Two Tribes 2005 - 13.3.2005

Aaah the walk of shame after a blissful night of pumping tunes, your body aches, your legs are like jelly and your only thought is of your bed…..and yet a smile creeps over your face as you remember the night you just had.

This was my first ever Two Tribes (TT) and Future Entertainment certainly know how to put on a good show!! My photo buddy Heidi and I arrived to massive queues of excited crowds eagerly anticipating what was waiting for them inside. We cruised in, grabbed a drink and a play list to map our night.

First up was Mischief, we wanted to get a good spot for Prodigy and I was keen to check out Grant Smilie. The crowd was warming up and the arena was filling fast. Once settled into our spot I noted that there were varying ages, it seemed that everybody old and new had come out to play. Grant Smilie ramped up the beats and ended the set with a perfectly timed drop of Blur's Song2. Security grabbed the microphone a couple of times towards the end to let us know that no more people would be permitted on the dance floor and that Prodigy would not appear if people continued to try and enter. To be honest, I thought it was plain rude that they kept interrupting Grant Smilie's set!! I thanked my lucky stars we didn't head to the floor as an in surge of black t shirts and tight jeans entered the arena. Being a pretty short chickie I reckon I would have been annihilated on the floor.

Prodigy…hit the stage in a blaze of glory and they had the crowd right where they wanted them. My friend Heidi leaned over to me and yelled 'I just wanna hear Voodoo People live again!'. They played a mix of old and new but between tracks dragged on a bit. You were pumping then left standing, waiting for the beats to pick up again. They finished their encore with the classics 'Smack my Bitch up' and 'Outta Space'.

I have waited 5 years to see Armand Van Helden at work.... regrettably I was disappointed. He played a lot of remixes and not a lot of his own stuff and some tracks had been played by previous DJ's that night already. When he pulled out a remix of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' I knew it was time to leave.

After my stint in Mischief I was more than a little parched so we headed to the bar. It always amazes me that there are bars everywhere you turn at Rod Laver Arena and yet only one or two are actually open. Queues were long and not a lot of choice was available when you got there and once more the prices were hiked up for the occasion.

We walked through the underpass to get to Vodaphone arena. There were clothes and jewellery stands and if you forgot your sunglasses you could buy more! It was a great idea if you wanted chill out between arenas and hey, if you had a little more energy you could have a go on the Fantasy Castle....just watch out for the fairy wings and glow sticks!

Godskitchen was everything and more than I expected, however getting in there was not easy. Queues to get on the dance floor were 15m long and 10-15 people deep so we abandoned that idea and went for the next floor up. What a sight - 1000's of people rippin' up the dance floor to Jan Johnston, large sparkly stars shining above them and the traditional laser show!! Future Breaks looked like the 'happy room', everyone was just there for a good time and a boogie. Not as many of your big fluffy / wide pants here; more the short skirts and little tops.

I wasn't prepared for the sparseness at Renaissance. I have to say it was a bit of a let down after Mischief and GodsKitchen. Dave Seamann is incredible to watch, he really should have had a posse on the main stage. The VIP Room was great for catching your breath but the real party was outside.

Extreme vs Elements, like Godskitchen and Mishchief, was rocking. It is always great to walk in to a room and know your music and know you're going to love it and have a good time. This room had a fantastic vibe about it - the crowd wanted tunes to rock out to and that is e Tags