealand.

The tempo shifted slightly when trumpeter Peter Wood took the mic, telling us that he wanted a go at singing for a change, and went straight into a personal favourite on the new album, Lightning. The fleeting elements of folk in the song entwined with the insouciant sounds of the dub undertone and Wood’s earthy vocals, all making for a wonderful little melody.

Although Heal Me isn’t a departure or a new direction for the band, their live experience may change in the future with the departure of Tiki Taane. His absence from tonight’s gig was certainly noticeable. It didn’t detract from the performance, however, and instead allowed the band to take themselves away on digressional instrumentals worthy of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was clear that David Deakins, drummer and new vocalist for the band, had been having fun all night, and no more so than when the band treated the crowd to a flawless rendition of The Stranglers’ 1977 summer hitPeaches towards the close of the night.

Salmonella Dub’s only real foray into drum & bass for the evening came with their encore, jolting everyone who may have gotten just a little too relaxed, sending everyone out into the Brisbane night with a healthy disposition and the sound of the long white cloud echoing in their minds.

Renaissance feat. Sander Kleinenberg & Junkie XL @ The Met, Brisbane (02/11/07)

The ingredients for November 2nd at The Met being a memorable night were all apparent: the controversy over Famous being hosted at one of the Valley’s most recent addition to the club scene and not Family, the showcase of Pioneer’s new acclaimed SVM-1000, and a lineup featuring two Dutch artists who are enjoying success all over the world for their massive club house sets. Unfortunately as it turned out, the night would be remembered for less estimable reasons.

Sander Kleinenberg sees the blending of sound and vision as the inevitable eventuality that club nights around the world will one day wonder how they ever managed without. It gives the DJ the freedom to add his or her own ‘mixable’ visuals to an evolving setlist, and has the potential to make each gig as individual as can be achieved to the club hosting for that night. Kleinenberg has certainly used this to great effect over recent years, with the visual elements of his Everybody club nights attracting huge numbers in the biggest clubs in the biggest cities.

Easily recognisible in his bright orange zip-up and flat cap, is the second and arguably more widely known Dutchman on the setlist by the name of Tom Holkenborg, but to a world of clubbers he’s known as Junkie XL. The creator of that legendary Elvis Presley remix masterpiece A Little Less Conversation, JXL has enjoyed not only success with his back catalogue of great club/breaks albums, but has remixed for possibly the widest variety of names, everyone from Coldplay and Scissor Sisters to (more worryingly) Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne. He’s been having a whale of a time since landing in Australia recently, and was ready to drop a massive night at The Met.

It hasn’t taken long for The Met to garner a clientele populated by guys that say, “I’ve exercised every muscle except the one inside my head”, and girls that say, “Under-dressed is best.” It was encouraging therefore to see two examples of the former who were wearing embarrassingly matching 80s slogans tees being turned away upon entering the club. I doubt they were turned away because of their attire, but sadly if they had been allowed in, they would have fitted in perfectly with many of their peers. It was almost immediately clear what kind of night the majority were hoping to have and as we approached the dancefloor and heard David Gueta’s Love Is Gone getting its ever predictable airing, the crowd’s expectations looked set to be met. Resident Pete Smithhad his sights fixed firmly on getting the dancefloor filled, and with the decidedly average club night staples of NYC Beat, Shake & Pop, Destination Unknown and a cringeworthy The Sweet Escape, he had mission accomplished.

As Mark James picked up where Pete Smith left off, taking the reins in catering to the largely tasteless crowd and being almost indistinguishable from his predecessor, a break from the sleaze being displayed on the dancefloor by much of the Everlast army was needed. If you can find a secluded booth downstairs at The Met, it’s always a pleasure to sit and enjoy the pseudo-Medieval/Renaissance style woodwork, soft crimson lighting and Persian-inspired decor peppered with Hindu imagery. Not for long however, as downstairs was beginning to sound suspiciously akin to the main floor, which was being exposed to a nice club mix of Chemical Brothers’ Do It Again. The night was all about Sander Kleinenberg however, and what he would do with the SVM-1000. He was primed and ready to shift it into a higher gear.

Unfortunately it stalled soon after, for barely had Kleinenberg opened his set, that it became apparent something was wrong. The floor was then met with silence as The Met’s mighty sound system was brought to its knees, the impressive visuals disappeared, everything went dead and along with it, the vibe. Thankfully the momentum was lost only momentarily as Kleinenberg recovered with the hammeringDeadmau5 edit of Harder Better Faster Stronger. The promise that Daft Punkdemonstrated was short-lived though, as a lacklustre set was only studded here and there with some nice moments in the proceedings, such as an unheard of mash-up between a pumping club bass and the sound of James Lavelle’s vocal work on Hold My Hand, the latest single from Unkle. To be taken surprise by Samuel L Jackson screaming “English mother fucker, do you speak it!?” whilst the speakers doled out suppressing house beats was also a highlight.

