- Review: Part 1
This was my first time at Future Entertainment’s annual summer dance event, Two Tribes. I arrived just before 10pm and headed straight to Rod Laver Arena (RLA). RLA was decked out with projection screens showing video shootage of beaches, from the roof hung several inflated balloon fish, and the stage itself had a tropical feel to it – all keeping in with the summer vibe. Also (and unfortunately), some of those who were on the dancefloor may have seen a couple of girls in white dresses doing bizzare things with a pair of ropes – Mr Promoter make a note of this – leave them in the zoo or the circus where you found them. They were just annoying, sorry.
Moving along, Nubreed where about to do a live performance. After the debacle at Together NYE where The Breed played to a crowd of just 10 people – the crowd at RLA was a welcoming change, being almost ¾ full. As per usual they delivered a blinding performance, nothing more needs to be said. Next up was Hybrid who were to do a dj set. The opening track had a massive vocal hook that really lifted the energy up a notch. From then on I actually got a little bored with what they were playing and decided to head outside where an almost carnival-like atmosphere was brewing.
There were food/drink areas, massage and fake-tattoo stalls, even an inflated jumping castle and a Ferris wheel. Over at the Yarra room things were looking pretty dead, not surprising given that 2 of the world’s finest breaks acts were playing inside the RLA – that was a bit of a no-brainer to me. Why not put The Breed and Hybrid in the breaks room, and someone else in RLA, like Sasha…(ok, I won’t go there – for now). Anyway, the Function room was just as empty at this stage, so I trekked down to Vodafone Arena.
This place was so packed that I couldn’t tell where the dance floor ended and the seating area began. The light show was frenetic, and the atmosphere….well…it’s difficult to describe….chaotic maybe, animal-like, religious…reminded me of the rave scene in the Matrix Reloaded. You had to be there. Also, the glow sticks and the topless brigade were out in full force…losers. So what about the music? Well it was Mario Piu on stage and he was delivering some slamming hard dance, I’m talking about the lowest common denominator stuff – but the crowd lapped it up, they loved it. Every breakdown was given a huge roar, and as the beat kicked back in the crowd unanimously jumped up and down like monkeys. Brilliant stuff…really. Anyways, I decided to escape this madness and made my way to the Family Indoor Courts, where things where more my pace.
As I arrived DJ Falcon jumped onto the decks – direct from Paris. I didn’t know too much about this guy before I came, but he played some really really good house music. I’m a huge fan of the French house sound and this guy showed me exactly why. He dropped some really big tunes, very cool funky stuff with that Daft Punk sorta flavour – although I’m not much of a trainspotter so I can’t give any track names. Standout set of the night for me – bring him back – in the clubs!!! Next up I was back to the Function room to see techno don Samuel L Sessions. He delivered a set of slamming funky percussive techno which I really enjoyed. Interestingly, the projection screens kept flashing these weird messages – about peace, and love, and music – and in between names like Marco Carolo, Orbital, etc etc were flashed in between – is this what they call subliminal advertising? Oh and what about those ants? Yep – close-up video footage of these big ants were shown on the projection screens. I can only speak for myself, but I found them quite disturbing – and I was completely sober. Anyway, next up, I briefly stuck my head into the empty breaks room and then headed over to the RLA for BT!
BT’s performance had been advertised as a “laptop symphony”. Now, I’ve always been a bit skeptical about electronic acts doing live performances, so seeing BT “perform” in front of a couple of laptops was to me quite comical. I mean, it’s hardly a performance is it? Anyone can turn on their computer, load up a dozen songs in a music sequencer, hit play, and wave their hands in the air. Laptop symphony? You have got to be kidding. That aside, BT delivered a bit of the old – going back to his progressive/epic house days, and a bit of the new. Highlight for me was hearing that Dirty Sticky Floors track, another crowd favourite was a remix of Lenny Kravitz’s Are you gonna go my way? Unfortunately, at one point the music cut-off, and it seemed that BT’s laptop had given him the dreaded blue screen – (you know, when Windows says hit any key to continue, so you do, and the computer just beeps and you have to hit Ctrl-Alt-Del…?). Apparently the power dropped out – dissapointing – for the “performer” and the audience. But things were back on again in a few minutes and all was good, and despite some of my previous comments, I think most die-hard BT fans would’ve really enjoyed his performance.
