1999-2005 is now considered a ‘classics period’..? Damn do I feel old! Regardless of the fact, it was a good time for dance music, particularly trance and hard house, so thanks to the crew at Hard Kandy we could relive the memories on Friday 22nd August at one of my favourite venues, Billboards. With a school theme to add to the craziness, Hard Kandy and PHD kids dressed up in their school gear, with a ravey/hard dance twist of course.
Upon arrival, local Hard Kandy hero Ben Jackson was on the decks pounding out the classics. These included Tim Deluxe’s It Just Won’t Do, Armin Van Buuren’s Shivers, Cosmic Gate’s White Bird, and of course what night of classics could happen without Underworld’s Born Slippy and Delerium’s Silence (though Ben played the Above & Beyond remix). Ben always has an amazing energy about him, interacting with the crowd and really showing everyone he truly loves the music. It’s great to watch! It was a great warm-up for what looked set to be a wicked night. Hopefully there is more of Ben in a bigger timeslot in the future.
Next up on the decks was crowd favourites, Dr Willis vs Calvinator. As Hard Kandy regulars I expected big things from them. Dropping the classics and picking up the pace, they kicked off with Tomcraft’s Loneliness which got the floor busy with shuffling. That’s right, if you don’t shuffle, you stand out in this crowd! A light cloud of whiteness permeated the air thanks to the excess talcum powder use on the floor. By now the place was really filling up, full of seriously up-for-it clubbers, keen to do one thing: dance, stomp and shuffle. It was a great vibe to witness and in turn be a part of. It was awesome to hear classic tracks from waaaay back, like C.J. Bolland’s The Prophet, and besides some questionable mixing from Willis, another stormer Pants & Corset’s Sssshh Be Quiet killed it! The duo were pounding out tracks that the crowd knew and loved, I’m sure they were all Hard Kandy classics too. We embraced the old UK hard house sound (which I love!), tasted the “red pill”, and finished up on a massive massive classic track, Miss Shiva’s Dreams. What a way to end their set!
By now, Billboards was going off, with wicked visuals and lasers, it had become one massive shuffle-fest! The next DJ (sorry I missed the name) came on strong, and pushed it up with Carl Cox’s Just Kick and then – much to my surprise (but a good one!) – Joy Kitikonti’s Joyenergizer. What a classic moment in hard dance, a track that’s great one minute, but annoying as hell the next! Well done to the Hard Kandy crew for yet again doing what they do best: putting on a tidy hard dance party. If you want dance, this is the place to go. They’re well established and they know how to do it properly. Their loyal following proves it.
vdumble says...
Classic Kandy was exactly what real Melbourne ravers needed- hard beats and good times. I was not let down, and I never have been let down by the Hard Kandy crew which is what makes Classic Kandy the party that truly kicks off the silly season in Melbourne.