What would it take to get the Melbourne dance music massive out to party on a Tuesday night? Berlin’s Booka Shade of course, who were backing up their performance at last weekend’s Stereosonic Festival with a more intimate show at the Prince Bandroom. Without any further ado…

As we rolled up to Prince there was a huge line, which was a good sign for a Tuesday: we eventually got in and hit the dancefloor to see Jen Tutty throwing down some svelte minimal maximal styles with a rad vibe to boot. It was a bit funny having her tucked away in the back corner behind a mountain of gear. From one perspective you could only see her head bobbing up and down like a happy puppet. Hidden or not, Jen definitely did a good job of warming up the dancefloor for the anxious crowd.

Than half an hour after they were scheduled to start, Booka Shade hit the stage to say hello… And were greeted with a raucous response from the crowd. But the crowd had to wait while the boys proceeded to furiously run around the stage with torches looking for something… Maybe the ‘trance’ button? After some deliberation they finally found, it and the show began. The drummer gave the live show a strong energy as he smashed cymbals with towels and fired up the crowd. While the other chap used a vocoder for effects and smashed away at his machines like Jean Michelle Jare. When some of their signature tracks like Madarin Girl and In White Rooms made an appearance, the mix of uni students and chin strokers became electric and the room ignited for the rest of the set.

The set was full of all the Booka Shade faves, and the crowd for most of the part lapped it up, shouting for encores while Booka busted out a bit more of a French electro sounding finale. Then Mike Callender stepped up with some bombs such as The Hackers Flesh and Bone and some Daft Punk which did a fine job to stop the mass exodus of people from the dancefloor.

The crowd was happy, like a kid in a candy store, with Booka Shade’s set, and it was good to see a live electronic act carrying around more than a laptop. But maybe the addition of a vocalist would be nice? All in all though, it made for a perfect opportunity to get out there and party a little on a Tuesday night.