With a line-up boasting some of Australia’s best up and coming bands and DJs, the Prince was set to warm the cockles of many Melbournian winter-chilled hearts. I escaped the night to find myself in the middle of a disco, unfortunately for Tomek it was early in the night and the disco consisted of people sitting around on the sticky stairs of the dance floor. It wasn’t too long before the floor filled with people though.
Once the syths and drumbeats of The Dirty Secrets opener Running Tonight came on, the kids followed suit, scrambling to the front of the stage to rock out under the shadow of Jarrah McCleary’s auburn locks. A strong set followed, with most of the tracks from their self-titled debut album played, along with one new track. McCleary wore his influences on his sleeve with his Robert Smith-style vocals on Thoughts and Considerations and was back to his signature sound on Sharks, a personal favourite off the album.
The band gave the crowd a listen to their new single Can’t Stop, a chugging rock ballad of sorts, which was then followed by the crowd pleaser Five Feet of Snow. After playing the new track, the boys finished up with their last single Lighthouse, which was definitely the highlight of the set. With tight riffs and lyrics that just yearn to be sung out loud, it was the best song to finish the set on.
Next on stage, and taking the crowd on a jumbled journey through 90s dance classics such as Ride On Time into today’s classy tracks such as Ladyhawke’s Paris is Burning, the mixing from Gloves was somewhat questionable. Though this isn’t so important when the songs are so much fun. The more electro-infused tracks started pumping out just before the headliners appeared.
The crowd, which was a mix of disco children and lost OneLove kids, was reaching a dancing climax when Van She burst onto the stage. All bleached and moustached, the band got the crowd going with an electronic intro followed by a pumping chorus from their opening song. There were lots of ‘Ah Ah’s’ and raised hands for the next few songs, the band taking on sounds from another well-loved aussie act: Cut Copy. They played their most recent single Strangers quite early in the set. The sound was slightly messy through the Prince’s speakers, yet the intention was clear and the kids still loved it. They played several tracks off their upcoming release, along with old EP favourites such as Sex City and closed their relatively short set with Kelly filling the room with a thumping euphoria that was translated through the crowd, leaving everyone on a high.
Following the headline act, Ooh-Ee! came out and played a killer kicking off with MGMT’s Kids and was followed by some Cut Copy and Simian Mobile Disco to name but a few. He proved that he’s definitely a DJ to be reckoned with when it comes to crowd-pleasing indie/electro tracks.
Van She Tech were up next and the crowd were getting messier. Smashed glass littered the floor, along with spilled beer and a crazy amount of oral exploration. The guys had a mixed set filled with pop, indie and electro tunes yet it was slightly uninspiring. This is mainly due to the fact that they have so many great remixes up their sleeves, but none of them were pulled out. So the kid’s lips stayed locked.
Ajax followed with another DJ set, playing more dance and electro house inclined tracks, but the crowd seemed to be flagging slightly. When it came to the point of having to play crowd pleasers as obvious as Daft Punk, it was clear the night was past its peak. Andee Van Damage finished off the night that had possibly lasted a little too long. More quality and less quantity would have made the night a little grander, but still, fun was had by all. Even if it was found in an unlikely place such as another’s mouth.
