Walking into a buzzing Metro on Saturday night to be greeted by The Lunizs I Got 5 On It, my first impression was pleasant surprise at how friendly the throng was. As Sydney’s own DJ Eko scratched and tampered his way through a tight hip hop set, the place was starting to pack out as the bar queues thickened but grew no less jovial. Katalyst took over the turntables with his unique blend of hip hop, breaks and reggae in a smoky set that dropped the BPMs and baited the crowd. The atmosphere lulled to a simmer before the inevitable eruption which met the arrival on stage of turntablism luminary Mix Master Mike.
From the very first track, Mix Master Mike’s on stage energy was contagious as the superstar bounced between the turntables and his MacBook. In disturbing news for vinyl purists, Mike rocked a 100 per cent Serato set, which allowed him to throw down more tracks than ever as he shot between genres and eras, cutting and pasting his way from Beastie Boys classics Three MC’s and One DJ and Girls to the familiar sounds of Fatman Scoop, Snoop/Dre, Jay-Z and even Fatboy Slim’s classic Gangster Trippin. Dabbing his drenched brow with a gym towel, the ace took to the mic to interact at regular interludes during the set, pumping the crowd up even further.
The place was heaving throughout the very danceable hour-long set as Mike mashed heavy guitar riffs and NY electro basslines, making the Metro’s walls shake defiantly. The sheer number of tracks that were played was astonishing as the maestro scratched and juggled almost constantly between channels, and impressively the equipment was equal to the task. As the 1am close approached, the crowd were treated to an improvised rock mashup of the Beastie’s colossal Intergalactic before Blur’s headbanger Song 2 and age-old classics Light My Fire/Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye transformed the crowd into a bobbing sea of air-punching disciples.
One of the highlights of Saturday’s gig was the diversity of the crowd, which can be attributed not only to Mix Master Mike’s global profile, but also to his reputation for the energy and sense of fun he brings behind the decks which make the live experience very accessible. Sights of the night came from the bored looking sniffer dogs patrolling the downstairs bar, and the disbelieving expressions at being charged six bucks for a can of VB – though all is forgiven when the venue is as first-rate as The Metro.
Heading down George Street with high expectations at the start of the night, I left entirely gratified, engorged by the feast that was Mix Master Mike live. Definitely a highlight of the year so far, and one I’m sure will be on the lips of everyone there for some time to come – in a word, legendary.
nic_85 says...
i thought the music and night was awesome....i was lucky enough to win tickets otherwise i wouldnt have gone. but im soooo glad i went. the music was really good. was hoping the ending would be a bit better buttt not to worry...bestttttt mashups of old classics i loooovvedddd it. i was really impressed with dj eko too...only saw half hour of him but i really enjoyed it and katalyst was good tooo! had a good night..! headn to sounds on sunday n ill definately be seeing mix master mike again...and recommend anyone who likes that type of music to go too..
mogmac says...
last half an hour he played in melbourne was pritty much all hard breaks n DNB, was it like that in syd?