Two Tribes really needs no introduction.  It comes around every year and is renowned for its big name acts, including a vast array of internationals.  And this year was no exception.  Boasting names such as The Prodigy, Grandmaster Flash, Dave Seaman, Andy Farley, Armand Van Helden, Jan Johnson and many more, this year’s party held at Sydney’s Superdome was sure to be a huge event.

Probably one of the most notable features of the Two Tribes party is its diversity of electronic music.  The coming together of Godskitchen, Futurebreaks, Plastic and Renaissance was sure to provide electronic music enthusiasts with the right tunes to suit even the fussiest of pallets.  Moving from room to room you can go on a journey from a world of broken beats and hip hop… to the deeper sexy tunes of house and progressive… then on into the darker or more energetic world of hard house and trance.

Upon arriving at the Dome about 9.30, I found my way to a little bar known as the Boulevarde Café – the perfect place for a warm up drink and to re-group with friends.  I must admit, however, that I was seriously disappointed to find out there were no Smirnoff Blacks or Red Bull to speak of! At around 10.00pm it was time for a dance, so me and my crew headed off to catch the back end of Ben Korbel’s set in the Renaissance room.  Korbel’s set, in my mind, was typical of the trade mark Renaissance sound that we all know and love.  It actually reminded me of the progressive house heard in the late 90s mixed with a more modern day sound. The tunes notably had a driving beat that you really couldn’t help but groove to, complimented by some almost trancey overtures and the ever classic deep sexy voices.

After leaving Korbel, I ventured outside to check out the amusements area, which also doubled as a smoking area as the Superdome is a non-smoking venue.  The amusements consisted of a spinning Sizzler ride (seen at most, if not all, festivals and shows) and a foam bath, which no one really seemed to be using.  Needless to say, I didn’t need to spend much of my time outside and quickly headed back into the main arena to be greeted by the sound of breakbeat!

That’s right breakbeat, in the main room! Scheduled from 11.15 to 12am Kid Kenobi and his always faithful sidekick MC Shureshock were given the job of warming up the crowd in preparation for the headline act, having the huge task of performing immediately before The Prodigy.  Who better to maintain an impatient crowd than Australia’s favourite DJ/MC team! And keep us under control they did spinning tracks such Flashdance, The Fruit and Purple Funky Monkey.  The familiar sound of Kenobi’s infectious breaks combined with the voice of MC Shureshock and kept the crowd pumping as the density increased every second. Partygoers piled into the main arena in an effort to mark out the territory that would hopefully remain their home for the duration of The Prodigy’s performance.

Sadly, only a few minutes after the Prodigy had run onto the stage (albeit late!) major technical difficulties caused the sound system to seemingly die completely.  The extremely disappointed crowd was assured that the problem would be resolved as quickly as possible, but the minutes dragged into tens of minutes without any tunes in sight.  Here I must give three cheers to Pee Wee who attempted to salvage the ever increasingly upset crowd by jumping up to the decks and providing us with some hard house to bounce to. Despite the technical difficulties surrounding the live equipment, there didn’t seem to be any problem with use of the decks!

It wasn’t until after 2am that The Prodigy finally returned to the stage.  Garnished in their usual extreme costumes, eye make-up complete with snarling facials and their dangerous looking jewellery, The Prodigy, in my opinion, put on a great performance. Despite my growing need to get to a bathroom and my aching legs from standing for so long, I couldn’t bring myself to stop dancing in a way that seemed to involve a combination of jumping and head banging until after they played their very last song.

The tracks ranged from old to new and included Spitfire, Girls, Breathe, Poison, Firestarter and Smack My Bitch Up just to name a few.  Unfortunately, I don’t believe that the low pitched cheers received from a somewhat flat crowd gave the show justice and I can only put this down to a tired and thirsty audience, who were forced to wait on an extremely crowded dance floor for well over an hour before the headline act even began!

After The Prodigy, the big acts just kept coming.  Straight up was Armand Van Helden, who was accompanied by a half decent laser show.  Admittedly, I only saw part of Armand Van Helden’s set as, due to the technical problems, his set now clashed with Grandmaster Flash (who was getting down to some seriously grinding hip-hop and sensational scratching) and Dave Seaman (who was keeping the progressive house fanatics entertained with his driving beats). Nevertheless, from what I saw, Van Helden supported a happy following of dancers who clearly seemed to be enjoying his house tunes with a decidedly harder edge.

Following Van Helden was Jan Johnson, whose introduction need only mention that epic anthem we all know and love – Skydive. Being able to pull off a skin tight white lycra number, I thought Jan’s performance was truly amazing. Her heavenly voice emanated throughout the main arena for her half hour set and included another favourite track of mine, Meant To Be Your Lover. To finish the night, I ventured back to the breaks room to spend my last hours dancing to DJ Hyper before I stumbled home for some much needed rest.

In closing, I should make mention of the diverse crowd that fronted up for this widely publicised event.  There were people sporting the trade mark raver look, complete with glow sticks and fluffy boots, to a more glamorous house look, complete with short skirts and low cut tops, and even included some wearing the more conservative, “I’ve just stepped out of a Just Jeans commercial” look, which was sure to make for some interesting conversation in the line-up for the toilets!