There are fewer names bigger than that of Gatecrasher when it comes to the sound
of trance. This household name inspired a new subculture of “Crasher kids,” played a
huge part in taking trance music to the masses and it even appeared on the front page of
newspapers at super-clubbing’s height near the turn of the century. How did this global
brand achieve all of this? Through releasing ground breaking mix CD’s and rigorous
worldwide touring, of course!

Gatecrasher is definitely not a stranger to the people of Perth. Who could forget the
massive Summer Sound System back in 2001 or the epic journey that was The Digital
Experience in May 2002? All of those glorious memories would come flooding back to us
on Friday the 16th of December when Gatecrasher: The Global Sound System touched
down in Perth bringing with it four of the finest names in dance music today; John
O’Callaghan, M.I.K.E. (Push,) Dumonde and the Organ Donors.

It has been a very long time since the last Gatecrasher experience. When the
rumour of trance music’s greatest institution reached my quarters I had mixed feelings of
disbelief, excitement and unmeasurable joy. This was no flash in the pan rumour though;
this was the real deal! The long wait looked set to finally come to an end!

The setting for Gatecrasher: The Global Sound System would be the newly
renovated Capitol Nightclub situated on Murray St’s West End. I arrived at just after
10pm just as Ireland’s very own John O’Callaghan was getting the night’s proceedings
underway.

Two things immediately jumped to my attention upon my arrival; the nicely
refurbished Capitol (ex Globe and Monkey Bar) with its comfortable seating & the DJ
booth’s relocation (which meant that the dance floor went widthways rather than
lengthways) and the small number of punters. A small crowd at a Gatecrasher event
seems as unbefitting as excessive noise in a library!

The crowd is only half the equation when it comes to a great night out. Aside from
the fact that there is more room to dance, it’s all about the music and things did pick up
very nicely later on. John O’Callaghan was whipping up a melodic storm with lightning
bolts like Marco V’s “False Light.” This young upstart’s star is bound to shine even
brighter in the future, judging by his super-tight mixing, top track selection and his love
for nothing else other than the music.

Trance music is far from being dead and it is certainly not without its innovators.
Next to take control of the Gatecrasher Global Sound System was Belgium’s M.I.K.E.
(Push,) who is arguably one of the best producers of tech infused trance at this present
moment. Few will forget his brilliant performance at Two Tribes 2005. I for one felt
privileged to be in this man’s company for the second time in less than a year.

For his first track, M.I.K.E. dropped a very tasty remix of “The Drill” – The Drill
(Paolo Bolognesi remix.) The numbers were steadily creeping through the door and the
energy began its gradual ascent from this point onwards. M.I.K.E. kept the crowd going
with a second spin of “Second Light” followed on by The Police’ “S.O.S.” A highlight of the
night occurred when M.I.K.E. dropped the volume and the crowd sang the verse!

Up above all those airborne hands was an absolutely brilliant visual display that
featured Gatecrasher paraphernalia (it just wouldn’t be ‘Crasher without those famous
‘Crasher visuals,) three huge lasers, a video screens and the perfect lighting rig to make
it all complete. In my opinion I quite like the new Capitol venue; the seating is a lot more
comfortable, the club has a more intimate feel and it has lost its narrowness following the
relocation of the DJ booth.

Taking over from M.I.K.E. at 1:30 were Jam X & DeLeon a.k.a. Dumonde. These two
German producers and DJ’s are of course famous for their 2001 anthem; “Tomorrow.”
Suffice to say when they put the stylus to that very track, which has gone down in trance
folklore, The Gatecrasher Global Sound System was about to blow! Oddly enough this
may just have happened as well as the sound system was cranked and there were a few
glitches now and then too. Fortunately their set passed without incident and the crowd
lapped up everything that these two had to offer. Clearly the crowd collectively enjoyed
their more anthem-rich, uplifting sound.

3:15am came along and it was time to rock this baby into 6th gear! The Organ
Donors were a surprise late addition to the line up for this event; cue emphatic
excitement from yours truly and many other hard dance enthusiasts! It could almost be
said that these two UK based DJ’s/producers are the hard dance equivalent of James
Zabiela as they combine a varied track selection with decks & FX and scratching; all of
which makes for an awesome show!

The Organ Donors got the ball rolling with a serving of devastating hardstyle and
twisted hard trance which went down a treat with the energetic Gatecrasher massive. It’s
always a refreshing change to hear a DJ or musical act who loves to hate being pigeon-
holed; it is virtually impossible to label the Organ Donors as being hardhouse, hard
trance or hard style… their style is as varied as it is, well, hard! It is worth noting that
they are just as good in the studio as they are in the DJ booth as well and their brand
new floor filler / shaker; “Turntablism” is all the proof needed!

Their set was tainted by a few glitches and a stoppage but this wasn’t enough to spoil
their or the crowd’s fun. Their scratching, technical ability and vast array of trickery had
the perfect complimentary effect on tracks like Operation Blade 2005 by Public Domain.
At times the tempo of the tunes on offer exceeded 165 BPM which made me wonder why
there weren’t any sweat clouds forming in the air! The energy pulsating from the
remaining Crasher kids bubbled away under the boiling heat and there were many crazy
moves on display from those whose dancing ability was equal to their love of the music.

At 5:00am The Gatecrasher Global Sound System came to a close but not without a
gigantic reception from the crowd. Needless to say the calls for just… one… more…
tune…. Were as loud as I’ve seen all year but the words of Porky Pig (nice outro’!)
unfortunately rang true. There wasn’t a single Crasher kid without a smile on their face
as we all left The Capitol, taking with us memories of what was a unique Gatecrasher
experience, even if the crowd was a little down in numbers. What the crowd lacked in
size, the energy and the music more than made up for it!

A tremendous thank you must be extended to Gatecrasher, The Capitol nightclub, DJ
Riki, John O’Callaghan, M.I.K.E. (Push,) Dumonde, the Organ Donors and the event
organisers (DJ Factory and Cybergroove.) The accolade for event of the year for 2005 is
going to be a hard one to decide.