- New Years Eve always seems to be a disappointment to me, no matter what DJs are playing, or where it's at. A few weeks prior to the huge night I noticed that Infusion were down to play the Slip Inn, and at $55 a ticket I thought it was worth a shot. For the past few months I've been listening to an awesome mp3 of Infusion bringing in the 2002 New Year in Perth, so I was definitely excited.
Getting to the Slip Inn (corner of Sussex Street and King St in the City) around 10:30pm saw the party already buzzing, and even a "Sold Out" sign out the front. There was also a timetable move, and Infusion were playing at 11:00pm to bring in the New Year, instead of the 1:30pm that we had been previously told. This was fantastic news as I couldn't ask for a better live act to bring in 2003, and luckily we were inside early enough.
Straight downstairs to the courtyard saw an excellent set-up, with the production team keeping to their "underwater wonderland" promise with decorations and wall art everywhere. Sound and lighting was also fantastic, and there seemed to be no threat of rain. With no protection of the courtyard, the rain could have reinforced the underwater part of the promise; but thankfully it stayed away all night. Phil Smart was the opening DJ outside and he played a really nice 'tyrant' style set that was house with that extra bit of warped-out tech. Despite little emotion shown from Phil, his mixing was spot-on, and he got the crowd warmed up.
This event combined Tech-ni-kal and Good Vibrations, and a quick check of the other rooms saw the great diversity in acts. Both live artists and DJs were everywhere, and everything from hardcore jungle to funky house was represented. The Slip Inn offers so many rooms that you could just walk around all these areas whenever you were in need of a change of music. Downstairs the Tech-ni-kal Decompression Chamber provided an intimate environment for the techno-lovers, and Octopussy's Cave was filled with the smell of a certain drug and the sound that got all junglist's going insane.
Back upto the Courtyard Under the Stars and Infusion were getting ready. Excitement builded up, and as the first bass was kicked in by Frank the crowd went nuts. I've seen Infusion many times before and it amazes me how much new material that continually have. This set was totally different from their last efforts at both Good Vibrations and Sweetchilli, and I could only notice one track that I'd heard before. Infusion are without doubt Australia's best live act, and the electricity they provide is phenomenal. There was one track with lyrics something like "Inside Out" that went off, and their rendition of "Great Southern Land" was also a highlight. They also played one track that they said they had never played out before, and even without the practice it still went off. Huge bass, and those trademark drum loops definitely made Infusion the highlight for me. A special thankyou must also got out to Frank for his help with a little dilemma that could have easily ruined the night for my friends and I.
Tayo rocked onto the decks after Infusion, and the courtyard crowd loved his style of breakbeat. His sets always seem to keep the funk factor, without becoming repetitive bass reverberations. There were so many fans in the crowd that it seemed the whole front row was continually jumping up to him, trying to grab Tayo's hand. Nubreed came on afterwards and showed some real energy as they played a set that fits somewhere between nu-skool breaks and drum'n'bass. They even threw in their first 'hit' single, "Welcome", that got a huge reception.
Downstairs again saw some international live acts, as both Heiko Laux and Alexander Kowalski played to a small crowd that continually became bigger and bigger. As noise restrictions shut down the courtyard around 3am, everyone shifted either upstairs to the funky house or downstairs to the techno and jungle. About an hour later everyone was moved downstairs, and both the Cave and Chinese Laundry were packed. It was an effort just to get inside, and the bass in the jungle room was amazing to the point it became scary.
Just before 6am was the time for me to leave, and 2003 Leagues Under the Sea provided an excellent night of diverse music and great production. Fantastic local talent teamed up with some respected international DJs and live acts, and what better way to bring in 2003 than with a live performance from Infusion.