Capital heats up
Author: Phil Jones
Wednesday, February 5, 2003
An interesting, yet under utilised, venue comes back in the spotlight this month. Skylounge returns for 2003, and once again it's being held at the National Museum of Australia. Skylounge was one of the best electronic media festivals held in Canberra in 2002, showcasing everything from electronic music through to short animation with some of the best acts the world has. Tipper, Andrew Pekler, The Herd, Katalyst and Canberra's own Koolism are among the highlights of this four week festival, held every Friday night this month. Word on the street is that tickets are selling fast, with this Friday's instalment already apparently sold out. Get 'em whilst they're still available.
Whilst Tipper is playing a more ambient live set at the last instalment of Skylounge, two weeks earlier he'll be playing the tough breaks that he's famous for at Lot 33 in Kingston. Local promoters Friction will be once again delivering the goods, so quality support and a great night is all but guaranteed. With a cover at only $15, this should be an awesome night, so make sure you get along to it.
Now, happy hardcore is not a genre that is generally synonymous with Canberra, but all that is set to change this year and first cab off the rank in that department is UK HHC old timer and general legend, DJ Hixxy. I still find it hard to believe that happy hard still maintains a following, but I'm very much looking forward to being totally disproven of this come Feb 21. The night should be nothing if not interesting and one of those to check out, even if you're not a fan of happy hard. And for $12, you can't go wrong... can you-
And if all that doesn't leave you salivating more than your average 90 year old, guess what- Hard House/Hi NRG is set to make a Canberra comeback this year. PeeWee Ferris, Amber Savage and local-boy-done-good Archie all make welcome returns to our fair city, and there is the promise of more on the not-so-distant future. Local djs the likes of James Livingstone, Lan Shannon, Rob Lewis and, somewhat surprisingly for a prog head, my personal fave Erin have been pushing the harder side of things for a while and it's somewhat nice to see Canberra finally giving these guys the chance they deserve to push things a little further.
But anyways, enough from me for this month. Tune in next month when we will again look at our fair capital with blurred vision, clenched jaws and a sleep-deprived mind. Enjoy.
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