- On paper this party looked great. A lineup featuring breakbeat duo Soul of Man, a welcome home gig for NuBreed, US old skool hip hop DJ Freddy Fresh, and two rooms of locals with Dan Mangan, Ferris, Rollin Connection, EK, Progression, Jez Roc, Flagrant, Gsan, Agent 86, Ben Shepherd, Nick Thayer, Feigan and MC Direkt. But the warning signs were there, firstly with the late release of cheap tickets for sale and then the email from Future Entertainment email list saying “print out this flyer for $25 entry”. This was two days before the gig when the advertised ticket price had been $35 +BF. Hmmmmm.
I made sure I had the set times, packed my note pad and pen, and then ventured off to the Metro at midnight. On walking in the venue there seemed to be a decent number of people spread out around the booths, bar and on the dance floor enjoying Ben Shepherd’s set. As it was 12.30am, that weird witching hour when Melbourne’s clubbing populace deems it safe to leave home, I had one eye fixed on the door to see how many more people would arrive. Being early in the evening it was time to explore the venue, and check how the other rooms where going. We quickly found all staircases to the upper levels blocked. Perhaps they’d be opened later when the crowd swelled? No worries, time to check Ben’s set. A few more people flowed in, amongst them some of the DJs. I asked one mate, “What happened to your early set?” only to hear “Oh they cancelled all the other rooms for tonight. No work for tonight!” Great! Not!
Meanwhile Ben had won us over by dropping Scribe’s huge hit “Not Many”. Looking more like a bank clerk than a breaks DJ he was having fun, as were the strange assortment of guys and gals dancing off to the side on the stage. I’ll admit I felt a bit unnerved when he grabbed the microphone and asked us to “Come on down the front” and later said “Freddy Fresh coming up in 5 minutes”. I know of only one man in all of Melbourne who uses the mic like that, FE’s Mark James. Was this his long lost protégé?
Freddy Fresh stepped up just before 1am. He delivered a set of solid old skool hip hop tracks in the style of Grandmaster Flash, with a bit of scratching over the top and new tracks slammed into the mix. Michael Jackson’s ”Billie Jean” made sure everyone in the room was grooving one way or another. After a while though I was wishing the other rooms had been open for a change of pace and variety. Not to be. Just had to hang in there until NuBreed.
The place had become a bit busier by 2am, but nowhere near capacity in the mainroom. This left plenty of room for dancing, but overall the vibe was lacking. There were the Metro regulars, the SoM and NuBreed diehards, and a smattering of the curious. Flying back into Melbourne only the day before, the ‘Breed boys looked jetlagged but happy to be home and catching up with friends before their set. Mark James somehow retrieved his mic from Ben Shepherd and it was time for NuBreed to start! I was keen to see how they’d play after 6 weeks of touring the UK, Canada and USA. As their performance started I felt like I was watching a much more confident NuBreed take hold of the crowd. The set seemed to go so fast as they worked their way through their rendition of Highland’s ”No Way Out” (a personal fave), the obligatory ”One Day” which had the entire crowd belting it out along with Danny, and “Curious”. We were treated to some new versions as well as new material, which all went down perfectly. I’ve seen NuBreed quite a few times and definitely enjoyed this new sounding, fresh and very tight set.
The only let down was the sound system. I found myself singing along to melodies in the songs, feeling thankful I knew them because they weren’t coming out of the speakers. The Metro sound system might be one of the biggest in town, but tonight it was one of the shittiest, a complete bassquake with no midrange and only highest frequency noises penetrating the bass. It didn’t matter if you were at the back, front or middle of the venue, the sound was all pervading bass and practically nothing else. The Breed fans and punters just had to dance, scream, sing and make the best of it!
Next up were Justin and Jem of Soul of Man. I’m not the biggest fan of the sound of their own label, Fingerlickin’ Records, preferring my breaks on the deeper/progressive tip. I’d come to check them though because they’re so highly regarded and I do like some of their own tracks, like “Kickback”. With open mind and open ears, I have to say I was pretty impressed. They quickly set the tone for their set after NuBreed’s performance, and kept the crowd on the dance floor. Less funky and more nu skool, they seamlessly threw down bass heavy rollers one after the other, sucking you into the groove. I watched with awe as they finely crafted the set, building the pace with each track. At the halfway mark of their allotted time you could feel a musical climax building, but I was getting sick of just hearing the bass. Knowing how their own tracks can be full of quirky sounds and effects I felt like there were huge bits of the songs missing as the bass rhythm just kept rolling along. With that I decided to call it a night. Soul of Man surprised me with their tunes and skill, but I’d had my fill of the crap sound system. I’ll definitely see SoM again when they return to Melbourne, with fingers crossed that it will be on at ANOTHER venue.
The lack of support for this party meant the punters weren’t there in droves, and thus the place was lacking in vibe and excitement, except on the dancefloor. While the presence of the local DJs who didn’t play was sorely felt, and the sound system let down the international DJs and NuBreed, overall the night was what you made it. We relaxed in a venue that wasn’t too crowded, caught up with friends, played spot that tune to Freddy’s set, danced like loons to NuBreed and grooved with SoM. Not brilliant, but better than staying home in front of the tele.