When the Metro City labyrinth opened its doors to Andy C (none other than the demigod of drum and bass) on Friday 27th January, the Perth massive had no idea what had hit them. (An understatement if ever I made one)! Infamous as ‘The Ex·e·cu·tion·er’, it was time for me to determine the true nature of his label; was this an allusion to Andy C’s ability to ‘ex·e·cute’ (perform, carry out, put into effect) impeccable mixes and superb track selection? Or more so; his reputation as an assassin behind the decks; picking his followers up by the scruff of the neck, ripping their intestines out and throwing them to the ground?? You’ve got to have a formidable presence to be the #1 DJ in the entire world for any music genre .. let alone one that typically represents the dark side ..

There was certainly a lot of hype leading up to this event, however, no speculation as to whether or not the crowd drawn would fill the venue – that was a given. As it approached my 10:45pm arrival at Metro City, I was greeted with some rather mellow liquid drum and bass courtesy of DJ TCEE. Having played out at events such as Sub Culture and MOS Annual ‘05, this was actually the first time I had seen him in action, managing to pull some especially keen punters from the sidelines of the sparse venue to the dance floor. I’ll openly admit that I am not a fan of most MCs, but Eclectic managed to impress; was so refreshing to hear a voice that was not pseudo-English or pseudo-Jamaican, big ups for originality!

MC Eclectic continued to amp up the crowd when Kash took the decks at 11:15pm and seamlessly created a subtle introduction to the evening. Dropping the Feelings – Shy Fx and T Power track (a jazzed-up, hip shakin’, summer-time, lush vocal, audio cocktail), the crowd responded well as the venue started to fill up. I soaked up my surroundings, including the two massive screens either side of the turn tables, the omnipotent lit-up Loaded Dice logo hanging above the decks and two large banners sporting the RAM Records symbol. These all achieved the marking of drum and bass territory at this venue which does not usually exclusively support the genre.

The ever-popular local talent possessed by Diamond D and MC Assassin slammed the stage between 12:15am – 1:30am. They made full use of their position of power over those in attendance at around about 1:00am with a crazy strobe display complimenting some seriously driving, dark beats - bringing everyone down slowly and building back up, sending the crew into frenzy. Looking down from the upmost level of the building, it really was a sight to see this all transpire. As Assassin commanded; “Somebody say YEAH” the enthusiastic crowd responded, and as he challenged; “Somebody say FUCK YEAH” they reciprocated. An absolutely stellar set.

There was an amazing uproar at 1:35am. Might have had something to do with; “When I say Andy .. you say C”. The level of expectation was so high, the air electric as the crowd anticipated an absolutely banging set pre-release of Nightlife #3 in March this year. Man, did he deliver! An entourage of tracks including Living Daylight – DJ Fresh, X Ray – Subfocus, Voodoo People – Prodigy (Pendulum Mix), Dreadlock – Future Prophecies, Everyday – Shy Fx and T Power, X Project – DJ Fresh and a repeat of Feelings – Shy Fx and T Power blasted through the speakers and left the Perth crew drenched and debilitated. Awe-inspiring mixing and supreme track selection were obvious qualities of the set, and a justification of Andy’s position as world’s #1 drum and bass DJ. He played a the full spectrum – providing a good representation of what is happenin’ at the moment, erring on the side of caution and not making too many predictable choices. Rewinds were also on the minimal side, much to my delight. His unleashed mix of Blood Sugar – Pendulum with Special Place – Subfocus was silky smooth, and a perfect way to end the set, 15 minutes past the planned concluding time.

As mentioned previously, I’m not much of an MC fan, and whilst GQ seemed to do it for many others, I did not really dig his “I am the black Tom Jones” style. While MCs and DJs go hand in hand in drum and bass circles, I think that Andy could very easily, and just as successfully, go it alone. Having said that, the impact of their complimentary collaboration was apparent as the crowd responded with enthusiasm – I am just more of a fan of letting the music speak for itself!

Upon the conclusion of Andy C’s set, Shimon and MCs Xsessiv and Stylee were ready to take over. The totally addictive, dreamlike sounds of American Beauty Remix – Matrix & Futurebound floated around and looped back in; casting a net that seduced and embraced. His set continued with crowd pleasing tracks and a very raw flavour. As I left the club at 4:15am there was still a large following stomping their feet, lapping up the quality performance provided by this international act and his supporting MCs.

Overall, it was very impressive to see that the drum and bass crew can fill one of the largest venues in Perth – and that one head-ling act can inspire so many people to attend. Superfluous to say, I think I understand where ‘The Executioner’ nickname comes from now ..