This would be my first trip to take in the Soulful House Experience, but from the buzz on the street leading upto this event and from past reports – I had pretty high expectations. Needless to say, they were met.

We were greeted by a friendly door girl, which came as a surprise as the now notorious owners/management were nowhere to be seen. Arriving early on we enjoyed the sounds of DJ Yogi who manages to conjure up an overwhelming feeling of soul and love in his music. I couldn’t tell you a stand out track he played, I don’t know the genre that well, but it was put together with style and class. He kept the tempo just right for that part of the night and played a great variety of deep, funky and vocal sounds.

Retreating to the outside lounges we noticed the queues had formed by about 10:30 and would stay that way in some shape or form for the duration of the night. As a word of warning to anyone attending future SHE parties, don’t bother lining up unless you are very patient, or particularly desperate to get in. Over the course of what must have been an hour the club filled up via the guestlist line and the general line had not moved, until sweet relief came for the 3 lads who were at the front and they were let in – patience is a virtue, especially when dealing with the feisty owners who had returned and made sure everyone knew they were in charge.

The music across the night kept to its billing of ‘Soulful’ – but at no point did it ever become cheesy or commercial. As testament to how well it was received by the crowd, the main room was packed throughout. Although with the awkward layout of Le Panic, the almost constant pushing and bumping that goes on as people move around can get a little frustrating. That said, with the amount of dancefloor pashing going on, it seemed to be helping some people’s efforts in other pursuits.

Feature act, the Groove Junkies took a deeper and groovier edge to things. Part way through their set this reviewer decided to call it a night. The sound system in Le Panic is poor at best. Too much volume being pushed out of small speakers does not make for good sound. It’s harsh and tinny with too much emphasis on the top end. Take a set of ear plugs, or just don’t be as pedantic as me – whatever tickles your fancy.

All in all though, a very good and enjoyable night. SHE is definitely one of Sydney’s ‘it’ nights with a great following that could comfortably fill Le Panic twice over. They’ve got their fingers on the pulse when it comes to a deep, sexy and soulful sound that people love and have the DJs to deliver it smoothly and to keep a dancefloor going all night long.