TWO TRIBES 2002 - 9.3.2002

"Last night a DJ saved my life" stated Indeeep. Well 33 local and international DJ's attempted to at the Sydney Two Tribes on Saturday 9th March at RAS.

A Two Tribes festival has never graced Sydney- ites. The excitement and anticipation of what the night was going to be like was felt all round in the few days leading up to it. There were some questions my crew and I were wondering up to the days before Two Tribes. How is it going to be set out- How big are the arenas- Is the sound is going to be good- What is the crowd going to be like- How many people are going-

In this review I am going to attempt to bring you the highlights and downfalls of what the Sydney Two Tribes was like. Being impossible for me to catch all of the acts (I did try my hardest) I hope I have encapsulated what is was for me.

Entering the show grounds at about 10:00 pm I was greeted by some very nice security guards and ticket collectors. On thing that did shock me though was the lack of searches. In this day and age you are usually asked to empty your bags and pockets and guys are always given a metal check. Not here you weren't, not even ID checking. It was just show your ticket and you're in. Conquering this very simple task, my first mission was to find the arenas. It was a very simple layout with the Fuzzy and Cream being in the same hall with a wall down the centre. The Renaissance arena reminded me of a school disco and the Ministry of Sound arena was outside (I don't know what they would have done if it rained).

DJ Hyper was my first point of call in the Fuzzy arena. He played a nice variety of track selections and mixes although it was more Progressive than Breaks. Spinning Missy Elliot's 'Get your Freak on' an awesome remix of Kosheen's 'Hide U' and Basement Jaxx's 'Where's your head at-' Stanton Warriors Mix; these were some nice touches for the start of the evening. The sound in here wasn't very good, it was a little "fuzzy" but the screens that hung from the ceiling on either side of the walls were a nice visual touch.

On to MOS for one of my favourite local DJ's Tim McGee. As I stated before this arena was outdoors and as the weather all week was wet, I was hesitant as to what would happen if it were to rain (I think we all would have just got a little soaked!). Luckily the weather stayed fine for most of the evening and the outdoorsy feel was a refreshing change to the indoor dark and dirty atmosphere. Tim got the crowd moving and grooving to a very funky set. Spinning tunes from Chris Lum's 'Big Tool,' Dks 'Deeper Down' and DJ Buck's 'Release the Tension' with Classic Cajmere 'Day by Day' mixed over the top. Ending with Basement Jaxx 'Get me off' was a perfect transition for the beginning of Rui Da Silva's set. Starting off very progressive, his set moved on to become very dark and mellow that was actually starting to put fellow punters and I to sleep.

So to ease my boredom I went solo and had a look at the Renaissance Arena. This arena was basically a hall with a few disco lights that wasn't very exciting (memories of Blue Light Disco's sprang to mind). The sound was also probably the worst out of all the arenas. This was evident as I spoke with ease to fellow punters in the middle of the dance floor with no need to shout or yell. Apparently the Environmental Planning Authority rocked up to do sound checks and told the rooms to turn the sound down, especially Renaissance as it was only running at 25% capacity. Never mind, it didn't exactly stop people from dancing! I caught a few tracks from Danny Howells and despite the sound he certainly got my dancing shoes moving. He started off with deep progressive tunes with overrides of repetitive loops bringing it down with some nice dark and dirty tracks. Dropping Lemon8 'Lose Control' was a nice touch.

Back to the MOS arena for the start of Harry "Choo Choo" Romero's set. My GOD, this would have to be the highlight of my night. His mixing of track to tracks was absolu Tags