What is in an ‘anthem?’ A song classified by any other words would still be neat! (Shakespears’ thoughts about roses works in much the same way). Regardless, the DJs at HQ’s Classic Anthems Party sure did put on a fine show! How to describe the night; there isn’t just one thing that I’m bursting to tell or retell about the party, tet there’s a concept I wish to explore… What is it exactly we view as an anthem or a classic? How does a tune arrive at such status?

To begin, I arrived at HQ, did a lap, and walked up to the front bar. My night suddenly became expensive – not many would have been too happy with the drink prices because unless you love Extra Dry you had to weigh up whether alcohol or petrol was the luxury you needed to skip in this week’s budget! Moving on from that, and with a vodka in hand, the vibe of the club was quite upbeat, with many hot ladies in gators and playful boys in phatties. Of course, let’s not forget the classic t-shirts with overt drug connotations. It always brings a smile! Much of this is what I’d describe as ‘classic’ rave attire. Although there were still the modern fluoro adaptations, it flows well with the old school look.

The electro room played many new tunes and remixed classics of early house. In the main room you could hear a classic, but not so old school, T-Shirt by Mousse T, then you’d have something like Injected With A Poison not too far behind. Then when you had MPK with the DnB set you’d hear The Prodigy, closely followed by Pendulum. My initial reaction was, ‘are you serious?!’ With that much classic drum and bass how could you need to throw in something only 2-3 years old!? But this is where you have to agree to disagree; Pendulum do present some classics in their own right, but for the main arena of an old school branded event, it’s a bit poor effort on the DJs behalf.

DJ Josh smashed out an amazing set in the trance room – this set was the one I heard the most feedback on, but I only saw 10 minutes of ut myself! Dr Damage was fantastic, until interrupted by dancers who caused the tracks to skip. Patch again delivered, and I spoke to many happy party-goers, none happier than Mikele and his Colonel Light Gardens footy club mates, out celebrating his 21st. What a way to celebrate!

When Anthems events began at the Arkaba many came to such an event for a variety of reasons. It wasn’t only for the nostalgia and a chance to play adult dress-ups, but for the people, vibe and everything which help to create the PLUR in the rave community. Of course the fundamental reason for such a gathering was because of the music. I am an electro lover from a few years back now, even before electro house took over. Electro did something amazing for dance; it found a way to recreate and bring back the voice, the soul, and the fun. With this trend also saw the revival of bright colours, like hot pink t-shirts for the girlies and metro-men. Musically, electro made way for the trend of remix after remix (after remix, after…) Of course this has returned many to the clubs and festivals of Australia (and surely globally), but where has this left the rave scene?

I think, in a way, electro has paved the way for rave’s conclusion. Although ravers will die hard, bottle of water in hand, with chupa chups to spare and a pocket-full of Friday love and Tuesday morning sketchiness, there isn’t much to ‘look back to’ and ‘relive’ as such. We are doing that now through the genre of electro. A ‘classic,’ is something that can be replayed after its release and still touch the hearts of many. An ‘anthem’ must also hold respect and love. So what would you expect at a Classic Anthems show today? It will be interesting to see how the success of the Anthems brand survives with the perseverance of modern electro culture. Although it’s probably a necessary evil to introduce the electro tunes to help keep it a success in the future.