Friction feat. Scott Carelli (US) - 15.11.2002

Friction are probably one of Canberra's most respected and closely followed production crews. Being recognised by Juice Magazine as one of the top 20 club nights in the country is no small accomplishment and Friction's attention to detail always produce a quality clubbing experience. Scott Carelli at Lot 33 was no exception.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me about the Canberra clubbing experience is the quality of the locals. Local producer Ryan Papa and one of the city's most respected DJs Mikah Freeman, coined by Melbourne DJ/Producer Phil K as the one to look out for in 2002, opened proceedings playing a tight, almost vicious, back to back set which included Ryan's latest track. Ryan later admitted to me that the track still had some work to be done on it, but for me, the track was a perfect example of deep, brooding progressive house. The crowd definitely showed their approval.

Since Jeff Drake moved to Canberra from BrisVegas earlier this year, he has shown that he is a talent Canberra was in need of. Always a tight mixer and track selection skills to match, Friday night was one of the best sets I've seen from Jeff all year. He had the crowd totally enraptured dropping bomb after bomb with seamless mixing and an on-stage presence to match. If the night was your first taste of Jeff Drake, you were to go away with a hunger for more.

I must admit that the man of the moment, Scott Carelli, didn't really do much for me during the first hour of his set. Whilst technically great, what he was playing for some reason wasn't ticking with me at all. The second half of his set, however, was nothing short of sensational. Overall the set showed just how you can work a crowd as a DJ. From breaks to prog to house and back to prog, Carelli kept the crowd going solid, winding up with U2's 'Where The Streets Have No Name', earning himself the respect of a couple of hundred Canberra gurners in the process.

Chris Fraser is without a doubt one of the more versatile DJs doing the rounds. His set on Friday night was a bit out of the ordinary for him, a friend of mine defining it as 'electro-prog', although it is a sound he has been pushing for a while now. The set was an interesting mix of beats, breaks and accapellas with the 'Shiny Disco Balls' accapella present throughout. It was a very impressive set and whilst not the most enjoyed by everyone in attendance, certainly kept my interest levels up there until the end.

One thing that has always amazed me about nights at Lot 33 is the diversity of the crowd. There is always a mix of ravers, drunkards and those who are there "to be seen". This was definitely a feature of the night, but not in a detracting sense. Wherever you go to get your kicks, there are always going to be those who seem to want to ruin a night for everyone else. Thankfully, this only accounted for less than 1% of the crowd and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Overall the night was a huge success and there were smiles on many patrons faces when the realisation that the night was over sunk in. The style of the night suited the venue perfectly. Kinda laid back, but with space so that if you wanted to dance you could. The bar was busy without being overly so, and the weather was decent enough to sit outside without your arse freezing to the chair you were sitting in. The night was one of my better nights out this year. Not the best, but up there with it. And with Friction gigs coming up just around the corner, you can expect more nights of this quality hitting Canberra soon.

Image courtesy of John Azzopardi and www.inthemix.com.au (c) 2002 Tags