I have said this before, and I can most definitely say it again: I love Sweetchilli.

The night was cold, but the music was hotter than ever last Friday night when the Sweetchilli lads took over The Cross once again for their long awaited eighth birthday celebrations. Just about everyone who has ever set foot in the Chilli domain was reunited and ready to do some butt shaking to another night with some of the best talent in the business. Truly a blessing to the Sydney clubbing scene for nearly a decade now, Sweetchilli have brought us some of the best acts from around the globe, stuck them in a box and demanded that they play for us. On occasion I’ve even heard rumors that strong words have been used to get these ‘superstar DJs’ to play, and I’m quite certain at one point last year I even saw a pointed stick being waved around in a forceful manner. But one thing is for sure though, whatever residents Dan, Crispin and Carlos are doing behind the scenes, they always manage to deliver a top quality night.

Anyway, I think that’s probably more than enough ass kissing for an opening paragraph. It’s now time for my so-called ‘account’ of the night. In what could easily be described as one enormous blur of tequila, eyebrows, cheeky chin scratching and a whole lot of booty shaking, my Friday night was definitely one for the books. Having little or no recollection of how I actually got home from the party might give some insight into just how much fun I had, not to mention waking up at 6pm the following evening, trapped in a wrath of tangled sheets. Glimpses of the night gradually began to take shape within my throbbing skull, and thankfully I was able to jump on the computer as soon as some of my vision had restored to check who the headlining act was. Afromy Parpae.

Things weren’t looking so good at this stage after all, so I decided to call it a sleep, and try and get some more night.

‘Anthony Pappasaurus’ were apparently the words I screamed in my slumber according to the next-door neighbors the following morning, and then it had all come back to me by that stage anyway. Anthony Pappa has to be one of the most incredibly talented DJs on the planet, and I know this having watched him mix three tracks together simultaneously using only his eyebrows. The whole room was packed with familiar faces, and basically half the crowd was strewn with inthemix forum lurkers, mostly all piled onto the queen-sized bed in the chill-out room engaging in god-knows-what unsavory acts of blatant sexual innuendo. In the lead up to the epic set from Mr. Pappa, Daniel and Crispin had been warming up the crowd with some chugging tech-house material that went down very nicely as the place began to gradually flood with people.

As for Anthony Pappa, the majority of his set was reasonably good and very techy. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it very much, although I had been hoping for something similar to his set at the Basement last year, which was filled with much music that was a lot deeper and more melodic. So in this regard his set last Friday was a bit of a disappointment, but I still took notice of his remarkable talent in track selection and mixing. He still remains one of the most talented DJ’s I have ever seen, and his contribution to the Balance series of compilations back in 2004 still remains one of my favourites. Robbie Lowe and Carlos Zarate took control of the room after Pappa, and played a smooth blend of techno and progressive to a crowd that who looked happy enough to party for another twelve hours.

I would like to thank the Sweetchilli crew for putting on yet another fabulous night, and even though I wasn’t always able to get into the music I was still able to have fun with some of the friendliest punters around. I would also like to give special thanks to my partner in crime for the night (you know who you are) and also to Andrew Wowk who was unable to attend the night and handed the review job over to yours truly.

See you folks at the next Sweetchilli!