After all the Christmas shenanigans had come and gone, I’d set out on this Boxing Day to go to the Big Top at Luna Park and see Australia’s finest drum n bass export, Pendulum. Arriving at the venue and walking through the iconic giant mouth, the place was already filling up quite early (however this could be because people had enough of festive family times and were just there to cut loose). The doors also opened slightly later at around 8.30pm instead of the supposed 8.00pm. Luna Park was still running rides and attractions… an ingenious ploy perhaps?

I haven’t been to that many drum n bass events over the last couple of years now, and definitely nothing of this magnitude in terms of the size of the venue. Sure, there have been big tours, such as Roni Size at Home, but the Big Top trumps this on the size of the venue alone. I guess the size of the venue gives an indication as to the popularity of WA’s Pendulum. But for some reason the venue didn’t quite suit the occasion. The space seemed under utilised, and at first when I walked in, it resembled a giant school dance where about eight different schools had come together and the students didn’t know what to do. Awkwardness ensued. And the lighting left a lot to be desired, at least for the warm up acts.

But I digress. On to the music. Shuey was solid as always. Ryan Lazy played a nice mix of introduction music and classics from when drum n bass was drum n bass. Lazy even picked up the mic to amp the crowd up, to good effect. When he introduced Chase & Status, the crowd started piling in, moving from the bar area to the front stage. Surprisingly, by this stage, the space filled up, showing just how much the drum n bass scene has blown up over the past few years. This event provided the perfect opportunity for the locals to play to such a huge crowd. The crowd kicked up a gear when Chase & Status dropped their monster hit ‘In Love’ featuring Jenna G. MC Verse took the mic for the end of Chase & Status’ set and for Pendulum’s set as well. I’m not overly crazy about the MC in drum n bass. Sure, when an MC is good, they’re really good, and this enhances the experience. But I prefer those who display some kind of lyrical ability and don’t just drivel over the tunes.

There was no doubting who the crowd was there to see. When Pendulum came on the majority of the crowd went nuts. The set was an interesting mix that seemed to cater more for the commercial friendly radio crowd than purist drum n bass heads. But anything that brings drum n bass to the masses can only be a good thing, right? The hits were played, ‘Slam’, ‘Painkiller’ and ‘Tarantula’, much to the delight of the crowd. Other tracks they busted out were drum n bass remixes of popular songs, such as The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’, Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘1979’, the Prodigy’s ‘Voodoo People’ and Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’. Out of place, however, was ‘Same Man’, which just didn’t sit right with the rest of the tracks on offer. Admittedly I don’t listen to as much drum n bass as I used to, and I’m not about to pretend that I know that much about the genre anymore. But I know what I like, and the majority I heard I enjoyed.

I took the gig for what it was, a fun time with people who were there for all the same reasons. It’s a shame that the noise restrictions restricted the party’s length, but that’s always the case with the Big Top, and I guess the promoters would have known that before they booked the gig. In the end there was good music and good fun. More than making up for the time spent with the relatives over the Christmas period.