This is not to say that once the dancefloor had been filled prior to Kleinenberg, that it didn’t stay filled after he began. This is to say that when a DJ lowers their standards to gratify an audience who can’t see past the mainstream of what’s being played in clubs around the world, the rest of us suffer for it. Aside from the aforementioned, Kleinenberg dropped some nice gems in his set, such as Angello Ingrosso’s reworking of Hard Fi, making Suburban Knights sound good. Also nice to hear Les Djinns make an appearance in a set, but the inclusion of some nice gems does not a euphoric night of spectacular house make.

So did the advanced technology of the SVM-1000 give us perfectly synchronised visuals that complimented the music with a stunning array of mind-warping imagery? Sadly not, but it did display on the 2×6 screens the lyrics to whatever tune we were listening to at the time, and that’s something. For all of the build-up that this new system of VJing had generated, it was as impressive as Kleinenberg’s set. When used to full capacity, it can be an awesome sight to behold, as something that has been recorded mere minutes before a set can be incorporated into the visuals, then tweaked and messed with to the DJ’s liking. But the sight of the words Harder Better Faster Stronger, Are your drugs healing?, or Smack My Bitch Up being stylishly flashed up on screen while the song is being mixed into the set, and the bass having its own rhythmic visual pulsing in time to it, is not enough to make the experience any more enjoyable. If anything, it only helps in making the set seem somewhat less spontaneous, and the tracklist a little more predetermined. It does allow for a visual show approaching what can be seen at an outdoor festival to feature in a smaller, city centre club, but when the effort isn’t put into creating outstanding visuals in the first place, it all seems a little wasted.

After a two hour set it was time for Kleinenberg to make way for the always up for it Junkie XL. Not content with giving the crowd any time to recover, his fellow countryman’s equipment was cleared from the stage and replaced with what may in the near future be deemed the more ‘traditional’ Powerbook and Moog Voyager Stage setup. JXL opened with Black Knight blaring out Kick Up The Volume (Play It Loud), which said it all and soon had the crowd back on their feet and pounding the floor. JXL kept the tempo up with a quick feature of his latest single Fuck More, which could have lasted longer than it did, but when it led into a beautiful mash up between Enjoy The Silence and the Moby classic Go, all other thoughts went out the window and this reviewer was rapt. The sublime vocals of David Gahan blending with a flawless track like Go that had been given the JXL treatment should have defined the sound of his set, if his set hadn’t have proceeded to descend into the second pander-to-the-crowd of the night.

We were treated to the title track from last year’s Today album, the sound system doing justice to the hard house beating that JXL dealt it, but it seemed the crowd were beginning to dwindle. The sense that they were merely occupying the dancefloor rather than making it their own became apparent on a number of occasions not only to this reviewer but to JXL himself. Putting everything into the set was not enough it seemed, and only when he had to stand on his own table and thrash about did he remedy the crowd’s attitude and get them back into the tunes. This may have been the reason for the over abundance of build ups that dominated the set; after releasing a blazing version of his remix of Angels on the crowd and getting little response, all JXL could do was shake his head and go back into another build up.

Junkie XL has a knack for seeming bigger than most of the clubs he plays in, and this was certainly the case for The Met. He had his work cut out for him on Friday night, battling to repeatedly coax the crowd into action after almost every track he played, and the crowd he did get deserved to be bigger and more enthusiastic. Although when you have a crowd made up of guys and girls more concerned with texting each other or how nigh their hair is, then you can’t expect to get a crowd worthy of a Junkie XL set.

Famous at Brisbane is probably going to be more memorable for Sander Kleinenberg than it will be for anyone who heard him play however. It will be the infamous night he’ll always remember as the one when all of his CDs and DVDs were stolen. In a cruel but definitive way the theft topped off perfectly the disappointment that is often generated when looking at the people who frequent The Met. It seems that some were not merely content with listening to a DJ’s material, but felt they had to rob him of it, not only thoroughly ruining the night for him, but for anyone he was to play to in the near future. Let’s hope he doesn’t hold it against the rest of us in the distant future.

