- It was Good Friday and I was in a long queue outside The Metro nightclub on Bourke Street. Future Entertainment brought in 2 of the hottest acts in house music for this party aptly titled: “A Damm Good Friday” with Planet Funk playing live, followed by Junior Jack & Kid Crème.
Inside, Metro was packed to the rafters by the well heeled house music crowd, girls in glitzy dresses and immaculately done up hair, guys with designer tees, all rubbing shoulders with each other on the packed main room. By far, Metro still has one of the best sound and light systems I’ve heard this side of Australia and I could feel the bass rumble up the floor through my body as I stood on the edge of the dance floor observing the proceedings.
Kaz James was doing the warmup set, playing some funky house tunes that went down really well with the crowd. Notable tunes were Eurythmics – “Sweet Dreams” and New Order – “Blue Monday” which got a massive response from the crowd.
It was nearly 12.45am when Kaz James set ended and the stage went dark while the stage hands made the final preparations to the equipment. What followed next seemed like something out of a textbook rock concert; the members of Planet Funk filed out one by one to their positions on the stage. The atmosphere was electrifying with everyone on the floor straining to get a good spot as more clubbers were packed up on the walkways on the second level. The main band members of this Anglo-Italian collective consists of Sergio Della Monica, Domenico GG Canu, Marco Baroni with Alex Neri on the decks and UK based singer Dan Black took centre stage with the mike.
The first cords on a guitar riff wafted through the speakers and the lights came on just as Alex Neri got a beat going on the decks. Dan Black opened with one of my favorite tracks “Inside All the People”, bringing the track to life, oozing with his charming brand of punk venom. Right then and there, I swore the atmosphere with the crowd jumping and singing in unison reminded me of New Order gigs from yesteryear. “Paraffin” was their next track before Dan Black took a step backstage promising to return for more in a while.
The versatility of the band was amazing, whether it was gorgeous, gliding ethereal house, chic international mega-funk, devastatingly poppy Euro-dance, strange cyber-punk beats, storming juggernaut grooves, ambient abstraction and soulful, melancholic organic house. “Rosa Blue” was performed, a nice piece of melodic house with an acapella of Martin Luther King’s - “I Have a Dream” speech inserted. Sheffield female vocalist Sally Doherty was up next to perform “Chase the Sun”, intriguing the audience with her melodic voice. Her experience within classical and Gaelic music takes the band’s music into an uplifting and ethereal angle.
Dan Black was back later to finish off with hits like “Who Said (Stuck in the UK)” and “The Switch”. Indeed this was the best performance of live house music I’ve ever experienced in my life! An interlude followed the ending of Planet Funk’s performance, as the band’s equipment was cleared and the stage setup for the following act. A changeover DJ was playing some tunes while we waited.
Junior Jack & Kid Crème was up next amidst much fanfare from the crowd. They started out with a bang! The floor was filled with gorgeous house music, wicked bass lines chugging on with the 4/4 beat with soulful interludes. As expected, Junior Jack’s own hit “E-Samba” was played and the crowd jumped in unison chanting together. In the middle of their performance, a giant disco ball was lowered above the stage, making the vibe reminiscent of a Defected Records styled party with their brand of house music.
Other notable tracks that were fed to the party were classics like: Lil Mo Ying Yang – “Reach”, Junior Jack – “Thrill Me”, Azzido Da Bass – “Dooms Night” and Del Gado – “Coffee Beats”. Both of them complemented each other perfectly throughout the set, taking turns to select, mix in tracks and tweak the equalizers.
I didn’t stay long to catch John Course & Grant Smillie’s back to back set afterwards, but for the 15mins that I heard, it was world class.
This happy reviewer was simply ecstatic with the fantastic house music that got played tonight. The quality of the sound and lights in Metro I say again are second to none from what I’ve experienced so far in Melbourne. Credit goes to Future Entertainment for a well organized event!