And that was about it for me! I would’ve like to have caught 1200 Techniques if I had got there a little early, and if I’d stayed a bit longer it would’ve been good to catch Vitalic and Lucien Foort - but I had to go. Overall, I actually had a good night. Lastly, I think it’s easy to blame a promoter when a headline act like Sasha pulls out of an event like this, but in actual fact there’s very little that can be done when something like this happens. Also, some of the rooms were a bit empty, but after being inside Vodafone Arena where things were very crowded, it was nice to go back to a few rooms where you could move around and dance freely. Nice one.
7/10.
PJ.
Review: Part 2
My night was an excellent mix of Melbourne locals and internationals I haven’t seen before. Nubreed kicked arse as they always do, with Mykie running the show, Jase working his heart out and DB singing like an angel. I was really happy to catch their new lineup, with the live drummer. Works a treat! The boys worked hard to warm up the huge Rod Laver Arena and succeeded with lots of bass, top vocals and energy. Bring on that new album because a Nubreed set always leaves me craving more!
Like PJ, I found the Hybrid slow set buildup and bit of hard going after a one hour dancing session, so I went to explore the whole venue and check out the other rooms. I’d be back for the lushness that I know is Hybrid, crisp breakbeats with layered strings, when they were in full flight.
First stop Yarra Function Room. Luckily for me the breaks and techno rooms were right next to the RLA. Lynt was building a solid dancefloor during his one hour set as the people started coming into the breaks room and getting into the tunes. Tight as always, he had us in the palm of his hand, and the tunes were quality. The set highlight for me was Meat Katie and Christian J’s “Move me”. There was no stopping me from dancing to that one! Pass me the TUNE sign please!
EK was up next in the breaks room. I think he should have renamed his act the EK Soundsystem, because instead of just being EK on stage he was joined this time by an MC, a drummer and a guitarist. After a false start because they’d lost the guitarist from the system, it was one more quick track from Lynt while they fixed the technical difficulties, and then all systems go. EK never ceases to amaze me. Why he’s not better known within his own country for his excellent breakbeat production and live act I don’t know? I have a suspicion that it’s because he is too busy doing his thing, working hard making music, and letting it speak for itself. The music certainly spoke to the punters in the breaks room, with the dance floor filled solidly with feet moving as his set built up. I’m not totally sure I liked everything the MC did, but I did enjoy the work of the guitarists. I had flash backs to seeing Free*land and really dug the energy that the sounds brought the set. For a local up against Hybrid, EK more than held his own! Keep it coming please EK!
A peek into the River Function room, showed me that I’d found the techno room. It was double the size of the breaks room, but still pretty sparsely filled for its length. The diehard fans were to be found at the barrier, while the diehard dancers have a heap of space in the second half of the room. Phunk de Sonique were doing their thing in the techno room. I enjoyed their music a little more than the last time I saw them perform, but I wasn’t captivated. Time to move on.
After pulling my friends out of the breaks room and away from EK, it was a mad dash back into the RLA to witness the last 30 minutes of Hybrid. Here is was… the strings and orchestral quality with bumped up bass and breakbeat rhythms that is unique to Hybrid. The guys were having a ball while they played and while I hadn’t witnessed all the set I did really enjoy what I caught. We took a seat at the back of the RLA for this one and that provided the perfect place to watch the people scramble madly around the arena for the one entrance to the dancefloor when Hybrid dropped New Order’s Blue Monday. Thanks boys, it’s a classic we always enjoy revisiting!
