Rockout Saturdays feat. RobKay & Paul Wheeler @ Monkeybar, Canberra (17/05/08)
I had only been to Monkeybar a few times before last Saturday night, and can sometimes feel a little odd that there’s such a massive dancefloor which is predominately used for salsa dancing. I entered to see a pretty decent size crowd, and thankfully there were a lot of familiar faces were around. This proved that RobKay still has the ability to pull the Canberra crowd, many of which would have been there to see him week in and week out when he based himself here.
Trent was finishing up his set before Rob took over, and he’d done quite well to get people away from the bar and onto the dancefloor. His smooth funky house was a great opening for Rob and cohort Paul Wheeler on trumpet. Having Wheeler there added a certain vibe to the party, as he allows the crowd to interact more with the music. RobKay played great remixes, including crowd favourite ‘Destination Calibrea’, and this gave Paul the chance to shine with trumpet solos.
I left the dancefloor early in the set and sat down near the bar. It was amazing to see the maturity in the crowd, and that is to be expected when RobKay and Paul play. There is no fluoro in sight, or “young adults” seeing how many Jaeger bombs they can slam down before midnight. My friends and I remained seated for most of the night, enjoying the music Rob played while relaxing, but it was great to jump up and have a dance if you wanted to. You never felt like you had to be on the dancefloor, like some DJs have a habit of doing with their heavy basslines.
RobKay continued a solo mission until around 3am, then Kiz jumped on and took the wheel without hesitation. There was still a bit of crowd at this time and I’m sure they stuck around to hear Kiz tear it up, as he showed no sign of slowing down. While I’m not entirely convinced of Monkeybar as a special event venue – the big open dancefloor almost forces people to dance – I look forward to the next party, which sees Dopamine playing on the June Long Weekend. Hats off to Monkeybar for providing a more mature night out for those who just like to have a good time.
P00318 says...
good review mate, i haven't checked out monkey bar yet but will definately aim to stick my head in soon. just wondering what you mean by this? "You never felt like you had to be on the dancefloor, like some DJs have a habit of doing with their heavy basslines." why do heavy basslines make you feel you have to be on the dancefloor?...