Even before leaving England to hang out in the ever sunny Melbourne James Ash had already started his career as a bedroom banger with his best mate Steve, but it was not until he arrived on our shores to have his DJ’ing career skyrocketed out of sight. Firstly, on Hitz fm where he was “lucky to be at the crest of that wave and soon was presenting a show and releasing my first track” and then onto joining Kiss FM in 1996, which is where James’ DJ’ing career really took off, and he was soon holding down residencies all over the city. In 2000, James finally got back together with old mate Steve D – and the Rogue Traders were born. So why do you need to know this? – Well it gives you a great insight to what was going to be played at the newest club in the valley The Met.

Now I have never been to The Met before so I had to get instructions on the night on how to actually find the whereabouts of the venue. I rocked up to the new club to see West End’s finest on the door in all of her glory. With a cheeky smile and a little glint in her eye I was let into the inner sanctum that is The Met without any hassles at all. A friendly bouncer greeted me at the bottom of the stairs and explained to me where the main dancefloor was. So off I toddled to find out what this new place was all about.

Walking into the mainroom it was apparent that to see the old theatre come out in this area with the sloping floor, high ceilings complemented by side viewing platforms and even a DJ viewing platform-of which I made great use of. Pete Smith was first up and had a floor’s worth of people groovin’ to his brand of club hits. The mood of the evening had not been established yet so I went for a walk to find out where the cool people were. And then I found the smoking area- up past another DJ who didn’t seem to need a dancefloor as there was no room for one.

After a little snoop around I found some friends and was then whisked back to where I entered only to find yet another dancefloor. I wondered to myself “How big is this place?” A few drinks later and I was suitably lubricated to do some work so with a wicked stumble-2 step I made my way to the main dancefloor to gather information/phone numbers/unattended drinks. There I found the crowd had swelled to a comfortable dance pit and were soaking in the last strains of Pete Smith’s set. On the stoke of 12 the main man Mr Rogue Trader himself Jamie Ash strode to the DJ booth and went straight into club tracks that could have come straight from one of his radio sets. The moment he jumped on the stage and started playing his skill as a DJ and a performer shone through. His mixing was extremely polished (the experience from those radio gigs shining through), the vibe and enthusiasm was overwhelming and its easy to enjoy yourself when the DJ is going off his nut moving to the music.

With a dance floor that draws you closer to the stage and a DJ booth 15ft high above that, I got a sense of connection between DJ and crowd. And if you have ever seen an episode of Queer as Folk – The Mets main dance area is a mirror image of the nightclub Babylon that is shown in that series. I can foresee some weird and wonderful visual arts being displayed in this area.

Heavy bass and danceable beats started off the set with Peaches then swaggered into a stomping version of Boys…Looking for Love which had the crowd clapping and swaying to the sounds. They then put their hands up for Detroit and I found myself moving away from the main dancefloor and walking around the mezzanine floor to the DJ viewing platform. He cranked out some new songs, as well as some old favourites, which kept the long-term fans happy and cheering for more. Hey boy Hey girl got a look in which then lead into a mash-up with Suckered Me Along which sucked me back down the stairs to join the ever flowing dance. Before I knew it Matt Kitshon had replaced James Ash at the wheels of steel and I was left standing on a dance floor packed full of who could only be called a wrinkled schoolies.

I found my friends who had spent the night secured away in the soft confines of the special area. Well I felt special as my friends and I left and found the world’s biggest taxi rank crowd had descended upon the valley on Saturday night. I am so glad I live within walking distance because I got to listen to the replay of James’s set I had recorded on my mp3 and a crank’n set it was.