Sweetchilli feat. Lee Burridge @ Civic Underground, Sydney (09/05/08)

Lee Burridge is, and was incredible. That pretty much sums up the night at Sweetchilli. The crowd was lapping up the driving, thumping sounds with gay abandon and it was very hard to tear yourself away from the dancefloor. Every time my legs wanted to sit, he’d build it up and smash out some monster track that I just couldn’t bare to sit down for.

As you might already know, Lee Burridge has been around for quite some time. His releases over the years have included compilations on the Balance, Nubreed, Fabric and Global Underground labels, and his sound has been described as everything from progressive to techy and all inbetween. He’s well known internationally for his fine choice of track selection, seamless mixing and for being a genuinely nice guy in a culture of so many over-inflated egos, and he’s experienced in DJing all over the world. Stints in Tokyo, Thailand, Ibiza and the US have skilled him up in reading a diverse crowd, and getting everyone to enjoy themselves immensely – which is exactly what he did at the Civic on Friday. Never have I seen so many fists pumping the air simultaneously. It was outrageously fantastic. It was big, it was heaving and it was so inspiring.

Sweetchilli’s resident eclectic man and Thug Nights founder Carlos Zarate did an impeccable job in his role as the warm up DJ for Burridge. His signature deep and dirty sound was in attendance and the punters were drawn in and mesmerised by what he was churning out. Carlos is a great local and a great DJ who is not afraid to whip out everything from acid to german techno to some obscure minimal track. On Friday he wet the pallet with a driving heaving tech set, perfect as a warm up for Burridge. And the Civic Theatre’s recent changes have taken this space from being just a regular bar-cum-club, to a seriously professional clubbing space. New lighting system, an amazing sound system that boasts to be one of the best in Sydney and updates to other décor really set this club apart from a lot of others. It’s a great intimate space with groovy little nooks to slip into, and all the grandiose boasting about the sound system seems to be true – clear, precise and the lack of any high-pitched strange sounds make for aural perfection.

When Lee Burridge’s shiny head walked through the crowd, you could see the crowd and eager faces light up with excited anticipation. Everyone in the club was here to hear the man do his thing, and they knew they were in for something special. Burridge’s sets are renowned for never being the same twice and for being interesting, dynamic and exciting. He can blow away even the most jaded of clubber and inspire the newest punter in a way that not many can do these days. And his Sweetchilli set blew my expectations out of the water and then some. His last stint in Sydney last year (also at Sweetchilli) was good, but nothing in comparison to this. He pounded it out, I couldn’t stop dancing and no one else around me could either it seemed. Tribal, thumping, uplifting, melodic and chaotic can describe the set, but so delicate and warm as well. From the minute he got on his track selection was impeccable, his mixing, faultless, the music, amazing.

I’ve said it before, and no doubt it will be said again, but thank god for Sweetchilli. These guys continue to showcase the best of the underground sound to the clubbers of Sydney in a relaxed, fun and exciting way. All hail Lee Burridge!