Breaks and Enter feat. Aquasky @ GPO, Brisbane (13/10/07)

To look back over Aquasky’s twelve year history is to chart the evolution of a style of music that has incorporated everything from drum n’ bass to breaks to electro house, all culminating in the creation of an entirely new genre, in the form of bassline breaks. To say that the trio have carved out a niche for themselves is to understate just how important they are in the breaks scene. It’s one thing to have Adam Freeland get you roped into breaks, it’s quite another to then go out and seemingly work with every big name in the business, producing collaborations that span the length and breadth of the genre, and beyond. Working with the likes of Phil Hartnol, Meat Katie, Elhornet, and Kool Keith certainly gives you an impressive CV, and allows for a campaign of showing just why you’re up there collaborating and producing with the best, all over the world. Which, on Saturday, brought Aquasky to the heart of breaks in Queensland, the Valley’s GPO.

Breaks and Enter has been leading the way in Brisbane for a while now, attracting some impressive names in breakbeat, and so on a night when one of the biggest was due to make an appearance, resident Sangers kicked things off with an hour of chilled out funky breaks before pushing the tempo and coaxing a few early birds onto the seven40 bar dancefloor. Then came Nick Thayer, hailing from Melbourne and with a mixed bag of funky and heavy breaks that picked up perfectly where Sangers left off. The transition from a mashed up sample of Ronnie Hudson’s West Coast Poplock all the way through to a current favourite, and one featured twice during the evening, Plump DJsSystem Addict, assured that the floor would stay well populated by what was gearing up to be a more than up for it crowd.

Verner, lucky enough to be playing in between the two headliners, took over the reigns and maintained a predictable but popular set of heavy beats and rhythms. The combination of KNO screaming out the obligatory “are you ready”s and “everybody screams”s and Verner playing tried and tested tunes given the breaks treatment, ensured there were as few lulls as possible in the crowd’s enthusiasm.

It was impossible not to keep the crowd jumping and the tiny dance floor of downstairs GPO struggling with the heaving capacity in anticipation of what would be (alcohol intake permitting) a set to remember. Sure enough it was difficult for Aquasky (or at least the faction touring down under whilst other members simultaneously tour the UK) to skulk in the shadows any longer. Kieron Bailey took to the stage and from early on his commanding presence at the decks was blatantly evident. He didn’t waste time in opening his set with a lengthy build up or a police-siren fuelled intro as many of his ilk are want to do, but got straight down to business with a reverberating bass that shook walls and people alike. From the outset, Bailey made good use of the extra speakers that BnE put on for the evening and blasted the crowd with a grinding, heavy breaks sound that would define the rest of his set.

As he surveyed the crowd, taking in their enthusiasm, it was clear this was going to be a big one, so when Bailey broke out Far Too Loud’s Play It Loud, the temperature rose and the dirty breaks infected everyone with a sense that you if you weren’t moving, you simply didn’t belong here. It was clear that Bailey was throwing everything in, from the funky to the housey breaks, but it was the dirty, mechanical sound of the Plump DJs’System Addict, getting its second but no less deserved spin for the night, that the DJ really revelled in, gritting his teeth with a look of satisfied relish and surveying the crowd to see if they met with his approval. They responded in kind, shaking the GPO as if they were in an arena and not an intimate club. The recipe of bass shuddering mix-ups wasn’t simply confined to traditional breakbeat artists like the aforementioned though, not by a long shot. Daft Punk made a very welcome appearance over the sound system, with Bailey displaying an enviably seamless mash up of One More Time andAerodynamic. The two funky disco favourites simultaneously complimented each other, all the while maintaining that beautifully sordid Aquasky treatment, and giving the swarm of bodies on the floor something to really get their teeth into.

This reviewer had been waiting for a particular track all night and, assured that it would get an airing tonight, I was pleased to hear Girls & Boys unleashed upon the throng. It got the reaction one would expect from a track that always goes down well with fans. Showing again that a house influence on breaks isn’t a bad thing, Girls & Boys was met with one of the biggest cheers of the night, and rightly so. With the filthy bass turned up, the vocals blasting and the housey layering doing its job, it was hard not to have a good night when your eardrums were subjected to such a welcome pounding.

Even the tinge of bitterness felt when Bailey was seemingly prematurely asked to stand down and make way for resident Devastatin’ Dave, even though it was clear he wasn’t ready to let the crowd unwrap themselves from around his finger, one couldn’t deny that the past hour and an half had been a perfect example of how to enjoy a night of breaks as performed by a master of his craft. Aquasky are on top of their game, and with only bigger and better things to come (a new album is in the pipeline), it’s going to be a long while before we’re given the chance of a comedown.