Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Global Gathering - Perth 2008
Well, I made my way down to the Perth Esplanade on Sunday for Global Gathering. Caught up with some old mates who I hadn't seen for years, and saw some big name DJ's and Bands.
Here's my quick and brutal review of those acts that I saw.
First up Hook n Sling. Unfortunately I only saw the end of their set, but I really enjoyed what I saw. Crowd was pumping and the music was pretty awesome. These guys seemed to be enjoying playing in Perth. 4 thumbs up.
Next up was Kid Kenobi. Started well, but started to sound pretty repetitive about 10 minutes in. Not what I'd call an epic set. 1 thumb up.
Next up was the end of Dirty South, who seemed to have the crowd rocking pretty well. Not really my cup of tea, in terms of the style of music, but they DJ'd well, and kept the crowd pleased. Three thumbs up.
Felix Da House Cat was up next, and he's really a stellar DJ. Pity he didn't listen to the advice of the sound guy who told him to turn his mixer down a bit to get rid of the nasty distortion haunting the audience, so we had this brilliant DJ set let down by overloading his DJ mixer. Couldn't really deal with the distortion for too long, so had a break to get some food. Four thumbs up for great DJing. Four thumbs down for being a jerk and distorting his set.
Caught the start of the ATB set, and he played a monster set. I came back a few times later in the day, and he seemed to just get better and better. There was a very passionate and lively crowd in front of the God's Kitchen stage, and ATB didn't disappoint. Would love to have been able to catch more of his set, but I was here to see The Orb, so I missed a lot of the action. Four thumbs up from what I heard.
Next up was The Orb. OMFG these guys are great. Dr Alex Patterson and the boys from the Orb really seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere, and seemed genuinely happy to be performing. I've never had the opportunity to see them before, and the hilight for me was definately Little Fluffy Clouds. The whole set was live and done on the fly, so big respect to The Orb. The front man, didn't have that much to do, but he interacted with the crowd and kept the punters at the front happy. Five thumbs up, and wishing that they could have played for longer. Definitely the highlight of the day.
After the Orb, I was really looking forward to seeing Sasha. I really like his production and recorded DJ set's but I gotta say. His set was a serious disappointment. He didn't seem to want to be there, and left the stage (or was hiding behind the speakers having a smoke) at one point, just letting the CD's do their thing. Very uninspiring set overall. 1 thumb down.
Took a bit of a wander around feeling pretty uninspired by all tents, and ended up over at the main stage where Mark Ronson was playing. Very different vibe, but this man is a born entertainer. Bought a smile to my face and played some fine music. Four thumbs up.
Went over and caught some more of ATB. That man is a robot. Still going strong.
Changed over to Above and Beyond, who I've never really heard before, but it was a mighty fine set, what I heard of it. Nice uplifting trance, a throbbing dance floor. Four thumbs up here as well.
Now for the main act, Kraftwerk. I've never seen these guys live, but am a big fan of their music. They are an entirely different thing live. The sounds that these guys generate are simply amazing. Big, clear, and they really push the sound system to the limits. I took a wander over to the Gorillaz for 10 minutes during Kraftwerk's set, and in comparison it sounded like someone had turned down the volume and stuffed cotton wool in my ears. Five thumbs up for Kraftwerk. I've spent a lot of time making music and sounds and damn their sounds are amazing. Wish I could afford the quality of pre-amps that these guys obviously use. The wall of sound and dynamic range on a sound system of this quality is something to behold.
Gorillaz was pretty darn packed, but had an awesome video show. Didn't stay long enough to be able to really comment on it, but they had a big crowd so that has to say something.
Overall, it was a great day. Very well organized and great venue set up. Big thumbs up to all the workers and guys cleaning up the grounds, bar staff and security guys. Everyone was pretty friendly. Visible but not in your face.
