Industrial cobwebbed stencils littered the club, photocopied squished faces plastered the windows, and shadows danced on the walls from the candles. Just next to DJ booth hung a large projector screen that featured amazing cut-up visuals by Scotch fingers, Rhys and Andrew. Over the decks suspended a quirky dim lamp and a giant disco ball. Deliciously cheap alcohol went into the mouths, as mindless chatting and catching up went out. Out of the speakers throbbed loud underground house, techno, electro, brakes, whatever. And throughout the club were people. And they were all getting real.

Welcome to Canberra’s newest addition to its nightlife: People Get Real. A refreshing night providing Canberrans the chance to shed their skin, enjoy a visual experience, and get freaky to some fantastic music. I was greeted at the door with a smile, Bec Paton’s excellent mixed CD, a 2 for 1 drink voucher, and for only one dollar the first edition of the new zine, Pencil (it’ll be worth millions one day, trust me). The transformed Church (I still have problems with that name) was looking great, providing the perfect setting for an intimate night of beats and booze. Starting a little later than scheduled due to some technical problems was the man with the wooden tie, Calico. But remember, good things come to those who wait. And Calico certainly dished out the goods. Calico showed Canberra that house music, once taken out of its unnatural shiny and polished environment, can become some of the freakiest and nasty beats to ever move your feet(s). The now darker club was adapting well to the pulsing drums as the vibe bounced along in time to the underground rhythms. The busy patrons began to spill onto the dancefloor by the end of Calico’s set, as he concluded with Cassius’s latest monster, Thrilla.

People Get Real’s first guest, Toupee, delivered a beautiful set of delicious raw funk in the form of electro. The modest, UR clad Melbournian instantly gained the crowds attention, and the dancefloor and vibe filled up in unison reminding me of the old Fuse parties once held there. It was a fantastic set combining moody electro, Detroit sensibilities, the bouncy sounds of Italo-disco, minimal techno and irresistible digital and analogue funk. Mostly a foreign sound to Canberra, but one we certainly embraced. Finishing her set with a monster 303, Toupee’s partner in crime, Glitch stepped up. Although perhaps overshadowed by Toupee’s excellent set, Glitch nevertheless pulled off a great set, definitely living up to her name. Continuing along the electro tip, she kept the intricate robotic beats pulsating with more up-tempo electro sounds layered with moody synths and cheeky vocals, as well as dropping some tougher techno here and there. Glitch kept the punters dancing until it was Bec Paton’s turn to finish the night. Bec Paton has been a Canberra favourite for a long time now. And her set at People Get Real, reaffirmed why we love her so much. Always eclectic, Bec started off on an experimental tip then moved into the dubby beats, touched based on some sleazy glitch fuelled breakbeats, then threw in a bit of electro for good measure.

Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton suggest in their book, Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, that the reason for the lack of female DJs is that women tend not to have one of the key attributes of the DJ: the grossly obsessive nature. Three quarters of the DJs who played at People Get Real blow this theory out of the water; because there is no way these lovely ladies could have dug up those underground bombs without being complete and utter vinyl junkies. Combined with superb taste and relentless courage, they probably have one up on most of the boys anyway.

All in all, a fantastic debut of the monthly People Get Real, with its future only looking brighter. A later closing time, more giveaways, the next issue of Pencil, more visuals and art, more fantastic music and more unexpected goodies are to be expected for the next installment. It’s about time a couple music freaks put on a night like this. Wouldn’t you say it’s about time you got Real?