- Two Tribes have over the past couple of years been responsible for bringing out a number of the world’s most respected dj’s, and in 2004 they had again managed to put together a lineup worth getting more than a little excited about. Names like BT, Hybrid, Mauro Picotto and Samuel L Sessions are some of the most internationally revered on the dance music circuit, and even the most jaded of punters would find it very hard to resist the opportunity to see them. In terms of pure depth, this was unquestionably the biggest lineup Sydney had seen since GCSSS back in 2001, and as I set off towards Sydney Showgrounds I was anticipating a night to remember.
The night did not get off to the best of starts, however, as upon my eager arrival at the venue guestlist problems followed by a painfully slow-moving que ensured that I missed the entirety of Lucien Foort’s set, one of the guys I was most looking forward to seeing. How it takes more than half an hour to get through a line that really wasn’t that long is beyond me, and perhaps a few more booths would be a smart idea next time for everyone’s benefit. I soon put this behind me however as I stepped into the astrofunk arena just as Hybrid were kicking off their set. I was immediately impressed with the sound quality and just how full the room was, as the ‘progressive’ arenas have tended to be somewhat neglected at previous Two Tribes events. Hybrid wasted no time easing into their set, quickly slamming down some solid basslines and blending a nice mixture of funked-up and driving breakbeat, with melodies laced throughout their set. Their remixes of The Prodigy – Smack my bitch up and REM – the great beyond were two definite highlights of their set.
From here I rushed to catch the last 15 mins or so of Samuel L sessions, who was playing some pretty tough and driving techno in the disappointingly small breaks room. Production in the room was pretty minimal as well, and I have to say that it really didn’t do justice to the internationals that were on display. It certainly didn’t do justice to those punters who had paid their money primarily to see the djs billed in this room. The music in the room was great throughout the night however, with General Midi the standout for me. I won’t get too bogged down in describing exactly what he playing, but it was breakbeat, it was techy at times, melodic at times, and to put it quite simply it sounded great!
I dragged myself from General Midi to go and check out the Godskitchen arena, which Fergie was proceeding to whip into a frenzy. I had been looking forward to hearing Fergie’s new style for quite some time and quickly got really into his set, which was filled with all things techno. His track selection and mixing was up there with the best of the night, and while techno purists are probably still not paying him too much attention, he is definitely well on his way in this genre. On top of that the guy really is what you would call a true ‘party dj,’ with his antics and general enthusiasm behind the decks really getting the crowd into it. Tomasz vs Filterheadz – Sunshine (Scumfrog remix) and Pontape/It just won’t do were two of the standouts from his set that I could actually identify.
Mauro Picotto never really grabbed my attention, and his set was a little on the monotonous side so I took the opportunity to check out the last hour of Green Velvet in the Astrofunk arena instead, who had been moved up the lineup due to BT’s misadventures. The crowd was still pretty packed out which was great to see, and Green Velvet was spinning the sort of techno flavoured beats he is known for. Time just kept getting away from me and before I knew it Christopher Lawrence had stepped up behind the decks to take over from where Green Velvet had left off. Lawrence is somewhat deceptively crowned as “the US number one trance dj,” but he is certainly a lot more than just a trance dj. On this occasion he began by spinning some nice up-tempo tech house before easing into some more progressive sounds. He was steadily building the tempo throughout his set, and before drawing to a close he was dropping in some slightly harder, trancier tracks to really get the crowd moving.
With Lawrence about to wrap things up I popped back across to the Godskitchen arena to check out Tomcraft, who was keeping the crowd happy with his own distinct blend of tech-trance. I managed to catch him dropping his massive hit “Loneliness” which received a great reaction, before I headed back to Astrofunk to see what BT could dish out on his delayed arrival. I really enjoyed parts of his “live laptop symphony” performance but generally found it a little bit too up-and-down, and with fatigue setting in I decided it was time to head off, but not before having one last sing-a-long to “Dreaming,” one of the tracks that he is renowned for. Perhaps I would have been able to get a lot more into his set if he had played at his original scheduled time of 2am, but unfortunate circumstances obviously prevented this and with the time steadily approaching 7am I said my farewells and made my way home.
Two Tribes is still a relatively young event in Sydney and there is still a lot of work to be done for it to become a truly great dance festival, but this one was a step in the right direction. The sound and production in the two main arenas were a huge improvement on last year, and reverb problems were easily avoided if you just knew where to position yourself (ie don’t stand in one of the back corners and expect crystal clear sound!) The only real low points are those I have already discussed: A disappointing breaks room and a painfully slow-moving que to get in. Some more set-time listings would probably be a good idea next time as well, as anyone who doesn’t regularly surf the net would have struggled to keep on top of things. Musically there was almost too much to see (this is a good thing), with a huge amount of time spent bouncing between arenas just to try and fit it all in! And with standout sets from Fergie, General Midi, Hybrid and Christopher Lawrence, I had more than enough reason to leave with a broad smile on my face.