I was lying in bed about an hour before the ITM Members Party was due to start, massively hungover and listening to the rain pelting down outside. I was in an extremely conflicted state: my body was saying ‘no, don’t go, stay here in bed where it’s cosy and warm’ but my mind was saying “190 people on the roll call. If you get there late and can’t get in it’s going to be rather hard to review the gig.” So I dragged my sorry ass out of bed, got ready and headed over to The Cott.

As it turns out, 170 people were feeling the same as me because only around 20 people were there when I arrived at 4.15pm. The majority of those people were sitting on the couches near the bar, while a small ‘hardcore’ group of ITMers were sitting in the other room where DJ Todd Perry was playing some very laidback house. I say this was the hardcore group because naturally, we were all sitting around complaining about how shabby we were feeling after a big Saturday night.

I loudly proclaimed my intentions to abstain from alcohol and as usual, this resolve lasted until the first person twisted my rubber arm and bought me a beer. Having confirmed that I still liked alcohol, I found myself clutching a handful of Smirnoff vouchers and thought that the afternoon had the potential to get very messy. I couldn’t find the energy to get up and dance, but I was enjoying sitting around chatting and toe-tapping to the cruisey tunes that Todd was playing.

We did observe some rather funny goings-on in the other room. Here is my tip for all the young ladies out there: if you’re going to try and hit on a DJ (or any bloke for that matter) knocking his full pint of beer over is not the smoothest move you can make.

A few more people drifted in during Todd’s set but the rain was still persisting down outside and the smokers who were desperate enough to brave the balcony attested to how cold it was. Most of the people who came in were still clinging to the couches and the bar. I must give Todd credit because in his nomination he offered to share whatever Smirnoff vouchers he could get and he did come over after his set and offer to buy drinks. Thanks Todd!

Proving that Perth ITM is part of the global village, the next up & comer was DJ Barry Dark, who is actually from the UK but was holidaying in Perth for a week so we let him come along – we’re a pretty friendly bunch! I guess it was rather apt then that he kicked off his set with Simian Mobile Disco v Justice We are your friends. I finally found the energy to get off my bar stool and was having a little quiet bop by myself. Not the first time I’ve been the only person in the room having a dance, I’m sure it won’t be the last.

A slow trickle of people was swelling the numbers but people were still hanging around the bar rather than dancing. I swear I saw one guy clutching 6 Smirnoff blacks but to be fair, I think two of those were mine. I was busy enjoying the set from Barry, some really great house tunes there. He gets extra brownie points from me because he played Orbital’s You Lot. I love Orbital and don’t get to hear them enough!

The next DJ on the line-up was Lara H and a few more people had actually made it on to the dance floor by this stage. Whilst I was enjoying the tunes, I reached a critical point in the evening where I really needed some food, so I ducked out for a quick kebab.

When I arrived back half an hour later I was a bit shocked to find the dance floor was full of people. Where did they all come from? I don’t think the majority of people that were coming in actually knew about ITM, they were being lured by the great house tracks that to me sounded infinitely better than the lame pub-rock fare on offer at the downstairs bar. Certainly everybody seemed to be enjoying the Smirnoffs and the music and there were some crazy people in that room! Some people were lucky enough to catch a rare sighting of the Chee dance. I won’t describe it, you had to be there.

I stayed for another hour, mingling and chatting to people that I knew, interspersed with a few turns on the dance floor. Unfortunately I had to bail at about 8 o’clock and from what I hear the night only got bigger and messier after I left. It was just a shame that it was such an awful day weather wise and more people didn’t turn out. No excuses next time people!