- I arrived at Slinky at eleven o’clock and with no one on decks that I was keen to see, this was my best opportunity to check out the venue, the Vodafone Arena. First to the Renaissance Room. The sheer length of the room spelt trouble, as it is always hard to get a good vibe going with everyone so spread out. At the time I wasn’t quite convinced by the lack of lighting, but once there was a bit of a crowd and the night got going it proved to give it an excellent minimalist feel. Upstairs in the Perfecto Breaks Room it was much the same, however it did have the advantage of being a room of its own. My personal preference would’ve been to switch the two rooms around. Next I took a deep breath, counted to three and stepped into the Slinky Main Arena. It was now clear why the other rooms had so little lighting. Every club in Australia would have very little lighting tonight. So this is where the money from ticket entry goes.
It was time to head outside to take a seat and relax. What better way to relax than spending yet a little more time on discussing what is wrong with the scene and what needs to be done about it. The familiar conversation was interrupted by the sweet sound of Donna Kebab making its way over from the outside tent. Enough of the talk it was time for some action.
By this time it was after twelve and Ben Shepherd was in command of the decks upstairs. For over half an hour he kept me interested with his use of 90’s classics. Prince and MC Hammer have never sounded so good. Unfortunately for Ben, I was then scared off by one questionable mix and an irritating popping noise emanating from the speakers.
Downstairs Kasey Taylor was doing his best to reunite me with my love of dance music. Up until one o’clock he had me convinced that times were changing. Then something happened. Either the 1:01 train to Flinders St Station went past or KT’s set went downhill. Chug chug chug chug choo choo. After an impressive start, it was back to the very image that prog needs to shake off.
Now, the moment I’d come for. James Zabiela was ready to step up. Up until this point I had only heard snippets of his work and read a couple of reviews. From what I was told, I was in for a treat. Almost instantly James managed to raise the energy level of the room. From the get-go it was evident that just as much time could be spent watching his hands as listening to his music. You will struggle to find a progressive DJ as occupied as JZ was during his set. The effects. The scratching. Finally progressive was given some life. The vocals of Roch Dadier – La Pierre Polie booming out the speakers said it best; “What you are about to experience is a brand new vibe”.
Occasionally becoming over-indulgent of the ‘tricks’ meant a few cues were missed. It was forgivable after seeing the reaction they evoked from the crowd. With tracks like those of Many Members, and James’ own remix of Pole Folder – Dust, the first hour and forty five minutes were pure auditory bliss; the fun of breaks, the bounce of house and the drive of progressive. This was funky! Sasha’s protégé was definitely the new face of good music. If this set were to end here I could die happy having heard the best progressive set ever.
Unfortunately, it didn’t and Zabiela seemed to lose his way slightly. The rest of the set he was teasing. Constantly hinting that it was building but actually not quite making it. After charging forward right from the start, he was now slowing down. The effects that seemed to get the crowd all riled up earlier seemed to have lost their charm. Some DJ Hyper nudged it’s way in and everything seemed back on track. This new energy wasn’t held for long and the last half hour was soon over. What sounds like a negative ending truly wasn’t. It merely served to bring the greatest set down to the reality of a great set.
The only disappointing thing about James’ set was the crowd. As predicted the long stretching arena did nothing to help. The floor was sparsely populated. To make matters worse a lot of people seemed to lose interest very early. Most likely the dregs of the main arena, they often became restless during the set. That said, the ones who had their fingers on the pulse really seemed to be enjoying it. I have not seen people, nor personally taken part in letting loose like that on the dance floor in quite sometime. Thankyou James Zabiela.
Still short of breath after James’ set, I decided to head upstairs to hear the last half hour of Lee Coombs. Expecting some groundbreaking music I was severely disappointed. Yet again it was demonstrated that there is no need for Melbourne to import breaks DJs, as the locals outdid another international DJ. Leaving the room downhearted, a glimmer of hope reeled me back in…. his very own mix of New Order – Crystal to close his set. A bit of dancing and I was ready to chime in with the chorus. Hang on!? It’s the dub. The disappointment returned.
Hernan Cattaneo was downstairs pretending he was a juke box. He played a typical big room prog set. Stereomovers – Skydivers, Infusion – Legacy (JXL mix) and Kate Bush vs. Infusion – Running up that hill were all there. All good tracks in their own right, but the ‘tracks make the man’ mentality of a lot of DJs just doesn’t sit well with me. I was to experience a role reversal for this set, compared to the previous one by JZ. The rest of the crowd loved it. This type of progressive obviously sits well with the glowstick toting dancers. It was a good set in the fact that Hernan had the crowd constantly moving. Pleasing the masses was definitely a strong point of Hernan’s.
The bullet was waiting to be bitten. I had to head back into the main arena as I couldn’t come to Slinky without checking it out in full swing. The graze on my chin from when my jaw hit the ground, will not be healing anytime soon. What I was seeing was truly amazing…. thousands of people moving as one on the dance floor with Signum on stage dictating their every move. Personally if I want cheese I head to the deli and pick up some Camembert, but here I was in the minority. The production was fantastic however. The lights, the lasers and the sound were all perfect. Future Entertainment had truly outdone themselves in this aspect of the event.
Then it was seven o’clock and the warmth of my bed was calling. Off to dream about Slinky. Off to dream about brilliant production and one very special DJ. If you like your big room antics then Slinky is for you. If you like progressive then definitely check out James Zabiela. If you don’t, he might just change your mind.