When Miss Kitten and the Hacker played at Family the club itself could have been on a different planet. A large crowd of colourful, diverse punters filled the clubs’ mainroom, dancing amongst beautiful, abstract visuals and decoration. The atmosphere echoed that of the underground, a vibe usually alien to a club like Family, with its’ commercial reputation. This night, was something different altogether.

Jamie Whiteside kicked off my night with a fabulous set of good dirty electro. It was here the crowds gradually arrived, and were enticed onto the dancefloor by tracks such as Ride the White Pony. His sound was raw and funky, setting the scene and pace for the next to play, D-Black.
By this stage, the floor was packed. As one of the enthusiastic crowd who danced fervently and wildly to favourites by Goldfrapp and The Stooges, I fell in love not only with the tunes and atmosphere, but the smoke machine as well. Not for a long time had Family’s sound system and facilities been used for such good cause.

An entertaining interlude follwed D-Blacks set, which was a great mix of electro – less gritty than light hearted and dancy. During his set, an endearing dominatrix type entered the stage, strap on and all. Never before has one had so much fun as she did with that angle grinder. As sparks flew, people flew to the stage to catch a closer look. I must admit, although it did feel kind of naughty, I just couldn’t look away. Such is the beauty of performance art.

Artistic too, was the performance given by The Polytoxic Dance Troupe, who follwed her. Obviously displaying more talent than grinder girl, the dancers showcased a beautiful display of movement – from elegant classical, to downright dirty. Special mention must go to the trapeze artist who stunned us all with his talent and unitard. Although spectacular , it was obvious that punters were becoming restless. After all, it was only a matter of moments before Miss Kitten and the Hacker took the stage.

If Family seemed to be on another planet, Miss Kitten and the Hacker definately fit right in. Their presence was just so entrancing, and other worldy. I asked myself: Was it the thick french accent? Miss Kittens’ perfectly monotone voice, or superior fringe? The Hackers’ unassuming, vacant presence?

I really could not work it out. Their sound seemed too perfect to be real – so crisp, and sharp. Not quite human. It wasn’t until Miss Kitten burst into giggles after Sweet Dreams, that the crowd which had been simply standing, and watching in awe, relaxed a little. “That was teeeerrible”, she said. I disagreed.

Fortunately, the crowd did also. Well, one would assume so, since their departure from the stage was met with much smiling and applause. This continued further into the morning, as Aniki took to the decks and dropped some crowd favourites, met with plenty of enthusiasm and appreciation.

Kid Kay Ferris followed, drawing the crowd’s attention back to the stage, and back to some live music. The boys who are always so into their act, and awesome to watch, delivered a set which seems to be more exceptional with every delivery. Their own tracks stole their show, as the new album was given a workout. “You make me feel electric”, and “Colour me badd”, were obvious favourites. The two hussies who had mounted the stage (and its railing) at this point would probably agree. They were in fact, the only disappointment of this segment. God bless the groupies.

After such a long night of top shelf entertainment, it is no wonder the kids couldn’t control themselves. However, as everyone knew, things could only get wilder. After all, Kazu was to take the decks.

Only Kazu knows how to keep a crowd dancing hard far into the morning after a headlining act has been finished for hours. By 4:00am, the dancefloor had become such a frenzy there was no sign of it stopping; and it didn’t. By this stage, I was so exhausted and overwhelmed with excitement, I could barely manage a yelp of, “Bangin!”, or, “Bangin tekkers!”. Luxuriously intense, and “bangin!”, it was. What better way to wrap up a brilliant event?
In agreement with my previous suspicions, this night truly was something different altogether- it really did have it all! Superstar DJs, brilliant acts, angle grinders, awesome artwork…And of course, Miss Kitten and The Hacker. By all means, they were fabulous – however Miss Kitten and the Hacker were not necessarily my favourite act by far. All other acts, DJs, produced performances which in my opinion, were equal to if not better, than the headliners themselves. I can not help but feel most proud of our local lovelies, and of the effort put in by all parties to create such a sensational event.

(5 stars!! :p)