- The celebrated Mardi Gras event certainly put a current of enthusiasm through the people who had paid their money in order to see this reputable international DJ at one of Sydney’s most decked out clubs.
On arrival I was perusing the excitable punters and struggled to differentiate between the genuine Miguel Migs fans and regular Home goers. I was chatting to a couple of people and asked if they were excited about seeing Migs. When they all looked at me quizzically I thought I’d let them know there was the House connosieur, Miguel Migs from the West Coast of America playing. Apparently they thought the excessive entrance cost was due to the Mardi Gras!
John Devecchis, one of Home’s residents, played prior to the American guest. The crowd were mainly just standing around chatting with the occasional eager beavers in tank tops, grooving away. It was interesting to observe the crowd’s lack of reception as Devecchis attempted to warm up the club. You would think as a resident DJ and as regular Home goers, both would be in tune with each others style of music and desire of music, respectively. As it turned out my assumption was wrong, because at the end of a skilful set by Devecchis (very deliberated and considered, working the crowd up for Migs’ musical arrival) the throng absolutely heaved towards the DJ booth with cries of excitement for the special guest. Oh yes the crowd was now warm.
In his usual way, Migs played a few tracks while analysing the crowd. Soon enough he was settled in his usual groove of deep house. His west coast basslines and sexy vocals filled the massive arena while the dancefloor continued to fill and move. It occasionally seemed to difficult to pick out a particular song as the well constructed (and tightly mixed) set failed to show seams between many of the tracks. This was both a strength and a weakness. His set seemed to stay in the one place for extended periods of time but at the same time never skipped a beat.
One criticism is that Migs, generally speaking is more suited to a smaller venue. His tunes tended to get little lost in the massive space, that is, The Front Room at Home. It made the music seemed to gather a trancey feel in the massive space and lost the deep keys and melodies that are often held well in an intimate venue. I can appreciate that Home really did need to allocate the larger area to accommodate for flocking fans but there is a question whether trade off for the quality of music is really worth it? Perhaps doing a greater number of more intimate gigs would be more benefitial for future visits- it would ensure that the crowd are mostly Migs fans (and not just part of the Home cult) and would provide a higher quality of music! These are all points to consider, people!
I bopped away with the rest of the punters for majority of the set but having to call it a night as Alex Taylor approached the decks. Overall, it was a wicked night. The almost-30 year old DJ, showed his age through the skill he has accumulated over the years. It was impressive and interesting that he only really took notice of the audience earlier in the set, picked up on the mood then focused on the technical aspect- mixing- for the majority of his time at the wheels of steel. But overall it was a buzzing, appreciative crowd combined with a very talented DJ. I salute you Miguel Migs.