This highly anticipated (and free) Sweetchilli Xmas Party didn’t fail to either impress or pull the punters. After rocking up at around 11pm with a belly full of vodka, courtesy of the local RSL, the place was already rammed. And with so many familiar ITM faces!

Upon peering a little deeper into the basement of The Civic, whilst hearing Sari and Tim C blast it out, I also noticed also a distinct oddness to the crowd – pirates, Miami Vice cops, prostitutes and guitar playing Santas were mingling with the punters, making it rather amusing to simply glance around. It seemed that everyone was getting well into both the Sweetchilli vibe and Christmas cheer, all in the one go. This was going to be a crazy night!

The Civic is a fantastic venue for Sweetchilli events – it has a killer sound system, a dropped dance floor and a sense of intimacy and cosiness that works perfectly with the style of music that the Sweetchilli boys put on. The booths are such a great bonus and are always jammed full of randoms and friends alike. It makes a difference just because of the fact that so many clubs either have a lack of seating, or instead it’s tucked out the back so you can’t sit, dance and drink all in the one spot like you can at The Civic. I, for one, vote for more gigs at this excellent venue!

Tim C and Sari’s set was a great starter set, really bringing the mood of the place into an eclectic, hyped mass of chin-wagging and debauchery, and Crocetti and Carlos backed it up nicely by continuing to elevate the mood to meet punter demand. The floor was never empty in the whole time I was there and everyone was grinning and chatting like old friends. The thing that always impresses about Sweetchilli is that the crowd is so friendly, happy and open to meeting new people. Congratulations have to go to the organisers who always manage to pull such a happy crowd and consistently keep the same people coming back, especially considering there is such a massive choice of events and clubs people can go to in Sydney.

I had to leave the gig on a high after listening to Crispin and Robbie Lowe’s set. These boys are the type of DJs who compliment each other so well and I always want to stay for just ‘one more track’, but the next is always better than the last. Lowe is one of my all-time favourite Sydney DJs, as are all the other Sweetchilli regulars like Crispin, Jimmy Dau, Matt Rowan and Tim C. But I was getting spoilt by being given the chance to listen to these boys play again at Kangaroo Valley the next day. Hence, I had to hang up my dancing feet and depart.

Thanks for a fantastic year Sweetchilli, for all the crazy nights and the amazing acts that you’ve brought out. Look forward to doing it all again, bigger and better, in 2007.