What do you get when you combine ten thousand pumped, sexy and happy people, ten-thousand broken new year’s resolutions, one venue complete with a city and river backdrop, twenty DJ’s, one live act and one date marked boldly on the calendar? The answer is of course Summadayze, which took place on Sunday the 7th January 2007 at Perth’s Supreme Court Gardens. The long and hot Perth summers would not be the same without it. With my new year’s resolution broken within a week I was there to check out, amongst other things, the Smirnoff Experience arena which would feature a “slightly” different array of sounds from the other two stages.

I have to confess; I was a little bit naughty, as I arrived rather late. I could not refuse a big family lunch with the folks and our friends (which is anything but a family tradition,) who would be joining me later. Upon arrival at the Supreme Court Gardens, the first thing that struck me was the enormity of the crowd. I have never been to an event at this fabulous venue that was as large as this. It was rammed, but not uncomfortably so. It was kind of like visiting Sydney all over again though as the people on their feet were rushing about the place in all manner of directions. Even so, the atmosphere was not aggressive. most people were content with sitting or lying down in the grass, soaking up the sunshine, the music and the atmosphere. There is nothing quite like the energy and the vibe of an outdoor event such as Summadayze.

Even with the map I ended up becoming disoriented due to the plethora of tents and stands that were situated everywhere. This was hardly a bad thing though, as I wanted to explore. A lot of effort had been put into the event by Future Entertainment. Aesthetically speaking previous Future events just did not have the appearance of true outdoor spectacles however this time it looked perfect. The enormous circus tent which was the Housedayze arena looked amazing. The facilities were plentiful, the stewards whom I encountered were exceedingly friendly and drinks were reasonably priced, although I received my Smirnoff Ice rather warm. As far as gripes go, nothing could be more insignificant as overall the event was well organised.

On the other hand, musically the day left a lot to be desired. I was to find out later that I was far from alone in terms of my feelings Electro house was very much the flavour of the day, and house of one form or another occupied all three arenas from start to finish (with the exception of Hybrid’s live PA on the main stage.) OK, I’ll admit it, I do enjoy the electro house sound in controlled doses however the electro injection on this occasion was of the lethal variety. In other words, there wasn’t much musical variety at all. It is for this reason that I was attracted to the Smirnoff Experience arena as in addition to funky house, trance and hard dance would also be on show. The Smirnoff Experience tent was the smallest of the three and even when not full to its brim, it appeared to be the more lively all day. TV Rock, Switch, Scott Bond and BK were the headliners. They were joined by Perth’s very own Jon Noonan, Signal Drivers and Kenny L.

I arrived smack bang in the middle of TV Rock’s set. Expecting a big helping of distorted bleeps and bouncy overtones that mirrored the likes of “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit” or “Waling Away,” I was pleasantly surprised by TV Rock’s performance. “Flaunt It” is of course all over the radio and the critics cannot get enough of bashing it but Grant Smilie and Ivan Gough know how to play to a crowd. Like many others I wanted to sit back and relax with a beer before getting my groove on. TV Rock’s performance provided an ideal soundtrack. Bright colours, topless blokes, scantly clad girls and even leg warmers (in thirty-odd degree heat!) were everywhere to be seen. The people alone provide a spectacle to behold.
All three of the international headliners featured in the Smirnoff Experience arena were from the UK; the first of these was Switch. Until recently I knew very little of this London based DJ/producer and before the line up times were released I assumed that he would be a purveyor of the broken beat. Intrigued I investigated further and found out that Switch loves nothing more than good ol’ fashioned house. His set was easily one of the more solid all day. Thank goodness Switch has apparently refused to jump aboard the electro house bandwagon! A highlight during Switch’s set and the afternoon occurred when he dropped his very own remix of “Way Too Long” by the Audio Bullys.

Scott Bond took over from Switch at 6pm and he began his set in a fashion in which I hoped would continue; smooth and relaxing. The first track Mr. Bond selected was one of trance’s biggest classics; “Love Has Come Again” by Human Movement. As I stood inside the tent I imagined hearing the track at a Gatecrasher event in the UK during the turn of the century (Scott Bond is, or rather was, Gatecrasher.) To be truthful Scott Bond performed a magnificent set but it (in my humble opinion) did not suit the warm weather. It was far too warm to dance to tunes above 135 beats per minute (quite a few people agreed.) I briefly headed over to the main stage to check out Axwell (how I wish these two DJ’s did not clash!) After I sang “cos you’re free to do what you want to do” I headed straight back tot he Smirnoff Experience arena where Scott Bond banged out a few unheard gems along with a fresh remix of “3rd Earth” by Scott Bond & Solarstone and Tiesto’s remix of “Brber’s Adago for Strings.”

The closing set was given to BK. For the next two hours things would get harder and faster. By this stage this seemed appropriate as the crowd became more and more lively as the sun went down over the river. BK is UK hardhouse. He has offered his extensive production experience to a huge number of hard dance anthems and he was one of the names behind the Nukleuz domination. These days BK is heading down a fresh and innovative path as he now incorporates a blend of tech trance, techno and electro house into his sets and productions. As such he delivered a varied set which began at the techy end of the spectrum before he brought it al home with a banging’s array of floor filling hard dance. In all fairness BK’s sets over the years have been hit and miss but this effort was right on the money.

All in all Summadayze 2007 was a lovely evening out in the glorious Perth sunshine. Were it not for the Smirnoff Experience arena though the day’s music might have been a heck of a lot less attractive. Who knows what will be 2007’s flavour of the moment? Whatever that flavour may be it really should not take over more than one arena at a multi stage event. That said, bring on Summadayze 2008!