Last Saturday night was in deed a pleasure. The staff and security at The Arthouse are professional and friendly which is always a good sign. The actual building structure, despite the long haul to the loo, is par excellence (ie. good sound, fresh air and unlike a lot of Sydney’s venues, a feeling of space, even when both rooms are packed.)

By the time we got there things were happening. The DJ playing in the main room was giving it up. His mixing style was a little mechanic but this seemed to work for him. The trax were select, and included a Blur remix – and that ”...I’m addicted to drugs” song that everyone seems to like. The crowd was, well, loving it! ADD was cutting it up in the breaks room and far from having trouble concentrating ADD reached moments of sonic focus, clarity and dare I say, vision. He played stuff like Mr Oizo, Freestylers, and other funky breaks.

I have to say I was little disappointed with Gene Farris this time. Maybe I am getting older. Maybe he is getting older. Maybe it is because I now no longer take copious amounts of drugs when I go out to listen to music. (I must admit that last sat night I was a little tired and did not stay for the whole set). But of what I did see I was not overly impressed. Maybe Orpheus and his Muses had other places to be last Saturday night.

The first fifteen minutes of a DJ set is crucial to both absorbing the crowd and defining yourself from other DJ’s. There was none of that- whilst he got better as he warmed up- the opening was poor and while his set, if you were to qualify it, was still ‘above-average’, international DJ’s should be in the ‘fantastically-amazing’ category! In my opinion we can do ‘above-average’ locally; perhaps even fostering those Sydney House DJ’s who will take it to the next level.

But that’s all being very critical. Where Gene does not go wrong is in the uniqueness of his sound. It is simple, percussive and deeply bassed. Its like dub-disco. He also has plenty of records that you just can’t get here and this always makes him a must-see.

All-in-all, an enjoyable night despite being a little disappointed with the Gene.