I arrived in Northbridge at 11pm to see to one of the pioneers of trance Matt Darey at Rise Nightclub. I bounced up the stairs to see the usual Rise regulars with their glowsticks and rave gear ready for another night. Resident DJ of Rise DJ Simon Barwood and the winner of the Motorola Dance Music Awards in 2002 and 2003 was mixing the tunes we all know and have come to love, whipping the crowd into a frenzy as he does so well, readying us all for Matt Darey to work his magic.

After everyone waiting in anticipation, Matt Darey made his appearance up in the box.. People just flocked in droves to the dancefloor and podiums with their glowsticks or their friends in hand and they really got into the tunes he was playing to them. He started the night off with playing a great song Ridgewalkers Ft El – Find (Andy Moor Remix). He also played some other great tracks such as Tiësto – Walking on Clouds, Paul Van Dyk – For an Angel, Lost Tribe – Gamemaster and unashamedly my favourite song Tiësto – Adagio for Strings. To hear one of the many great International and National DJ’s that Rise bring us week after week play a set at Rise and to have the privilege to review it was awe-inspiring.

At 4am Rise Resident DJ John Paul came and played some really good tunes for the crowd that were still getting over Matt Darey’s wonderful set. John Paul using his extraordinary talents to push the crowd in new directions kept them going till after the sun had risen on the club with such energy and enthusiasm that would put the Duracell bunny to shame. It’s sets like that which make it easy to see why this popular DJ has held his residency at Rise for so long.

At one point there was a girl going around handing out flyers for Darey Products. The website address is www.dareyproducts.co.uk. You can find forthcoming releases on Darey Products that include “Likwan – Point Zero 2004”, “Lost Tribe – Possessed” and the orginal vocal Trance anthem “Matt Darey pres Mash Up – Liberation 2004”

Overall it was a fantastic night and not one I will soon forget. With a signed a poster in hand I was ready to go home. People can’t wait for his return to Rise to do another fantastic set and neither can I. So thank you Rise for another great night we’ve always come to expect from Perths most popular nightclub.

Photographs Copyright 2004 Astrant.