I’ve had a girlie crush on Kate Monroe for a couple of years now, and I love seeing this sassy little blonde rock out behind the decks. She always takes us on a swinging journey every time she plays. Saturday of the Easter long weekend saw her roll into Candy’s Apartment for Lookin’ Good’s 2nd birthday, which also served as the launch for her Mat Clear compilation – the follow up to the Mat Black and Mat White CDs.
I was so eager to see what she had to offer that I rolled into Candy’s early to get a good spot. Thank god I did!! I walked into the beginning of Adam Coverdale’s set and it could not have been a better way to start my night. The sounds of Gitarra G filled my ears and I went straight to the dance floor with out missing a beat! The crowd was pumping and everyone was in party mode. I asked a friend to grab me a drink, as I didn’t want to miss a thing while I was dancing my little heart out. Adam really knows how to work a crowd and had us all eating out of the palm of his hand from the second he started. Thumping out some oldies but definitely goodies and mixing it with the latest anthems, it was great to be part of a really solid funky house sound once again – as it’s something I’ve missed in Sydney for a while with electro house becoming the sound of choice this past year.
Adam’s announcement that “No Sneaky Sound System will be played tonight,” sent a cheer through the crowd (Sneaky overkill is in full force it seems), and we all rocked on to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and a bit of power-pussy vocals from Inaya Day. The crowd whistled and clapped their way into a frenzy and everyone was having a ball.
Next came Miss Kate Monroe – ‘woo hoos’ were heard throughout the crowd and we all braced ourselves to see what she had in store for us. The release of her third CD in the series, Mat Clear, is described as funky, slinky and sexy and of course, so was her set. Turn On and Live Your Life were highlights and Need Your Loving had the crowd moving at an exciting pace. Kate is fantastic and although a little more laid back and soulful than Adam, she still had us all grooving to her beat.
Dancing my way into the ‘back room’ of Candy’s I was impressed to hear Sam Serene play for a little while, but I have to admit I didn’t stay long – Kate had drawn me back to the main room for her final half hour. I must say I was a little disappointed that she only played for an hour and a half as I would have liked to hear some of her older stuff mixed into the new, but hey – that wouldn’t be the ‘selfish fan syndrome’ showing its face at all would it? A couple of giveaway CDs sent the crowd surging to the stage, and those lucky enough to get one looked like Christmas had come for them at Easter time!
All in all Lookin’ Good! really has to be one of Sydney’s premier monthly events, and a must for hunky house lovers everywhere. Candy’s Apartment is a great venue and is user friendly in that it has an area for everyone: to chill out, to dance, to hide away for mashed chats in the corner – whatever a partygoer wants really. It would be great to see them refurbish a little as it has looked the same since the old Underground days; but I guess, why change it if it works though right?
Watch out for Lookin’ Good! at the beginning of each month and get your dancing shoes on: it’s a must for any serious clubber! You could not possibly have a bad time.
