I actually bought a ticket to this gig a few weeks ago and after furiously searching I was fairly certain it was lost forever, so another $65 on the door later and I was good to go. And what an awesome night, with two tribes not really appealing to my music sense this year and Future Prophecies being one of my favourite dnb acts, it wasn’t really a hard choice. And with the times not clashing, it was possible to do both as was evidenced by a lot of weary and worn out souls on the night.

If you haven’t already read them, there were a couple of features done on both Future Prophecies and Infected Mushroom recently that are fairly informative so I’ll just keep it to just Sunday night itself.

Anyways, I’ll set the scene. We walked into Metros and it wasn’t filled out at all, in fact it was quite strange to only have the bottom floor open. Never mind we thought, waiting for the upstairs balcony overlooking the stage to open up. As it was, that never happened and I think it was just as well because I didn’t end up needing one for most of the night. And if memory serves me correct (and my visual acuity) I think it was Rufkut that was playing when we first got in, and it started off pretty mellow but he got right into it, and the same could be said for me and the drinks. At around 1, no I lie, at exactly 1am, the ever so alert bar staff refused to serve anyone anymore drinks, lucky for me I’d stocked up ten minutes earlier but we really as a state, or a dance forum community should use our clout to do something about it. But I digress.

So then Future Prophecies (one of the acts on my must see before I die list) were on next. And I’m one of the biggest fans I know, but I was expecting something different when I heard it was going to be a “live” performance. And when I saw all the instruments set up but not being played I was thrown off a bit. (That’s the last time I watch sets on the net before going to a gig, because lets face it, pre conceptions as a rule, is never a good idea) Nonetheless I actually really enjoyed myself, much more than I was expecting (and that’s saying a lot because I haven’t been this pumped for a gig in well over a year), the two Norwegians fused the decks up with a mixture of instruments, fairly flawless and well executed mixing. Some jazzy elements have always been part of their genetic music code and its fair to say everyone on the floor couldn’t get enough. The energy being exerted by the boys was tremendous and it was infectious as herpes (or something more pleasant but equally infectious) and the crowd fed back that positive reinforcement which was nice to see. And it proves you don’t need a dj to hype the crowd. My only disappointment was they didn’t play enough of their own stuff, in particular “September”, one of my favourite tunes but at least there was “Dreadlock” to comfort us.

I think if you asked majority of the crew there who Somovaw were beforehand, you probably would have gotten blank looks, whereas I reckon its safe to say now that if you hadn’t heard of them before, you would now, whether the feedback was positive or negative, they definitely made an impact. And they explained all the instruments that were set up before. In one word, Wow! Beautifully executed, the music was strangely uplifting even though it seemed mellow, and to be honest, its not really the kind of music I usually listed to, but that’s the beauty of going to gigs I think, the exposure to other genres or djs, and just experiencing something different. And since I was already in the front row from FP, I figured I’d stay there and rather glad I did. And what awesome people in the front row on the right hand of the stage. I’d never met so many new people that I actually enjoyed chatting to in one night. And one of the perks of being in the front row was getting a free cd, so thanks Somavow, you made my ride home as enjoyable as my night out.

And then Infected Mushroom were on, and I was pretty pumped, the Israelites took control first by setting a new strangely mysterious and well, a bit eerie mood that seems to be characteristic of their style. I must confess, I’m not really a big psy trance fan, but these guys have held my interest for years. Musically they weren’t afraid to break the mould, and are always willing to shake things up a bit. It’s really hard to describe how powerful the set was if you weren’t there. So I’ll sum it up with don’t miss it if they come to Perth again, well worth it even if you think it’s not your cup of tea. And also everyone always seems to forget the guy doing the awesome visuals, so a big thank you, excellent job and it really seemed to mesh with the music.