The 2007 ITM50 tour hit Ambar on Friday night featuring a stellar local line-up and interstate guest Ben Morris. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to check out some of our top local DJs, especially those who play outside my usually preferred genres and venues.

Unfortunately I had a massive headache after work and, deciding that a little lie down could be a good move before heading in, I dozed off and arrived too late to catch Flex’s set. Sorry Flex! I’m also told there were Smirnoff vouchers at the door for early comers, but I missed out on those too. Geez, it’s a tough gig when you’re reviewing an ITM party for ITM and you can’t even get a free drink! Just kidding…

On the upside, Greg Packer was already playing when I arrived and I’m quite partial to a bit of drum & bass, so I was pretty much drawn straight out on to the dance floor. There was a decent sized crowd but the turnout wasn’t as high as I would have expected. I guess Friday nights on a long weekend are traditionally a little quiet and there was another large event on the same night.

Greg Packer has been one of Perth’s top DJs for yonks and I’m always excited to see his name on a line-up because I know I’m in for a quality set. Greg’s sets manage to combine drum & bass with elements of reggae and soul, and tonight was no exception. He played one of my old favourites, Soundz Fresh’ “Human Nature,” the Club Dub mix I think, progressed through some reggae-laden tracks which I didn’t recognise and then on to a remix of Lily Allen’s “Smile.” All the while I was glued to the dance floor. Set of the evening for me.

After Greg’s set there was a brief interlude while Tim Hardaker, the national editor of InTheMix, conducted an award presentation to the top 5 DJs in WA, based on the results in the ITM50 DJ Poll. The top five DJs in WA, who all received a spiffy little trophy, were:

5. DJ Sketch
4. Greg Packer
3. Signal Drivers
2. Kenny L
1. Micah

Congratulations guys! There was a warm reception from the crowd for Micah and as he accepted his award he thanked all the people who come down to support the local scene and see him play on a regular basis. Hey wait, that’s me! Aw, shucks!

As the ITM50 party was being held at Ambar, it was fitting that Tim Hardaker also mentioned the local winners for Most Popular Club Night: Japan 4 @ Ambar and the Most Popular Event: Boomtick’s Breakfest @ Belvoir.

Then we were back on with the music and Adam Kelly was next up behind the decks. Adam is another top local DJ who has been around for ages and blurs the boundaries between genres. There was certainly a lot of jumping around on the dance floor during his set, as he took the party vibe up another level. I can’t say I recognised any of the tracks that he played but I was too busy dancing and having a good time to try and trainspot tracks for this review.

Ben Morris, who was next on the line-up, hails from NSW and where he is a resident at Kink. I was near the bar chatting to some friends at the start of his set, but I was dragged back out on to the dance floor yet again by the cool tunes he was playing. Having seen his style described as “electro/electrohouse” I didn’t expect to enjoy this set as much as I did, but the beats were just infectious.

All my jumping around on the dance floor caused my headache to flare up again. Having a tequila shot earlier in the evening after my rubber arm got twisted was also, in retrospect, not such a good idea. So I had to bail during Ben’s set and didn’t get a chance to see Kenny L or Micah.

I really enjoyed getting exposed to some different styles of music than I normally listen to. I had expected to be chin stoking a lot or just couching it because I couldn’t get into the tunes, but that wasn’t the case at all. I hope ITM can have another “multi-genre’ club night/party soon, because I had a blast at this one.