- On the first day of 2006, the organisers of 33&1/3 decoded the secret treasure map, found the right men and women for the expedition, braved the tricky elements and did what they have been trying to do since the event’s conception - found the other two thirds. This event definitely raised the bat.
Backing up from a Saharan-like 42 degrees on New Year’s Eve, Melbourne reminded us all that its weather is more fickle than Billy Corgan in a sound booth, as the year lost its virginity with a stinker in downtown St Kilda.
This would have been a tragedy had the coolest cats around town gone for the hocus pocus of Summerdaze, but for those who ventured to the Espy, the pleasure overload inside the walls of the dance music womb-for-the-day meant that the outside world became exactly that.
After entering and settling on vodka and red bull to bring us back in the game, it wasn’t long before New Year’s blurriness became a distant memory, as Blueprint transformed a vacant dance floor in the main room into a sign of things to come – breaks inspired euphoric madness.
This was the act that really kicked off the day, as those milling about on the front stairs heard a sample and were drawn into the room, people at the bar who were struggling to remember their order began tapping their feet, and it just went from there.
Blueprint, returning from a European odyssey with a dash of Egypt played an upbeat set, with his twelve-incher (we are talking about music here people) What Kind of Friend grabbing people’s attention like a sledgehammer to the kneecap. Looking forward to catching the act again at the Mercat on the 21st of Jan – bring that lovely vocalist along too!
Jessie and Ras Crucial brought a little mellow funk-reggae to those wandering through the Balcony, which was a good ‘long way round’ to the depths of the Espy, and the Public Bar had a good vibe during the Enforcers (Scotrod and Direkt).
Venturing into the Gershwin Room soon after, the baselines spat out by Shimon were keeping a packed crowd dancing as you only can to d'n'b. From all accounts, internationals Shimon and DJ Fresh went off and all the locals were impressive in the Gershwin Room.
Ils more than utilised the superb Nexo soundsytem in the mainroom, and if the performance of the day was judged on the crowd reaction, then this guy was THE guy. People seemed to come from everywhere as he rocked the room, the army forming below the decks gathering new recruits with every beat.
The crowd moved as one for the duration of Ils performance, which included plenty of new material in addition to cranking some of the tracks from his deservedly hyped Bohemia album.
Charging the batteries with the improved weather outside, sitting on the balcony and hearing a stoner try and convince a chemical brother that “without bongs man, I’d be an alcoholic”, one could sense that the day had plenty left in it.
Venturing back inside to the main room via one of those sweet watermelon girls who you could not help but smile at as she added some fruitiness to 33&1/3, Irish boy Splitloop became the focus of the destination.
He played some choice tunes, but with the crowd still talking about Ils’ set, and with a few laptop problems bumping things around a bit, he just
didn’t quite nail it.
The crowd were more than nailing it though, as the atmosphere continued to get on the up and up…a lone toilet dancer cracking up those waiting for a vacancy at the trough with a Saturday Night Fever impression in front of the mirror.
Lynt was up next in the Front Bar, and the local boy was a perfect choice to fire up the room before the Stanton Warriors, and finishing with a Chemical Brothers track was timing at its best.
A short foray back into the Gershwin Room proved a rewarding decision, as whilst lining up for another tasty beverage, a mad version of the instrumental that follows the famous; “any of you fuckin' pricks move and I'll execute every motherfucking last one of you” on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack was probably deserving of a bigger audience.
A lot of people were keen to see Dominic B of the Stanton Warriors, and while he certainly didn’t disappoint, there is no way that they received a better response than Ils…not necessarily a fair way to measure his worth however.
Dom dished up a party set with a great vibe. Having said that, all the hits including the Stanton Warriors remix of Doom's Night, Girls by Prodigy, a remix of Gorillaz Feel Good Inc. and favourite new single Pop Ya Cork. The music aside, Dom didn’t exactly deliver the breaks with boyish enthusiasm…it was more like a give me my cheque and get me the fuck outta here kind of presence.
Wrapping up a day-nighter that will not be forgotten, Andy Smith finished the night strongly, plenty of party tunes, faultless mixing, getting on the mic and dropping loads of bombs including AC/DC and House of Pain's Jump Around.