- New Years Eve is a time for Sydney clubbers to justify inflated ticket prices, immense indulgence and sheer debauchery to themselves. For many the New Year feels justification enough, to those without remorse perhaps no justification is needed and for the house-lovers of Sydney it was Derrick Carter and Mark Farina on the same bill that did more than justify a sub-$100 ticket.
The stage was set at Bondi Pavillion. Once again Fuzzy’s professionalism had shone through with a well laid out venue for the evening. Pool tables, toilets, bars, seating and dancefloors all logistically considered and placed appropriately to cater for the punters on the night. If there was one criticism of the events’ infrastructure it was the sound. It was particularly noticeable when Carter was slamming tracks together in his trademark fashion that the sound would distort rather violently - you can’t win ‘em all. Hopefully Fuzzy can improve this in the coming year to create a near perfect event.
I arrived around 10:30 to catch the last half hour of the local wonderboy, Illya. His set was impressive as usual. His effective (but not selfish) use of doubles, particularly DJ Ali’s “You don’t know”, showcasing his immense skills to the crowd and the man he was warming the crowd for, Mark Farina. After a few more records tightly mixed by the local lad, Farina stepped to the decks carefully toweling the Pioneer CDJ-1000s clear of any condensation. For the next two hours the crowd would witness Mark’s prowess on two, and sometimes three CDJs constantly keeping the ‘heads interested with the freshest tunes while entertaining those there less interested in the unreleased music and more interested in having a dance.
Mark Farina’s set was certainly not constructed by a stunt double or talented impersonator. Only Farina could have crafted a set of RnB bootlegs, jazzy deep house, soulful sounds and groovy basslines so meticulously. Jason Hodges’ remix of Frontin’ along with INXS and Rod Stewart bootlegs entertaining the messy masses constantly. His constant EQing, mixing in key and inventive style keept both the DJs in the crowd and punters relatively gobsmacked. Having said all this, his set did seem to hit plateau’s at times but the overall feel of the night was never going to be flattened by 5 minutes of similar music. Farina constantly bounced and showed his audience his passion for his craft and by the end of his set was really cranking things into party mode playing Jesse and Crabs’ Big Booya!
At the end of Farina’s set many a fan would have been happy with the price of admission. But the party was only starting. As 1am rolled along, the big man of house, Derrick Carter, jumped onto stage clearly in party mode – inspecting Farina’s heart rate with his handy stethoscope! The first 40 minutes or so of Derrick’s set seemed to show his need to settle into the job at hand. Things were a tad thrashy at times, but his premier skills were still abundantly clear. In usual DLC fashion, he weaved in and out of all the sounds house music has to offer. Swing, jazz, acid, tech and tribal sounds all being pummeled through the speakers in his 5 hour offering. There were many surprises, even though Derrick could be stamped the most unpredictable DJ on the face of the planet. Daft Punk’s “Around the World” was thrown in at one point for good measure along with the swingy “Blu Cantrell” and Crisco Cristelli’s classic “Through Changes”. Having said that his set provided a broad range of music over the 5 hours there were certainly periods of obscurity when dancefloor interest was well and truly lost. Derrick would occasionally throw around similar tracks bashing their finish and end away creating a somewhat samey 20 to 30 minutes of music. Overall, however, it was still incredibly clear why so many keen, young DJs will never miss a Derrick Carter set in their hometown.
As 5am struck Bondi Pavillion the sun began to rise and the two headliners began playing back to back. Their styles didn’t gel perfectly but after the haze of NYE and the beginning of 2004 the boys pulled it down a gear and decided to ease the crowd into the light of day. An upcoming Urban Jazz Natural’s track brought smiles to the remaining faces who slowly left the pavilion contemplating the year ahead of them as much, or as little, as the spectacular few hours of music and mayhem they had just witnessed.