As another Sydney winter well and truly settles in and disrupts all memories of such a perfect Aussie summer at least there is one thing we can count on to remain consistent in our lives and that is Sweetchilli. This weekend just passed saw the longstanding night reach an amazing milestone in Sydney clubbing with its 6th birthday celebrations going down at the newly renovated Havana club on Oxford St. The night was themed as a Birthday Circus extravaganza with many costumes and interesting outfits on display throughout the night as well as some scary clowns present on the night (some of them the DJs).

Over the years the night has hosted some of the biggest names from around the world, normally spinning some form of progressive but spanning many different sounds. Some names that have played at past events include: James Holden, Paolo Mojo, Steve Porter, Desyn Masiello, John Digweed, Luke Chable, and the list goes on (for a while!). Special guest for the birthday celebrations was UK DJ & Production legend Slacker supported by local legends Crispin, Daniel C, Robbie Lowe and Carlos Zarate.

The night for a long time has been known for its celebration of community vibe which is always present at this long running series of events. There is no doubt that every time you attend one of these nights that you will see some familiar smiling faces, enjoy the night amongst a friendly crowd, and be exposed to some first class tunes. This list of characteristics makes it no wonder that the Sweetchilli series has moved from strength to strength, slowly invading even the biggest of Sydneys venue with their night.

So onto some detail about the night. After getting to the club just before midnight we had a chat to friends and many of the familiar faces and we then thrust into the corner to have our faces painted. Near the back bar a couple of lovely young ladies were enlisted to create circus-eqsue designs on any punter who would dare to take on the challenge. I gave this a go and ended up with a dashing black design around one of my eyes, this sort of thing not a problem when you cant see it yourself, however waking up in the morning it looked even scarier (and the removal was another challenge all together). Also scattered throughout the venue were a number of juggling balls were abound and an endless a source of amusement for those wanting a distraction from the dancefloor.

Having missed the opening set by Carlos Zarate we enjoyed the remaining part of Crispins set on the dance floor as he belted out some amazing dark progressive tunes all from behind a very well done clown face. Despite looking a little scary the costumes looked excellent and made the whole look of the night quite surreal. Before long it was midnight and birthday boy Daniel C took over for the next hour and a half playing some great tracks spanning funky, tribal and just general groovy driving bassline tracks which were going down very well on the dance floor including the classic remix of Technotronics Pump Up the Jam.

Soon it was time for Slacker to begin his three hour set and he kicked off with some deep and funky tunes for the first hour. The set of full of quality bright and bouncy tracks which were mostly unrecognisable to me, however all top class and all filled to the brim with bass and electro tinged goodness. As it came towards the last hour of his set the general sound moved more towards a tech-oriented sound with quality interesting percussion abound, however the details by this stage of the night escape me. At this stage we had to make a move with some impending weekend commitments and so we only saw the start of Robbie Lowes set.

Overall, the night was another successful effort from the Sweetchilli lads filled with top notch music, an excellent atmosphere and a friendly vibe throughout the night. The circus theme was a hit with many people making an effort or getting into the face painting with freaky/interesting faces and costumes abound throughout the venue. Make sure to keep an eye out on news at http://www.sweetchilli.com.au for news on some of the huge upcoming events featuring artists such as Petter, John Askew and Lexicon Avenue. See you at the next one!