Aurora 2
Reviewer: Lindy Tan
Attractions Facilities:A smorgasboard of local live talent including FSOM, Voiteck, Zen Paradox, Frontside and Solanoid.
The Score:School holidays! Yay! That's the first thing I realised when driving with my cohorts though the carpark - accompanied by a smidgeon of panic. "I'm going to feel like the oldest slag on the dancefloor," I muttered worriedly to myself. "What if everyone notices that I don't match their fresh young looks - their fluffy trance pants - their reflective raver gear-" And then I thought - fuck it. Raves are meant for everyone.
But I have to admit that the vibe was slightly confused that night. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I think some of the confusion was due to the DJ booth being so far from view and so dark, that it was almost impossible to see who was playing. The booth even looked deserted at times, making one wonder if anyone was playing at all. An example - I heard a Frontside track at about 7am but on scrutinizing the stage, decided the boys weren't playing 'cos there seemed like there was no-one up there. Half an hour later, I bumped into Scott (Frontside) who proclaimed that he had just played. Whaa--- Another surprising thing was when FSOM opened with their old favourite "Welcome" and crowd recognition of the track was nil. No whoos, no screams, nothing. Ah well - sign of the times.
But it was Will E Tell who got the most appreciation from the crowd that night. He had the warehouse literally blasting off to Mars with a pumping set of hard trance and build-ups galore, and graced the booth again in the morning. Highlight tracks for me included Green Velvet's "The Stalker" (thanks Rudeboy) and a drum n'bass mix of "Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys which went off in the jungle room.
Overall, Evolution Productions have to be congratulated for bringing together so many Australian acts under one roof. It shows you don't have to use an international to pull a large crowd at all, when we have equal (or better) quality right here. I was pissed off that I didn't get to see more of the live acts, but I swear! I couldn't see them. Must be I'm getting old … eyesight's fading …
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