Next up was BT. I was rather excited about seeing him for the first time. From our seats we were treated to an amazing laser and lights show and could just see BT down on stage, either playing his keyboard, pushing a button on the famous apple laptop or waving his hands in the air. I love the old school tunes of BT and he didn’t let me down The first vocal sample he dropped into the set was Reach Out, and that set the tone. I thoroughly enjoyed all his set, just singing along to all the songs BT songs I knew and love like Godspeed. The visuals during BT's set were rather interesting, with many of them featuring Brian himself in some kind of movie sequence. I like that idea though, turning up for your set and saying "Hi, here's my accompanying visuals". Only downer of the set was the use of Sting’s vocals from King of Pain, an 80’s classic by The Police. Somehow it just didn’t gel with the music for me, clashing slightly, and a moment like that is all it takes to inspire me to check some of the other talent on offer at Two Tribes.
From then on for the night we ended up shuffling between the breaks room and techno room. I managed to catch some of Samuel L. Sessions earlier, who was doing his usual tribal techno sounds. I’d seen him before, but this second time around over a year later it didn’t sound to me like he’d changed records. Either I’d dropped in for an old track, or I don’t know. I’d be back for Vitalic later, and I’d just keep listening to SLS tracks in preference to seeing him spin.
Brewster B and Ben Shepherd had kept the vibe up in the breaks room. It was time for the only internationals playing in the breaks room to hit the decks at 3am. Koma and Bones were much anticipated and did an admirable job. I did however lament that I knew too many of the tracks. Ils is a bloody legend IMHO, but Musique is not the freshest track. Sorry, I’ve got to say it…. We’re spoilt by our local talent in the area of breakbeat and tonight just proved it again.
At 3.30am we were off to see Vitalic. Anyone who knows the Pony EP had an idea what they were in for, and with only a 45 minute set we got there and settled in for the duration. There was a lot of excitement surrounding his addition to the TT bill and I think he thoroughly delivered for the punters. While Vitalic studiously tweaked the nobs on his mixer and set up the crowd roared to the familiar tunes and danced non-stop, even the two techno virgins I’d brought along with me to experience Vitalic’s unique sound in techno and electro. Sharp punk synth stabs with lush melodies and a driving beat, this was the best live techno performance I’ve ever seen. A humble looking man, Vitalic was pleased with a job well done when his show was over. The crowd was calling for more, and he looked almost up for another song, when he glanced back at Renato Cohen and decided to make way for the next dj and keep things on schedule. Thank you Vitalic for a brilliant show.
With the Brazilian Renato Cohen starting, quite a few people rushed for the door to take a break from the action, and proving that Vitalic had been a major draw for the evening in the techno room. Pity I’d missed Green Velvet, but he got two thumbs up from a major techno fiend I know for dropping a British Murder Boys track. Next time! Cohen was belting out the tracks, but the crowd had dropped off. I got a bit over seeing scenes of One Perfect Day on the screen. Talk about hardcore promoting in the Hardware Room. We danced for a little while but then felt the urge to explore.
Koma and Bones were wrapping it up in the breaks room and we were ready for a good dose of Keltec’s take on breaks. It was 5am now, the progressive breaks witching hour where it’s all about lush melodies, some dreamy vocals and knowing Keltec, a swag of unreleased stuff! Those of us with energy for dancing where out, but the rest were content to relax and listen and enjoy!
Back at the RLA arena, Lucien Foorte was doing a brilliant job in bringing it home for the lovers of progressive house and breaks. We walked in to see the place had emptied out since the earlier part of the evening, but the vibe was good. Lucien was getting into it, and the breaks track he had playing lifted my flagging body for a good 10 minutes more. I couldn’t last any longer though, and since I’ve seen Lucien a few times now I felt okay about crawling home to bed. Another Two Tribes over, and I'm feeling like a satisfied punter.
8/10
Polecat