University is a place of knowledge, learning and experience. It is a time when friendships are made, beers are drank, spliffs are smoked and posses are formed. It is the birthplace of adulthood and the starting point for many of life’s niches. For me one of these niches was Tweekin at Club 77. It was like our church, where we adopted the practices of clubing and learned from the script of Reachin’ Records; carrying out the ritual of Friday night in William St – dancing till our sweaty bodies turned to jelly.
Like a cult, we worshipped our leaders… Phil Smart, Sugar Ray, Ken Cloud and Simon Caldwell: appreciating the solid beats the boys brought us at the end of every week. And so it was with much trepidation that I set off on my pilgrimage back to the homeland… the place where it all began, to see the record spinners from my early days, prove they still kick it on the decks… Glitch is the night Club 77 has offered us now and last week it had a nostalgic line-up of Ken Cloud, Phil Smart, Dave Choe and old fave Simon Caldwell.
I have to say the club itself has moved well into the 2000s with its new layout and funky bar. Gone is the dark and dingy feel of the Tweekin’ days, although the toilets still resemble the type in Trainspotting… The crowd still has that next-door neighbour feel of friendliness and the door staff are your mates before you even get there!
Ken Cloud played up a treat. Dishin’ out some chunky housin’ toons; giving a spectacular set that left your legs wobbly and your forehead beaded with sweat. Ken is a personal fave of mine, from his ace record spinning to his production work in Poxymusic, the guy is a symbol of Sydney in the dance music world.
Next up was another favourite, deck veteran Phil Smart, making the mission down from his new locality of Byron to serve us up some tasty treats on the dancefloor. Phil tweeks and turns the knobs with such style it leaves you mesmerised. He has been a remarkable presence in the Sydney scene for many years now, and is regarded (and rightly so) as one of our best DJs. On Friday night he delivered a pumping set reminiscent of his Tweekin’ glory days. Nice one Phil!
Dave Choe was on next, and played some very dark and heavy tracks. A little too dark for my liking, however he cranked up the end of his set with some Tiga. My final intake for the evening was the slinky Simon Caldwell, and although I was tired I managed to tap my toes to a few of Caldwell’s tracks. As expected he played quality music, and like Ken and Phil the tracks were nothin’ that you knew but everything you wanted to know.
