Review by teri_net

Sleaze 2003, Flesh-Dressed Up… Well, with a theme like that and a controversial poster I wasn’t sure what kind of party I was going to be going to. Would it be the nice homogenised safe party that Playbill Management are forcing on everyone, or will it be a reflection on the days of old, when sex and parties were hand in hand?

Sleaze this year would have to be one of the best Sleaze Ball’s I have had the pleasure (or pain) of attending. People were scantily clad and proud. Although the weather wasn’t the warmest the mood was hot.

Entering the Hordern I was blown away by the revolving DJ booth and video screens. Ryan Murphy was playing a nice commercial set, good for warming the crowd up. After meeting people there it was time to head to the RHI and stake a position for the first show.

DJ Shigeki had the honour of playing the first set in RHI and he was fantastic. He played a lot of anthems but added a twist to them so the music was a bit edgier than RHI traditionally is. A good change I feel. The first show blew everyone away, with 8 aerialists, pyrotechnics, a choir and heaps of dancers. The ovation from the crowd along with comments such as ‘They are back’ just added to the general good feeling and friendliness of the party.

Jake Kilby was the next DJ in the RHI who played his classic hands in the air anthems which kept the crowd boogying except for when people started to appear naked in various boxes on the stage, oops, it’s another show. The show was very arty and erotic, with people naked then dressing up with no break in the music. By the time the two gay dads, brides and fireman appeared, the crowd were just dying to see what MG had in store for them. Overall the shows at this party were a standout, including the 5am show with its simulated silhouetted sex/orgy scene which had a lot of people looking for some action.

At this stage DJ Josh was in the Hordern playing her set and was impressing the crowd yet again; she was very popular after Mardi Gras this year and was asked back. She warmed the Hordern nicely for my favourite DJ Neil Crawford who had the last set to take us to heaven and back again, which of course he did.

The last set by Neil Crawford in the Hordern was mind blowing. Neil’s ability to layer track upon track and get the room begging for the next beat or song is astounding. Unfortunately being blown away by Neil meant I missed Alex Taylor’s set in the RHI and the final show which was a tribute to Priscilla complete with ping pong balls!

All up, I would have to say Sleaze was a most amazing party and kudos to New Mardi Gras who have overcome all the hurdles from the previous administration and have delivered a party that is back to the community and their friends again.


Review by EmmeJay

Topless men, topless ladies, bare backsides and very short mini skirts. Now where on earth could you see all this and not get charged for indecent public exposure? SLEAZEBALL of course! This time round the theme for Sleaze was Flesh Undressed and boy was there lots of it. The crowd it drew were from all walks of life wheather they were young, old, gay, straight, creative and/or outrageous. Walking up to the Horden I just knew the night was going to be a load of fun!

Sleaze was the most exciting choice of event for me this weekend; I knew the night was going to be different to all the other long weekend events happening around town, there was no big international DJ playing and I was unaware of the music policy. All I knew was that Sleaze attracted a very large crowd everyone there was there to party fun and party hard and it wasn’t for the faint hearted!

Sleaze is a GLBT event and it was spread over three huge Arenas. In the main arena, the Royal Hall of Industries, the music was of a hard trancy nature. Here they played uplifting booty shaking vocal trance. Every person in that room was in there to dance the night away. By the smiles on each person’s face I knew I was right. The tickets didn’t come cheap and from the level of production and decoration in two biggest rooms I knew why. The Hordern had the DJ booth situated in the centre of the room with speakers surrounding it which projected the music outwards. The DJ booth also rotatd so every person in each corner wouldn’t miss out on seeing the DJ working the crowd up! The Visuals were set up on each corner of the rotating DJ booth at the dancefloor level and above the DJ box. 100 points for the creative set up there.

The RHI wasn’t as dark as the other arenas and the DJ box was set up on a stage in the middle of all of these huge plasma tv screens which looked amazing and very original. This is the room that DJ Shigeki, Jake Kilby and Alex Taylor played. The DJ was set up on a level higher than the stage where dancers and drag acts would come out and perform various shows during the night.

With so many areas to explore and many sights to see time flew by, and as the night was drawing to a near I walked outside into the shiing sun where more people were dancing in the show stage area. I guess this could’ve been the chill out… ;) As I walked out of the gates with eyes squinting from the sun, feeling like a vampire I was also bombarded with flyers for recoveries that had already begun at various clubs around town. Sleaze Ball was an ultimate party of endurance! I looked back inside and could see a still decent crowd dancing away and all I could think of was “Don’t they ever stop partying?”. :)