- Roger Sanchez @ Home - Sydney 08/12/01
Finally the countdown was over. Saturday was well and truly here for tonight none other than Roger Sanchez was going to be mixing up his tunes @ Home. Not since Boxing Day last year have we seen the S-Man at this venue and with support acts like Home Residents; GT and Goodwill it was set to be one huge night.
Pre-drinks were held, along with 200 of my closest friends at HomeBar. One thing I will say about this establishment is that they play the best tunes considering it’s a bar and the venue is quite small. Hey credit where credit is due and all that.
But I digress…back to Mr Sanchez
Now word had it that Roger Sanchez was due to hit the dex at 1pm sharp. Not wanting to miss his entrance, my fellow clubber and I left the happening crowd at HomeBar and headed over to Home clutching our tickets in anticipation. Both hands were on the 12 as we strolled on over to Home and was greeted by a non-existent line (gotta love that). Now I am sure you all agree that long gone are the days where the queues for Home are backed up to IMAX for a night out – maybe on a Friday but definitely not for Kinkidisco. So as you can imagine we were a tad bit concerned but I had faith in Roger and quickly dismissed any doubts for the evening. Our motto for tonight was “no expectations” and we were ready accept whatever Roger had to offer.
Anyhoo after being frisked by Security and declining to chat about Home’s drug policy (drugs are bad mmmmkay?) we finally exchanged our tickets for a night of pure Sanchez. We grooved on into the dancefloor and were pleasantly surprised by the tracks being spun by GT. The crowd appeared to be getting into it and there were no glow sticks in sight. Good sign. The dancefloor wasn’t quite full yet with most people hanging out at the bar – sorry waiting in line at the bar or standing around waiting for a bus. However, I had a feeling that would change as soon as the main act had begun. Wanting to kill some time before the S-Man graced us with his presence we decided to do a quick survey of the venue. Home had all levels open that night which was well appreciated considering the amount of people they anticipated for this event. The second level was pretty cruisy with majority of the people opting to sit around in the chill out area or hang out on the balcony. We made a mental note to secure a spot up here for later. We then stumbled across was this small (sorry new) room in the corner with a crowd going off to bongo drums. Upon venturing further inside we found, apart from the fact that it was below zero degrees inside (yes OK I tend to exaggerate but it was cold!) it housed the sole cigarette machine throughout Home. Or so the security guy told me. Hmm most odd.
By this time Goodwill had opened his set and feeling like a bit of a groove we made our way back to the dancefloor. Not wanting to over do it and cursing myself for wearing heels (yes I know I’ll never do it again!) we made out first trip to the bar for a liquid beverage. Being female I have to say that it’s a tad bit easier to get served. Not sure why but it’s a fact. Although we make up for it by having to wait in a queue 10 metres long when wanting to go to the toilet. What is up with that? While we’re on the subject, why don’t men have the same lines?
The time now was almost 2am and I was itching to hear Roger’s set (1 am bah!) as he was playing four pure hours of house. We finished our drinks and made our way back to the dancefloor and rejoined the rest of our crew for a bit of a boogy. Roger’s entrance was met with a roar of the crowd. We looked at each other and smiled both knowing very well that a full venue plus a happy crowd is one good thing. All hands lifted in unison in praise with every one chanting to every wicked beat being spun. Ahh it brought back memories of when I used to frequent Home on a regular basis - those were the days. As more and more people filed into the dancefloor it closely resembled a tin of sardines. My feet were getting trodden on and I was kneed in the back by a very happy party-goer behind me who promptly apologised by giving me a bear hug – thanks for that! All in all though the atmosphere in the crowd was great and anyone standing around was soon giving into the infectious beats by the end of the first set. After waiting patiently, Roger finally delivered what I had been waiting for with the introduction to “You Can’t Change Me” lasting around 45minutes. At that moment I turned to the nearest person and told them it was my favourite track on the album. The just smiled and nodded. But I was undeterred. Roger then moved into some deeper tunes slowly giving us a sample of what was yet to come. The dancefloor was growing by the second and I had now moved closer to the front. Not wanting to die of heat exhaustion we made our way upstairs to the chill out area once again. I put my feet up (damn these shoes) and watched as people moved in and around the second floor.
At around 4am Roger played another sexy track from his “First Contact” album, Ventura. Now this tune is definitely worth checking out. With it’s uplifting dance beats and overall house sounds, it’s set to be Roger’s next hit. By this stage I was hanging out for him to play “Another Chance” but figured it was a little too soon so we headed off to take some pics from the balcony area. A huge thanks you to everyone who moved out of our way when we tried to zoom in and catch Roger in the mix. Also my fellow clubber would like to thank the generous guy who picked her up in the crowd so she could get an up close and personal shot of Roger. No, really you didn’t have to.
All in all it was a perfect night and I couldn’t have asked for a better venue to hold such an event. Roger lived up to every single bit of hype the media dished out this past week. For everyone that’s asked me so far – YES it was well worth the $50! Oh and he finally did play “Another Chance” just as we were leaving at the end of the night ;-)