On the cusp of yet another last-minute cancellation from Ajax (okay, perhaps that’s a bit harsh… I only know of one other time he’s done that in Sydney this year), some may have been a bit disappointed to hear his replacement, Act Your Age, hitting the main stage decks on arrival instead. But after some had to line up for up to an hour to get into the Metro, I think the abundance of alcohol, drugs, music and warmth were more than enough to keep people from giving it much thought… in fact, I daresay most didn’t even notice. And with DJs spinning tracks in both the main room and the Lair from 10pm, 4 hours before The Bloody Beetroots were due, there was more than enough time to get in the mood in either case.
Melbourne’s Acid Jacks were given the honour of leading the crowd into the Beetroots, as they spun electro tracks much similar to the style of the Italian juggernauts. Needless to say, they certainly did the job required of them. By the time the clock hit 2am, the crowd was frothing at the mouth, ready for a couple of hours of pure mayhem… which the press release for the gig classified as a “rave party meets a punk concert”. Possibly not the most spot-on description on a musical level, but certainly reflects the madness that they place into the crowd in front of them. This was MUCH more than a DJ set.
The moment they launched onto the stage with “Who Are You”
Jumping onto the speakers in front of them, Bobby Rifo and Tommy Tea, otherwise known as The Bloody Beetroots (you know… the ones disguised in Venom masks!), quickly launched into “Who Are You”, standing over the decks as they did; amping the crowd’s energy up to 11. And just to prove they were here to do nothing but party, they didn’t waste any time jumping straight into their latest hit, “Warp 1.9,” which features Steve Aoki, promptly sending the crowd into something quite unlike I’ve ever seen. Jumping into each other, screaming along with Aoki, and yelling “woop woop” as loud as they could, this was a crowd truly in the mood, giving the steamy room an electrifying sense of energy. And thanks in part, no doubt, to drugs and alcohol, neither the band nor the crowd let up any of this energy for the entire hour-and-40-minute set… and then some.
As I said before, this was more than a DJ Set… this was as much a concert and a performance as the next. On pure energy alone, you wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the two. Hell, it was more fun than 90% of the gigs I attend, regardless of the talent of the band. And anyone who disagrees with me needs look no further than the most recent Daft Punk tour.
Naturally, even though they have a good amount of original material (Warp, Butter, and Cornelius etc… all of which made appearances in the Metro), they first came most to prominence in the remix scene, so a majority of the set did include these remixes, along with several new ones. Their world-renowned remix of MSTRKRFT’s “Bounce” was amongst the known mixes, receiving huge cheers, while tracks from Daft Punk and MGMT were among the unexpected tunes of the night.
What impressed me most about these guys was their ability to simply keep the crowd so interested. Especially myself, who too easily gets bored during DJ sets. But combining their superb selection of tracks, pure talent on the decks and the resulting energy from the crowd made for an experience I’ll never forget. Every time I thought I was getting a bit bored, they’d bounce right back with something absolutely superb and unexpected, keeping me on my toes the whole night, dancing away track after track, until they came to an end with a “Warp 1.9” encore (helped out Generik I do believe). And just when I thought they couldn’t top the first awe-inspiring experience – right after the “1..2…” they jumped right into the crowd, reminding us all that not only did THEY come here to party, but so did we. And there have been few better musical guests to help us do just that.
An experience not for everyone – but definitely for me, and one I hope to have again. And we all can! They’ll be back in November! So check them out, They’re without a doubt some of the best live DJs in the world.
