Having faced a Friday and Saturday night with a mindset that was firmly stuck on university work, the quiet drive over the bridge was one that had begun to sooth my soul. Finally – sunshine, friends, good music and an alcoholic beverage or two. Now who can say that’s not a good combination? Turning up mid-afternoon, with the sun undecided as to whether it was going to stay out or not, I was very surprised to see as I walked down the steps of Greenwood that the courtyard was rather full for this time of day. With a quick security check out front and a lovely smile and stamp from the door girls, I walked in with a good feeling about the night. Gracing the decks as I walked to the bar was Shamus, playing some very funky and well thought out tunes. As a regular to the venue myself, I was quite impressed with the amount of people he had dancing before 6pm.
As I ventured inside to relieve my thirst, to my dismay I came upon some signage informing me that Ajax, Australia’s #1 DJ would not be at Sounds tonight: some sort of travel mishap. While this did dampen my spirits slightly, it would not be for long. As I slowly began to numb my brain with alcohol and enjoy the warmth and sunlight that only a venue like Greenwood can offer, I began to hear a cheer. Looking up I saw a man, topless running around the grass, while he proceeded to finish his circuit and then continue to dance for the large crowd, I couldn’t help but think I really didn’t need to see all the ‘shaking’, especially from a man that size.
During all the commotion, silently a man stepped up behind the decks to begin his set. The style began to change very slightly: the beats got harder, and the sun had almost set. The man known as Ember had been chosen to fill in the gap left by the unavailable Ajax. But to the obvious enjoyment of the crowd, this no was no filler set: this man can hold is own with the best. 30 minutes into his set, there was not a patron seating. All were on their feet dancing in whatever fashion they felt. With alcohol flowing and beats matching seamlessly, it seemed that SOS was definitely cranking tonight with still more to come.
After a build up of this proportion, Bagraiders knew the crowd would not accept anything but their very best, and they sure did deliver. Taking over from the blistering young DJ, things didn’t get any softer and you couldn’t possibly stay seated. It must be mentioned, I do not really favour male nudity: but yet again we had a man strip down to his boxers and dance around the courtyard to a red hot Bagraiders set. With two public displays of males undressing (note, I said male), I decided to call it a night. All in all a very enjoyable afternoon and evening, a shining light in an otherwise uneventful and very boring weekend in the city of Sydney.
