- September 2009 was the last time Matthew Dear came to Melbourne. Headlining with Omar-S and Oxia, the American gave a lacklustre performance, dropping a succession of uninspiring live minimal grooves under his Audion guise. In 2012, the venue was one of the city's best, Prince of Wales, one which largely seems to have been forgotten by techno promoters. Dear came as himself this time round, acting as the sole headliner. In saying that, Mic Newman and Lewie Day (Fantastic Man and Tornado Wallace, respectively) are probably as close as locals will ever get to achieving "international" status; their recent inroads overseas having bolstered their reputation at home. Offering complementary strains of house, both played memorable warm-up sets. These shifted smoothly between faintly anthemic moments like Osunlade's "Envision" and more reserved pieces, such as Dionne's "Back On the Planet."
Given Dear's recent turn towards poppier sounds, many were probably wondering what the set would hold; a favourable predicament. Sadly, he served up much the same fare as last time, moving swiftly from each faceless cut to the next. In a phrase, the American seemed to value functionality over all else. For the first hour, this wasn't so much of a problem—it at least kept people dancing. With Newman and Day having laid down reasonably playful sets, the crowd seemed ready for something more driving. Entering the second half, however, the lack of melody and variation began to grate. With a monochromatic act like Sandwell District, the former complaint is overcome by way of unusual percussion arrangements or some such other technique. In the case of Dear, the underlying rhythms were bland and the bass drops often arbitrary. By the time he finished, the dance floor had emptied noticeably.
Mike Callander's first few tracks were like a welcome slap in the face. Opening with Lil' Louis' sax-infused "Jazzmen" layered onto a more thumping beat, the local stalwart worked the room like a boxer might a set of ribs. Usually, for example, Todd Terje's "Bonysh" (a rarely-played track from the otherwise ubiquitous Ragysh EP) stumbles along at 120 BPM. Callander seemed to play it at around 126, maybe even faster. It was exactly what the club needed, with the remaining patrons rallying for the rest of his set; a rewarding finale to a night in which the locals outshined the international headliner.