I love clubbing, the music, the people, it’s all great, but spending most of that time in a club, indoors, in the wee hours of the morning can get rather tiresome. So when the opportunity to party on a boat came along, I couldn’t resist!

It was a combined aLive and Smashbang party. I had been to numerous aLive gigs… If you haven’t been to an aLive, basically it is all about promoting unknown live acts. It really makes you realise that we have such great talent in this city. Smashbang is a newish night held at Lounge and while I hadn’t been there myself, I had heard great things about it. All this looked promising for a great afternoon out.

Arriving at the dock just before 6pm, the weather had turned slightly for the worse. In the time it had taken to get from my place to the boat, it had dropped a few degrees and the sun had disappeared. It didn’t matter though; there were a large number of eager punters waiting to board.

We were welcomed on board by the sounds of Robbo. This was the first time I had seen him play, actually it was the first I had seen of a lot of the people who would play on the boat. I had asked Robbo I few weeks ago what type of music he played, he said it was the standard Melbourne sound. Standard, I don’t think so! To describe it, I would say its tough electro, and I mean real electro / techno. Mixing was tight and he played some great tracks that I hadn’t heard before, including Moby – Go (Vitalic Remix).

Next up was Muska. Another DJ I hadn’t seen before, but one I had heard great things about as well. Playing along the same lines as Robbo, it was a great set and he finished with something I wasn’t expecting, Placebo – Every me and every you (Brothers In Rhythm Remix), lets just say – it got the boat rocking.

After Muska, Simon Slieker was up. A Melbourne techno veteran, Simon needs no introduction. At this point the tunes were getting harder and deeper. He played one of my favourite tracks Joris Voorn – MPX309. I really enjoyed Simon’s set and can’t wait to catch him again soon.

Before I knew it, Simon had finished and Luke McD was on the decks. Luke topped off a day of great sets; at this point the boats ‘dancefloor’ was full and jumping.
I would also just like to mention how friendly and up for it the crowd was, they were also a diverse bunch that added to the top atmosphere on that boat. Considering how cold it was, I know everyone on that boat had a great time and can’t wait to do it again!