What a disappointing party.

As a strong advocate as well as a regular punter of all things drum and bass in Sydney, I have always felt that Urbane Agent have consistently produced extremely lackluster parties, with half a mind on attempting to cash in on a moderately thriving musical scene in our city. The vibe of a party irrevocably reflects the hard work and passion of a promoter, and a good party displaces itself far from a general benchmark of one who merely slaps on internationals after internationals, with a few recognisable local names to the lineup for good measure.

Having seen Rainer Truby at the Basement over the Queens Bday long weekend quashed any riddling doubts in regard to the suitability of this venue to be used for a dance party. A typically vintage style environment with a size and setup adequately combined to provide an intimate feel to a party, I decided to tag along with a few friends of mine to the Basement to see if Teebee could deliver a set as brilliant as the one he thrashed out at the Arizona Bar early last year. It should have been a perfect place to start a weekend.

Within seconds of walking through the entrance, I knew what we were in for. Pushing towards midnight, G-massive was playing to an empty dancefloor. There were barely 50 people in the entire venue. Disappointed, yet not entirely surprised, we proceeded to settle ourselves on some comfy couches and listen as ALF and Ritual delivered a solid back to back set to a hopeful crowd. Polaris then stepped up, and it pretty much sucked that the main room was a non smoking area, as it forced the majority of us into the back area, where we could hear the sounds, but not witness the action on the stage. A great set from what we could hear, but vibe and the numbers were lacking anyhow.

When exactly Slice decided to switch from DJing to MCing I don’t quite know (and honestly, I’m not quite sure why either). Having experienced his skills on the mic a month earlier at the Black Sun Empire gig, I visibly cringed as I saw him step up on stage. The idea of MCing is to complement the music, not a ‘fill in the blanks’ exercise with random bursts of rubbish between beats.

As for Teebee, his set most definitely lacked the luster and energy of what he ripped up at Arizonas. It was very predictable track selection and a lot less harder than what he is known for playing. What was obviously lacking in his was a general interest in showcasing his skills at all -he had no problem simply fading between tracks during one part of his set. I don’t know whether he was just burnt out from his flight or just not up for it but he just didn’t really seem to be interested at all. He also didn’t play much of his own stuff either which I would have liked to hear him do.

I left the Basement before the end in dismay, but my sources tell me everyone got kicked out at about 4.30, as the place was dead by that stage. This party really didn’t have much to offer.