Smirnoff ICE ITM Members Party @ Good Vibrations, Sydney (24/05/03)
Everybody wants something for free and at the ITM members parties that’s what you get. Register online, get in before midnight and get free entry into the best nightclubs with the most seasoned DJs at the wheels, how can you lose? Answer, you lose at the bar, I miraculously lost $100 there!
So that’s my gripe done with, now onto the more interesting aspects of the night – The music and the people. After all, for this writer, that’s what a night out really is all about.
My two party pals were Slip Inn virgins so on arrival it was necessary to introduce them two the three areas of music that emitted from the fantastic – crisp and bassy sound systems, controlled by talented spinners. After that we settled in with our concoctions to groove to Bumpin’ Benny B (Ben Single) warming up the crowd in the Sand bar with some mellow breaks and beats. He dropped the Detroit Grand Pubahs remix of the King of Pop’s Billie Jean (Sandwiches) and I heard a bloke remark sarcastically “Oh I haven’t heard this tune before”. However the girls loved it, and it seems, being a DJ myself, that as long as you get the girls dancing the boys will follow, no matter how many times they have heard a tune. And there must be about 5 different remixes of Billie Jean floating around.
Fashion and style was abounding at the Slip Inn this Saturday night. On behalf of the boys I thank you girls for the efforts you go into prettying yourselves up when the furthest we go is putting a shirt and some jeans on. It makes for some beautiful scenery, because I can’t touch. Every one seemed to be in jolly spirits and I was affirmed by just how small our (city) world is when my friend from Canada chatted up my cousins’ school mate (who I’d never met before).
It was now time to get serious, which meant descending into the luminous come gloomy two rooms of the basement called, The Cave and Chinese Laundry. Nick Law was hitting us with some extremely funkified house beats in The Laundry and when that got too squished relief was sought in the Cave with Ray Good giving it the deep, dark, soulful-tribal sound. It was hard to choose which room we wanted to stay with such quality tunes emanating from within each.
However, we settled for most of the night in The Laundry, where proceeding from where Nick Law left off, the Jackal took us higher and hit us harder with bassy grooves. My personal favourite was an up tempo mix Tone Loc’s Wild Thing cut between some rocking house beats. It worked really well and the crowd also responded favourably.
Next after the Jackal was Declan, a man who has always impressed with superior track selection and mixing. He didn’t disappoint this night hammering us with tune after tune of glorious bassy beats. I lost track of how many special tracks he played, he definitely topped our night off appropriately.
Numbers began to thin after about 3am, which allowed more room to move in the cosiness that is the Slip Inn and I thought to myself – doesn’t anyone have any stamina anymore? But in saying that my own legs began to tire and like those other smart kiddies who had left before us it was time for some homely rest and relaxation before the sun came up.
With a quick detour to hear some tuff sounds from veteran Phil Smart we vacated the premises and travelled the lonely road home. I lost a fair bit of cash, but I’ll never lose the thrill of late night escapism. Cheers to Slip Inn, Good Vibrations and ITM, keep those free parties coming.
