As we begin to pass the cold and windy chunk that is the middle of the year, many of the big promoters are starting to dish out special gigs that try and show the party-loving Sydney massive what they are made of. In effect, hedging their bets as to which international acts will dazzle punters enough to want to start coming out of hibernation and party all night long, at the risk of developing pneumonia. Some of these gigs have been quite enjoyable, while others have made staying at home and watching television seem like a much better alternative. Subservice on the other hand managed to pull a rather intelligent stunt, and threw a free party at The Civic last Friday to showcase some of Sydney’s finest local talent. With the response they received, there is no reason for anyone to doubt that these guys sure know how to satisfy their customers.

I arrived quite early on in the evening, eager to hear the first act on the bill and one of the best rotating residents Mr. Tim Culbert, who started the night out with a warm and welcoming blend of lush tech house with some deep progressive house thrown in for good measure. If anyone out there is wondering just exactly what a top notch tech house/progressive set sounds like, they should look no further than to this incredibly gifted DJ. I have been following Tim around the clubs now for a while now, not because I am stalking him but instead because I always know I am in for a well structured and flowing set of some of the best new music the scene has to offer.

Next up on the bill was Synik, who hurdled the vibe into some down right dirty tech/minimal madness, which the crowd immediately took a liking to. Unfortunately I was still in a blissful state of euphoria straight out of Tim Culbert’s set, and would have preferred something more along those lines, or at least something that could eventually lead into the harder and more banging techno material. The crowd had already reached a reasonable good capacity by around twelve-thirty, and showed no signs of slowing down. A few business looking fellows were sipping on martinis with the little olives in them, taking little notice of the well organized facilities – but they looked like they’d given their approved to the night. This was great because they may have very well been important, and they certainly looked the part too. This all came crashing down though when some random scruffy looking fellow (myself) intruded upon their group, asking if they had been to the Subservice parties before, which under the muffled surroundings and thumping music could have easily been mistaken as an invitation or ‘private rendezvous’ of some kind. They quickly finished their drinks and walked away.

Meanwhile behind the decks, Dennis Williams was now demonstrating to the punters just exactly how the Subservice DJs do their thing, spinning some wicked tracks and getting the dance floor nice and pumped. This was then followed by a very twisted and churning techno set by yet another Subservice resident Dave Nolan, who looked quite pleased with himself as he played music that was effectively turning heads into mashed potato. This was most definitely visible (in myself especially) when he played one of my favorite tracks at the moment, the Opencloud remix of Rollin Connection’s Our Sound. Then to finish off the night in style, Mr. Andrew Wowk graced us with his presence on the decks and dished out some great fluffy blippity progressive. Opening with James Holden’s remix of Nathan Fake’s ever so popular The Sky Was Pink, the crowd was then taken on a magical journey through some of the classic anthems including a remix of Sasha’s Xpander, and the Bedrock bomb Heavens Scent.

Thanks once again to the Subservice crew for putting on yet another fantastic night of quality music and entertainment!