- After hearing bad things about past Mobile Home events (4am finishing time, dodgy sound and light systems), I had some doubts about how the evening would go. But my concerns were unfounded – with the change of location from Bondi Beach to Wharf 3, these problems were eradicated. The event kicked on until after 6am, the lights and visuals were wicked, and the sound was amazing. No matter where you stood in the aircraft-style hangar that is Wharf 3, the visuals and sound were crystal clear and there were no technical problems. Even standing down the front next to the speakers, my ears weren’t hurting and I could hold a conversation. Very well done. And the picturesque location of Sydney Harbour meant there was a great view of the fireworks and festivities on the water.
The VIP tent was visited early in the night and was heard playing laid back, funky grooves with people admiring the fantastic view of the Harbour Bridge... and wondering what happened to the 9pm fireworks.
Alex Taylor was warming things up with a funky house set, including favourites such as Kid Crème and Junior Jack’s remix of Shakedown’s “At Night”. The place was starting to fill up by 10pm, especially when home resident Jason Bye hit the decks. Jason has been wowing crowds in Ibiza for part of this year, so it was good to see him back on Australian shores. His set traversed Faithless, Groovejet, even Crazytown’s “Butterfly” – he is nothing if not eclectic. The main problem with his set was the MC that jumped on stage just before midnight. He would not leave, which was annoying for everyone who wanted to enjoy the fireworks at midnight, which were spectacular.
We were out infront of the 'Mobile Sound System', which was a hotted-up fire engine, after the midnight fireworks display to hear Loose on 12's blast out Fat Boy Slim's 'Praise You'. Quick hugs all round and we headed back in...
Next up was the highlight of the night, Basement Jaxx. What a way to ring in the new year, with thousands of people jumping in the air and hugging each other. The atmosphere was absolutely electric as they dropped tracks like “Everything in its Right Place” by Radiohead and Underworld’s “Two Months Off”. They played mainly progressive and breaks, with a few tracks from their albums - 'Do Your Thing', 'Rendez-Vu' and ending the set with 'Wheres Your Head At'.
The Jaxx were a difficult act to follow up, and sadly, in our opinion, Roger Sanchez did not quite have the goods. His set was three and a half hours, and he started out hard and driving right away. After awhile this got boring and he lost a lot of the crowd. Three and a half hours of banging progressive was too much and we left before he finished.
Despite this somewhat disappointing finish, it was a great night and Mobile Home are to be congratulated on their fine production effort. Most of the DJs played great sets and a wide variety of music.