- From the moment I walked up the long ramp to enter the Fun Factory and heard Smash TV’s electro monster ‘Nobody’, I knew that this would be a night of most excellent music.
Champing at the bit and finally inside, I rushed onto the rollerskating-rink-cum-dancefloor and got down to the rather pleasant task of savouring another Pham vs Cecille faceoff.
To me, the first set of the night is often one of the best. A recurring pattern with the Wetmusik-type events sees the sound getting progressively louder, the floor progressively fuller and dirtier, and the venue progressively hotter and smokier.
And so it was at WET007 that I relished the opportunity, at that early hour, to dance on a very nice, smooth surface, taking in the techno on a sound system that was not too soft, not too loud, just right – nice and crisp.
The highly-regarded Forklift duo played an interesting mix of tunes, Pham especially pulling out a few of his favourites from throughout the past year. The electro craziness of ‘Kill! Kill!’, the funky ‘You Spin Me Round vs Purpose Maker’, the familiar remix of Salt’n’Pepa’s ‘Push It’, and more all entertained and warmed up the room nicely.
Ben Cromack was up next and delivered his standard Detroit-influenced mixer destruction. Now the techno was here to stay and Cromack has his usual legion of chin-strokers applauding him as the venue filled up behind them.
Word on the street is that Alpharisc declared WET007 his last ever live gig, and judging by the cheers he drew throughout his live set it seems he will be missed by many a punter. His set had lots of his big tunes, lots of techno, and a finish with his ‘downtempo’ numbers ‘Cruel’ and a remix of ‘Love and Devotion’, the kitschy 80s tune from Michael Bow.
Alpha often draws criticism for not working as hard as other live acts when performing, but there was certainly no faulting his music. Both the banging and the chilled had a lot of people smiling at the Fun Factory.
Cue the lasers, cos here come Wetmusik. Digby and Tell were furiously fixing a problem with the turntables as Alpharisc finished up, but were soon enough down to business with their trademark booming techno. Digby played his regular triple play of ‘Vitalian House’ mixed into ‘EuroStar’ and later on we were inevitably chanting to ‘Worq It’.
And Elvis, where was he? It seemed he had not left the building so much as not actually arrived. With five minutes to the end of Wet’s allotted time, Elvis strode up to his drums and played out a lengthy routine unaccompanied by the DJs. It was an interesting lead in to Biz E, especially for the Wet faithful more accustomed to BK & Rhythm Boy preempting Wetmusik.
The turquoise and blue laser heads were doing their thing but the next man would be something to really keep an eye on. Biz E hasn’t played live in Australia since last year’s Dave Clarke gig at Sydney’s Metro. I was lucky enough to be privy to what was a very memorable performance, and as such had been rejoicing at Biz E’s trip south of the border, and not least the fact the set would be recorded to CD.
This was an incredible performance. With a jackin’ Detroit feel, even extending to the timing of the triggering of loops, the techno lovers in the crowd were quite simply blown away.
Adding to this was the diverse array of sounds we were treated to. Biz pulled a couple of loops off his 505 in the style I had been talking up beforehand as ‘epic techno’ – melody infused beats that sweep you off your feet. Not too hard, not too ambient, but very much an original sound for this audience.
Elvis hadn’t had enough and popped up from time to time to ‘enhance’ the set. Not always in time with the music, the distraction was a bit annoying and many were left hoping his audio channel doesn’t make it to the CD!
Whilst it would be remiss of me not to make at least a cursory mention of what was a very, very young crowd, the interstaters were compulsion enough for those more passionate about their music. So whilst some were left scratching their heads at the back of the room, many up front went nuts – not least Biz himself, with his trademark showman’s style, hollering along with the crowd.
This was a magnificent performance and will surely make the impending CD release one of the must-haves of this year.
Speaking of interstate guests, up next was the man that knows, Kazu Kimura. Although relegated to playing a single hour versus Simon Coyle, an army of Kazu fans were sure we’d still get a real treat.
But in fact it was Simon Coyle who gave us the first memorable moment, dropping ‘Space Cruising’ as the first track to lead out from Biz E. Coyle played nice and tough, bringing in familiar tunes such as Liebing’s mix of ‘Get On Up’. Unfortunately, particularly during some of the mixes, Elvis would start banging away, turning a degrading sound system into a percussive mess.
But the DJs didn’t let us down. Kazu Kimura was unquestionably the star of the night, crafting an overwhelming soundscape in the space of the few tracks he played before deferring to Coyle. Harder, lesser-known tracks translated to murder on the dancefloor. Kazu killed it. Kazu Knows.
Every time Coyle came back on a few groupies cheered loudly. His more accessible feel entertained the head-scratchers from Biz E’s set. Screaming along to booty, loving the Player mix of ‘Rub On Ya Titties’, Coyle is still a firm favourite with the Wet faithful.
As for me, I was wringing sweat out of my t-shirt after complete Kimura carnage. Kazu is far and away the most eminent nomination for this year’s Dance Music Awards Best DJ. Saturday proved that and I wish him the laurels he so rightly deserves.
Voiteck completed the live act trifecta and played a very downtempo minimalist set. Many Voiteck virgins felt it was left wanting something, but in truth this was his standard loopism. Voiteck isn’t about kick drums, throbbing bass, and piercing ride cymbals, although I guess that’s what a lot of the Wet crowd were after at 4am. And to be fair, his set at Pureflow was a lot more upbeat than this one. With a brief flash of the more banging stuff we know he’s capable of to finish, it was left to the Teriyaki massive to bring this one home.
Dee Dee never disappoints and I was all set to go apeshit as he brought in the tough techno, three deck stylee. Unfortunately, the recurring pattern was playing out, and the venue was now sticky, hot, smoky, and loud. The softer sound void in front of the DJ had been dissolved by a badly distorting monitor placed behind the DJ and towards the crowd.
Further compounding discomfort was the smoke machine, on almost continuously for Dee Dee’s set, but with the fan moved away from it so the smoke now hung about the front.
In many respects the Fun Factory was miles in front of the Footscray reception centre Wet used for Marco Bailey, but Sunday morning again saw me removing black gunk out of my nose from smoke machine overenthusiasm. That said, if the volume was kept to a level within the system’s limits, then the Fun Factory ain’t a bad venue at all.
But I digress. Dee Dee was ripping it up something fierce. With lots of familiar tunes – what Dee Dee set would be complete without ‘Poney’? – we were screaming our delight as if the night was yet young. Dee Dee became the first DJ I’ve heard playing personal favourite ‘Pith Structures’ out and hopefully it won’t be the last time I am able to lose the plot to Varela’s tough techno triumph!
Big ups to Mr Teriyaki for again showing ‘em how it’s done!
Overheating and oversmoked, I left just as Dee Dee finished up. And although my salty skin, shrieking ears, and blackened nostrils betrayed shortcomings of the event, the memory of WET007 has me still smiling as I write this.
It was indeed another fantastic night out with a great bunch of friends, a local lineup to rival the world’s best, and some very memorable interstate guests. I can’t wait for the CD! And I can’t wait for Kazu to again learn us good. Who knows? Kazu Knows.
Respect!