One Love feat. Tommie Sunshine @ Tank, Sydney (19/01/08)
Before we start, let me announce to everyone that it’s not true that I’m anti electro, or a person who hates the minimal house styles that have taken hold over clubbing over the past little while. The Onelove crew in particular have done extremely well over the years to bring us some monumental sets at Tank, and it’s become somewhat of an institution. Tank itself is one of my favourite venues: it has a sound system to die for, the best chill out lounges in the world and the most professional and courteous security team that I have come across. And the Onelove concept is like going to your favourite Chinese restaurant. You know what you are going to get, it fills you up really quickly and after an hour or so, you feel like going back for more. Only problem is, there are a lot of Chinese restaurants and they more or less sell all the same dishes.
The dilemma for Onelove is that many clubs and bars are copying their style and what once made them different, is now making them one of the pack. I am a great fan of their house DJs, especially Matt Nugent, but I find myself listening to the same songs that have been around for the past six months. Where Onelove used to be the innovators and the leaders, they have become too comfortable and pardon the pun, part of the establishment. Perhaps that is why they’ve called on the talents of Tommie Sunshine. Tommie is known as a man ahead of the curve, a trendsetter, a DJ of vision. With his unmistakeable bearded appearance, he is a DJ immersed in the history of music, influenced by people as far removed as Serge Gainsbourg and Kraftwerk. His knowledge and technical abilities have never been called into question, certainly not by me, but it has been stated time and time again that music selection is what makes or breaks a good night and that is what let him down here.
As I said at the outset, Onelove is an institution. Their fans and devotees know what to expect and perhaps Tommie is far beyond what they are used too. Tommie thundered in with some very heavy and extremely glitchy electro, and he did not hold back. One after the other he dropped in some massive electro sounds that were astounding in their depth and range. In some spots, a combination of juddering chainsaws swapped places with thudding bass. Some ethereal vocals did sweep occasionally through the thick and noisy deluge, but unfortunately many partygoers remained nonplussed and proceeded to desert the basement dance floor.
Tommie did not seem to notice though, and continued with his tougher-edged electro. My fears of a waning interest in his genius was confirmed when I nipped outside for a cheeky fag. There seemed to be more people in Bridge Lane than were inside the famous club, so much so that security was having trouble containing the crowd. But as I’m a master of the 45-second ciggie, it was not long before I was back inside reviewing the night’s events. Tommie’s assault on the dance floor did not change and the regular claim by those who I had asked as to why they were leaving was, “too heavy.”
Perhaps Tommie Sunshine last Saturday night was a case of wrong place, wrong time for his particular style. There is no doubt that the American trendsetter is different from what we are used to, but perhaps he could have introduced us slowly to his style rather than give us an all out balls-to-the-walls exposé.
