When I think of the Ministry of Sound’s “The Annual” Tour, I instantly think “big, big, big.” Big names, big rooms and big crowds no less. M.o.S. Annual Tour events have brought out big names like Sasha, Tall Paul, Junkie XL and Ferry Corsten to name but a few. Big crowds have witnessed these big name DJ’s play at big room venues like Metro City, The Globe and Belmont Park. With a big history like that I was left feeling surprised in a big way in the wake of this year’s Perth leg of the tour as there was only the one “big” thing to speak of this time around.

The line up was certainly big. As has been the case for the third year running the M.o.S. Annual Tour’s Perth leg for 2006 featured a progressive house oriented flavour in the main arena. Names don’t come much bigger than those of Anthony Pappa, Chris Fortier, Jimmy van M and King Unique. Local support does not come much bigger and bolder than from names other than Kenny L and Mind Electric, and Eastern states visitor John Course. Metro City is of course the biggest venue in Perth and when you combine those big names and this big venue, and then add a stellar line up of breaks DJ’s and one would normally assume that a big party is the result of such an equation?

If you haven’t guessed by now, the big flop on this night was the lower than normal attendance. Flagging ticket sales meant that the Old Berlin became surplus to requirement, the end result was that the breaks DJ’s were relegated to the upstairs Skybar at Metro City. I will be brutally honest and state that this is a hard fact to ignore, as much as I want to, as the night overall was of top quality. Metro City just doesn’t look or feel right when it isn’t full to the brim and until now I would have thought that no name could pull them in quite like Ministry of Sound.

The crowd, whilst not being big in number, was in truth big on enthusiasm. All night long those in attendance did an awesome job in creating a lively atmosphere. With the line up featuring a distinctly underground flavour the audience clearly were there for the music and little else. On a personal level I prefer a crowd like this, for a while there you couldn’t get me to an M.o.S. event as the crowd on the first one I went to seemed rough and intimidating. Recently even the biggest of M.o.S. Annual and Sessions crowds have been friendly and enthusiastic, thus restoring my faith in the event. Even though the number had decreased on recent years, it would take much more than this to turn me away from an M.o.S. event in the future, especially if they continued with bringing out the big names across all genres.

My crew and I arrived just as Kenny L was finishing off his set. The first thing that hit me was the big effort that went into the visual production. Unfortunately I did not get to witness the view from the upper levels all night long however I bet it would have looked brilliant to say the least. Metro City looks like a magic palace when it has been lit up just right. Mind Electric took over at 22:00 to deliver an hour long electro house feast. The signs at this early stage all pointed to a promising party as there were quite a few people on the dance floor warming up for the big musical banquet that lay before them.

Melbourne and Ministry of Sound’s favourite electro house DJ John Course was up next and his hour long set took the crowd just that little bit higher. John Course certainly was not playing to an empty floor and many were keen to strut their stuff to the hottest sounds of the moment. I am sure, even with my slightly hazy memory, that it was John Course who dropped the Trentemoller remix of Moby’s “Go,” for the first of three times throughout the night. John Course is without a doubt a valuable addition to any M.o.S. event line up as he always knows how to pump up the crowd.

King Unique were the first international act to grace the decks. Between midnight and 01:30 the UK based act showed us all how and why they have been at the forefront of house music for the last few years. Their set was a crunching mish-mash of prog, electro and underground four-to-the-floor beats that were just right for setting the tone for the second half of the night. The crowd simply loved everything they had to offer and I was having so much fun that this hour and a half just flew by. Up next was the first of two Florida based pioneers of America’s prog scene; Jimmy van M. He is currently in Australia promoting his new Balance vol. 10 mix CD. There are few who would disagree with the statement that Jimmy van M stole the show with his set, which flowed so seemlessly and smoothly through the deeper end of progressive electro house.

Anthony Pappa is one of many Melbournians who has made a huge name for himself internationally and he hasn’t gotten there without being a top draw DJ. I was looking forward to his set more than most, due in part to the fact that he is an Aussie abroad and because of his top draw mix CDs. Surprisingly though my friends and I didn’t click with the techy and percussive style he was playing, so we went exploring around the club. We ventured back onto the dance floor just as Pappa was heading into the final third of his performance, during which the click returned. It was hard not to join the rest of the crowd and be swept away by the progressive hypnotism that was coming from Pappa’s direction.

The second Floridite; Chris Fortier, was given the honour of closing the event before 06:00 just as he did at M.o.S. Sessions 2004. Contrary to some reports, I felt that he played one of the sets of the night. Chunky but crisp and dirty yet smooth, Fortier’s mix will long stay in my mind as being the kind of prog set that I would like to hear out live. Surprisingly there was little of the electro influence to be heard. “Go” was played again (much to my delight even if a third airing might seem like a bit much) and the event was allowed to carry on for a further ten minutes past its closing time as Fortier dropped not one, but two encores. How about that for a big surprise?

Even if the crowd was a little bit low, which I feel is something that can easily be rectified by diversifying the sound in the main room (a la Sessions 2006.) In my opinion combining house and breaks in the main arena would work really well as unfortunately Perth just isn’t that big on house or prog. Perhaps it was just the formula that didn’t work this time? There is no need to get scared though as I feel that the party was a big musical success (as others who are dedicated music lovers would agree) and Ministry of Sound parties will always be big. Here’s hoping Ministry of Sound’s The Annual Tour 2007 will be back to its “big, big, big” best!