Whilst many revelers trashed on at Belongil Fields for Splendour in the Grass, some found themselves at home in Brisbane with probably both a little more time on their hands, or a heavy burden of cynicism. But neither really applied to the considerable crowd who turned out to see MSTRKRFT at The Arena, with those in attendance enjoying a completley cynicism-free serving fun.
The Arena was up to it’s usual ‘high’ standard on Saturday night, the floors like toffee and the toilets resembling an ocean of, well… let’s not go there. It’s truly mind boggling that a venue so revered y the punters receives so little TLC. Even the most basic of renovations could make a welcome improvement. Complaints aside, right from when the doors were opened the venue had drawn an impressive crowd of attendees that showed a healthy respect for the local DJs supports, who were making their best efforts to entertain. Vans vs. Cons graced the decks and delivered the mash-up party goods (no not those party goods, silly) which worked for most even if it did feel predictable.
Sampology, and the awesome skills he wields behind the decks, were shortchanged in having an earlier slot. Sam ventured beyond the staple hip hop and party tunes he most often plays, and weaved in an impressive amount of house and electro to damaging effect.
Danny T made short work of taking the reins, with his focus on punchy mixes and sample-style triggering of the CDJs. Irrespective of the electro house he was playing, the fact he was able to delvier the tunes with near total precision transcended the nature of the music he was playing, and it would be interesting to hear him incorporate other styles. Following on, Ajax resorted to an almost duplicate set. The lack of any variation in tempo, tone or rhythm lost the attention of a few in the club, but managed to satisfy where it counts. The question begs… Woho was aping who?
MSTRKRFT were running predictably late, courtesy of amazingly tight scheduling but ‘John’ from Future Entertainment graciously filled in with a minimum of fuss and fanfare. After a speedy change of kit, MSTRKRFT casually strolled onto stage to the rapturous response of their eagerly awaiting fans. The set they played was a near verbatim copy of their recent Essential Mix for Pete Tong and while good, left a few of us a little disappointed. Adding the DIM remix of The Presets My People was always going to get a rise but considering it has been on heavy rotation for the better part of a year, playing it indicates a general indifference towards being in the square.
It’s hard really to rate what MSTRKRFT delivered as anything more than a par, to a borderline sub-par performance. Peddling the same set might work for bands, but for DJs it comes across as cynical and all the good productions in the world won’t detract from that.
