Pharmacy: Down with the Sickness @ Metro, Melbourne (12/03/06)
Pharmacy: Down with the Sickness @ Metro, Melbourne (12/03/06)
“In the beginning the heaven and earth were without form- and God said, “Let there be light”, yet there remained only darkness. The Pharmacy terror corps returns to the temple of boom to dance with the living dead in a sublime lesson of the temptations of the flesh. Coming on like a bloodstained hurricane and calm like a nuclear bomb the Pharmacy black magic boys have crafted the disaster piece of the century- enter the golden age of the grotesque!...”
These words sound familiar??
You bet they do!
Did those words deliver their promise?
They certainly did!
The boys from Kill the Rock Star Entertainment/Pharmacy came back and delivered their new instalment complete with a Cd Launch to mark the occasion of one of the darkest and hardest Pharmacies to date. Aptly titled Down with the Sickness!
The Compilation CD, Down with the Sickness, mixed by Hellraiser & Proteus is also the first Australian Hard Dance Compilation in the last decade to hit the Aria Chart. Entering the charts on its release at number #15, climbing to #13 and steadily making its way to the Top 10!
It is a mammoth achievement and the event certainly delivered a line-up of diabolical proportions to celebrate with Proteus, Walt, Showtek, Derb, and the Gang Bang Society (Nik Fish Vs Amber Savage Vs Hellraiser) and supported by a strong local line-up spread out over the whole of Metro, the Pharmacy crew really did craft a temple of boom for one night, and a night that myself and all that were there wont forget for a while.
Arriving at about midnight, I was greeted by a quite a line, however entry for me was swift and without problems. Entering the mainroom of Metro was like walking into a sauna full of bodies pounding hard to the sounds coming from 9th Insights set (Master Kaos & LCK).
Taking a little stroll around the venue wasn’t as easy as one would seem, with the Metro literally packed to the rafters, it was a mission to get to the other rooms to check out the other sets and after lengthy walk and seeing each level full and rocking hard I decided to concentrate my time on the international sets.
Needless to say that throughout the night I also managed to catch a little bit of Karpe-Dm, Richie Rich, Tonka Vs T2, Brewster B & Osyris and all can say is a great performance all around! And also thanks to friends txt messages I heard that Jewelz also played one blinder of a set!! Well Done! Sorry to all the sets I missed but for those of you that were at Pharmacy, you can understand that movement was a luxury.
Each of the internationals that graced the decks of Pharmacy left with them something that is indescribable and only explainable by the smiles on everyone’s faces. Delivering sets with the most energy and intensity that I have ever experienced accompanied by some of the best lasers from the Pharmacy Crew.
It was enough to send everyone into a frenzy and keep them there and they did this perfectly. From Derb to Walt and Showtek we were hammered with a barrage of tunes which we all know and love and some of those we didn’t. From Bring the Pain to DFC to Puta Madre, Cocaine MF, O Fortuna, Venla and a tonne more, the crowd and I were lapping this up like it was our last drop of water (literally)!
The Energy in the room was frantic from behind the decks to the Dance floor, even security were rocking to the tunes!
But the temperatures soared when Proteus entered into the picture.
Complete with a full S&M Bondage show opening with 2 guys horizontally suspended to each other via a rope with hooks in there backs, to a guy with what seemed like a chainsaw or angle grinder of sorts to Proteus pulling out a whip and literally running around the stage whilst also playing the most intense freeform. Complete with backspins, scratching and chopping like a madman all the while revving the crowd up… thanks to Proteus, the front row was turned into a moshpit!
All until the sound cut-out…...
Proteus then pulled the most “charismatic” continuance after the silence that I have ever seen. With a massive grin, he played some sort of atmospheric intro and then slammed full speed ahead into a full blown hardcore set!
The screams and the roars almost sent me deaf.
On a sour note, Proteus cut his set short as he was about to faint from heat exhaustion. A big thumbs up to Scott Alert for taking over and keeping the room pumping until Hellraiser, Nik and Amber arrived to take over!
The last set of the night, bringing together 3 of this country’s most successful and celebrated djs titled the “gangbang society” was for me at least my most anticipated set. Executing an interesting blend of Hard style and Acid, with Hellraiser dropping “Acid Noir” which has been recently signed to Holland’s Straight On Records, absolutely destroying the room and then taking over the set at the end by playing Neophytes track “Drugs” to close the night off. I could see a swift “F%^$” with a massive smile coming out of Ambers Mouth and Nik Fish’s Jaw drop when the room exploded and indeed the 3 of them exploded on stage! Having the djs and the crowd rocking insanely at the same time was something I won’t forget!
All in all, I can say that this Pharmacy was one of the best so far, with outstanding performances from all DJs aside from a few small downers which ultimately are irrelevant since the sweating crowd which had no room to move was there until the final beat and screaming for more when the lights came up. All I can say is well done Pharmacy and see you at the next one!
Tek-Ku :)
