When Satoshi Tomiie played in Melbourne at Godskitchen in 2002 he was tucked away from the crowd in a somewhat tiny room, he played to a very packed and hot crowd. Not surprising he became a Melbourne favourite. Even though he came back not long after that gig, a large Melbourne contigent, including myself, have been eagerly awaiting his return.

With a new mix CD to promote he was back, and co-inciding with Room’s 5th Birthday the night promised to be a big one! Having been a fan of Room since it opened with the fantastic Republic nights, I had been somewhat dissappointed with its change in music direction and the crowd it was attracting of late. My average experience going to see Danny Howells there last year had me skeptical of what was awaiting me…

Arriving at about 1am I was greeted by a pretty packed nightclub, the dancefloor was up for what Mark James was serving, and the bar was busy as usual. I believe Room has always been a great sized club, with some great seated areas. With Renaissance decor throughout, I was pleased that the DJ booth was back where it belongs on the front stage, but dissapointed to find the podiums/cage still there. Everyone knows Mark James has been around for ages and puts on a huge number of parties himself and is also a regular at Room on Saturdays. His last half an hour before Satoshi included Pryda – The Gift and Chris Lake – Changes.

Tomiie came on to the cheer that you would expect and immediately set the tone with Chab’s new one, Lover. I am not a fan of the new ‘electro prog’ that is going around at the moment, preferring the ‘older’ either prog trance or deep tribal sound, and I was worried that Tomiie was going to play a cheesey set, but I’m happy to report that was I was wrong, and while it was not a tribal set it was the kind of driving prog that these international DJs seem to knock out with ease.

Set highlights included a new remix of The Doors – Hello by Adam Freeland and his own Love In Traffic. Funny though, playing that track probably had the crowd, including myself, thinking of how good we used to have it and how things have changed.A t this point the crowd deserves a mention, it was one of the most pleasant crowds I have been with in recent times.

After Tommie, Andrew Padula and Sean Quinn, went back to back for a while, and being fans of both DJs I really enjoyed this part. Padula aways knows how to rock a crowd and Quinn is pushing an awesome sounds! All in all, I think no one left dissapointed. Some good music was played and the crowd and venue were up for it… can’t wait till Tomiie comes back again!