On June 30th Perth would have its very foundations shaken by three of the biggest names in the darker side of drum & bass; TeeBee, Black Sun Empire and Technical Itch… or would it? Perth’s foundations were not shaken by the music, in fact it was anything but. With shades of the calamity that was Diz’play the night was overshadowed by sound issues, the long queue which didn’t move and bad security both inside and outside the venue. The tight knit and highly devoted Perth drum & bass community, myself very much included, would once again collectively shake its head in disbelief with many questions being raised.

Heat for all kinds of reasons is no longer a suitable home ground for drum & bass in Perth. It is not large enough for big d&b events and the new residents nearby have made their voices heard regarding the sound levels that they find to be unacceptable. The sound was one thing well beyond the venue management and promoters’ control however the way in which other elements of putting on a successful night were handled left a hell of a lot to be desired. I take my hat off to the Trafik crew as they were out there to present another excellent production but I am puzzled that another Diz’play-like occurance hadn’t been foreseen.

I arrived at Heat nightclub at 10:00 with my crew and we were immediately left in no doubt as to how big this night would be. Not one of us could tell that things would capitulate the way they did though. Outside my crew and I were a bit confused as to why we couldn’t hear much from where we stood but sound issues aside, the warm up tunes provided by Static were absolutely top notch. In the end I’ll remember this night for the music on offer rather than the teething problems which were a bit hard to ignore.

Norway’s TeeBee stepped up to the plate at 12:30 to deliver a slamming set of A-grade jungle. The man credited with single handily igniting the Norwegian d&b scene looked a bit baffled by the circumstances he found himself placed under but still somehow fired up the crowd with one of the hard jungle tracks of the year “More Like You” by Kryptic Minds & Leon Switch (a sinister track which would transform angels into demons with its blood thirsty power) and the Noisia remix of a timeless jungle classic; Konflict’s “Messiah.” When drum & bass DJ’s have the Perth crowd in the palm of their hand, an atmosphere like no other is created. For reasons unknown TeeBee’s set was cut short to an hour but he seemed to take it all in stride and even took the time to go around the club, meeting his loyal fans and signing their memorabilia. All the respect TeeBee!

As the night progressed I noticed that the vibe inside Heat had gone flat and sour. At this point I had no idea why until I overheard a number of punters mentioning what was occurring inside and outside the venue. The line outside had grown to an uncontrollable length and there were many punters who again missed out even though they had tickets. With all due respect I can’t help but wonder why Heat was used by Trafik following the announcement that the production crew would be saying goodbye to its once loved home. Furthermore, the long queue aside the security was nothing short of obnoxious; throwing out people for small reasons like sharing a water bottle and not properly indicating that there were to be no passouts to be fair to those stuck in line in the pouring rain. That said there-in lies the joys of arriving early!

At the time these goings on had eluded my attention and I still had a great time dancing to Black Sun Empire’s set which kicked off at 1:30. Black Sun Empire like TeeBee added an international spice to the event as they are from Holland. Drum & bass is without doubt a worldwide sound with Perth being one of the global scene’s leading lights as stated by the DJ’s themsleves. Black Sun Empire’s set wasn’t too intense but powerful enough to get my feet moving. One of their freshest creations; “Mindset” was a definite highlight of the set.

London heavyweight drum & bass madman Technical Itch took over the Heat turntables at 3am. It has to be said; Technical Itch and sound restrictions mix like fairy floss and black pudding. The venue and DJ had no choice but to abide by the rules and the physical sound modifications which resulted in the diabolical situation where the conversations made by the people inside the venue badly drowned out the music itself. I’d like to make the personal apology to Technical Itch for yelling “where’s the volume?” The comment was directed in no one person in particular but rather a vented frustration at the fact that people move into an area near an entertainment precinct with the full knowledge that noise will be nearby. Entertainment obviously doesn’t have the same kind of necesity that airports do as no doubt these people will get their way.

Technical Itch’s music is nothing short of perfect for eradicating all pent up negativity and anger in the soul. His brand of unrelenting, uncompromising, ravenous and blood thirsty drum & bass has won over many fans out there looking for something even more intense than the average jungle beat. I might be one sided in my viewpoint that people should not move into an area that is surrounded by any form of noise. At 3:55 Tech Itch played a bomb of a track which had me uncontrollably throwing myself around the dance floor and at the end of this unidentifiable track I left the floor for a drink with a huge grin on my face as I felt like a nuclear missile had detonated inside my spirit, blowing away all that was negative within. Tech Itch surprisingly didn’t play his new tune “Retribution” however he did drop tracks full of that famous Tech Itch lust for blood including; “White Light” by Counterstrike and “Dirty Human” by Limewax. Technical Itch displayed probably the best mixing prowess on the night cutting through those chopped up beats with razor sharp precision.

Tech Itch’s furious reign on Heat nightclub’s furious punters (in more ways than one) came to an end at 5:00 and with the conclusion of his set came the undue conclusion of the night as a whole. Bad Robot who were due to perform after Technical Itch had for some reason or another been kicked out of Heat Nightclub. A lot can be said about this night; security was heavy handed where they should have been vigilant if graffiti was becoming a bad problem, the night was oversold and given the popularity of the DJ’s as well as the foreseeable issues with sound a different venue should have been sold. Maximum respect to the Trafik crew and the DJ’s on the night as this one should have been something incredible but the circumstances both within and beyond the control of Heat’s management that tainted this night might well indicate the demise of this once beloved Perth d&b establishment.