Future Classic Label Night feat. Charles Webster @ Civic Underground, Sydney (26/07/08)
The chance to see underground UK music legend Charles Webster had this reporter just a little bit excited. Regarded as the DJ’s DJ and the producer’s producer, Charles has sold over 100,000 albums worldwide. But if you asked people if they’d heard of him, most would still say huh? So when I saw he was playing at one of my favourite venues the Civic Underground, I simply had to review it. I honestly hadn’t seen a lot of advertising for this gig and would probably not have known it was on if not for inthemix, so I was hoping it would still be packed.
The Civic Underground, for those who haven’t been, has easily the best sound system in Sydney and simply has to be heard to be believed. There’s great acoustics, and the layout of the basement space is quite nice as well. The downstairs dancefloor is separated from the rest of the club by a series of stairs, so people who just want to mingle and have a chat can sit in any of the upstairs booths, while those who want to cut some rug can have their own space.
Arriving shortly after midnight, it was already packed to the rafters and I had to push past shoulders, with ‘excuse me’ being the phrase of choice. However the crowd was very polite which was a welcome change, as I’m sure we’ve experienced many clubbing occasions where people almost go out of their way to bump into you and are just a bit too cool to say sorry. I tried to find a timetable to see who was playing but to no avail, which was kind of a shame because the DJ playing was playing some great deep house, and the crowd were loving it.
At that stage of the evening, the tunes were ‘genuine’ house music, which I’ve noticed is creeping back into Sydney, albeit in a subtle fashion. The music was still on the deep side, but so much techy and cold, more along the lines of warm, proper house music. The punters themselves were a little bit older than your typical Sydney group of clubbers, but I’ve noticed that underground music always pulls the older demographic. There was a genuine ‘up for it’ vibe in the place, the dance floor was packed and everyone was having fun.
At 1.30am the main man graced the decks, and early on in his set played a great song and a personal favourite of mine, I Remember House by Blaze. A song featuring a man talking about what house music used to be, it got everyone’s attention and signaled the start of his set. The music got deeper and deeper, all the while maintaining a great flow, it was a set that I was really enjoying and gauging the crowd’s reaction, they certainly were too. Some of the highlights throughout the set included tracks such as The Sad Piano and quite a few of his own tracks like Soothe and Better Day_. The music was absolutely faultless, particularly Webster’s mixing which I thought was spot on. Mixing is more than moving a cross fader from one side to the other, and when it’s done properly it adds a fantastic element to a set.
Around 4am my friend and I felt a rumble in our stomachs and decided to go get some food and make our way home. We didn’t think Webber would play over 3 hours, but I found out the next day that he played right up until 6am! It would have been great to have stayed for the whole thing, which was a bit frustrating. All in all I had a truly enjoyable time, and it wasn’t just the music that made it so much fun. Great venue, great sound and a refreshingly friendly crowd all contributed to my memorable experience.
iOTA says...
great gig...really.....way better then what i anticipated.......hustleee stacee...
genkij says...
I loved it
mitchbrunt says...
one of the best nights out ive had by farrr. probably still regretting that cheeseburger though
casual_tom says...
Peret Mako played before Charles Webster. The tunes were top notch all night, we need more events like this in Sydney where music and good times are the sole focus. Big up's Future Classic!