Godskitchen @ Metro City, Perth (10/10/08)

2008 has thus far been a brilliant year for trance in the city of Perth. The popularity of the sound has risen significantly and every gig, both big and small, has attracted large and truly up-for-it audiences. Suffice it to say that the Perth trance music fraternity was abuzz upon the announcement that Godskitchen would be back once again for 2008 with the promise of an extraordinary 10th Anniversary celebration. This years headline performers included Sander van Doorn, Menno de Jong, John O’Callaghan and Godskitchen Birmingham resident Jon O’Bir. Local support was provided by Adam Kelly. On paper, the Godsitchen 2008 lineup could arguably be the biggest and best to date.

I arrived at Metro City at approximately 9:45, just as Adam Kelly was wrapping up his ‘Old Skool Classics’ set with the truly epic Dreams by Quench (the original mix was first released back in 1994). Unfortunately, I was stuck in line for the cloakroom, however it was not too long before I found myself in the thick of the action. For the first time ever, each headline DJ was given a two hour stint behind the one’s and two’s (or the laptop). Up first was the UK’s Jon O’Bir, a DJ whom I have been pining to catch since I heard his outstanding set broadcast from Godskitchen Birmingham in November 2005. Already the club was heaving with enthusiastic trance fans, all of whom seemed very eager to hear some of the fantastic productions that have made 2008 a standout year for the sound of trance. As expected, Jon O’Bir provided a much gentler, mellow and uplifting introductory set, highlights of which included Buzz by Tranquility Base and Paul van Dyk’s synth-heavy floorfiller New York City. I must admit that Jon O’Bir was a major drawcard for me personally, but there weren’t quite as many underground featured in his performance. This is not to say that I did not enjoy his set, far from it. He’s well regarded for creating an electric atmosphere, and his set did exactly that.

The Netherlands’ Menno de Jong hit the stage at midnight and got things going nicely with one of my favourite tracks of 2008 so far; the electro-tinged epic melody that is Shana by Mr. Pit. Fortune had once again deserted me for I was stuck in the line for drinks! I was nonetheless glad to have had the opportunity to hear this wonderful piece of music on a large club system. Thereafter, the first half of his set maintained the electro feel whilst not being too heavy (perhaps to give the audience some respite), during which time I sat, chatted and absorbed the excellent atmosphere inside Metro City.

The second half of Menno de Jong’s set was monsterous to say the very least. Sensing that the crowd was ready for lift off once more, he launched into Simon Patterson’s tech trancer monster Smack and the rather crafty This Is Silence by Delerium vs. Gareth Emery. With Above & Beyond recently mashing together New York City and Luminary’s Amsterdam, it seems as though trance anthem mashups are presently very much in vogue! More anthems followed in the shape of Mike Koglin’s awesome bootleg version of Viva la Vida (I apologise if anyone nearby heard my terrible singing) and the timeless classic Orange Theme by Cygnus X. Menno de Jong’s set left me feeling suitably impressed.

I must admit that I did not have the greatest expectations for Godskitchen 2008’s headliner Sander van Doorn prior to the event. Reports from his Melbourne performance suggested that his set lacked energy and drive. I have heard many a SvD live set and radio show and they are a bit hit and miss. Moreover, I could not understand this whole ‘nu-trance’ thing! But let me state for the record that I’m a converted man! In a word, Sander absolutely smashed it. There was hardly a soul standing still during his set, and the Godskitchen atmosphere at this point could only be described as being electric Predictably, Sander dropped his bootleg versions of Close My Eyes and Apologise but it was not too long before he tore into the harder stuff. Other highlights of his set included King of My Castle, Thump, Chakalaka, Restart and his very own monster anthem Riff. I am sorry I doubted your, Mr. van Doorn! Hopefully you will be back on our shores again before too long.

John O’Callaghan was handed the honour of closing set for Godskitchen 2008 and just like SvD before him, he delivered a gorgeous set laden with both melody and madness. It could be said that JOC deserved equal billing with Sander, as it seems there’s no stopping his meteoric rise to the forefront of the trance scene. John O’Callaghan’s sets are seemingly less about creating a journey and more about the element of surprise, thus creating the best possible reactions from the crowd. Meanwhile, his productions (both solo and collaborative) are just as diverse in their sound as his DJ sets. With John O’Callaghan in charge, you’re assured of a wild ride!

Much to the crowd’s immeasurable delight, JOC opened his set with the thunderous Joint Operations Centre remix of Underworld’s Cowgirl. So began a set full of surprises, turbulence, euphoria and energy. My good mate and I had been moving around the club all night, dancing on one balcony and then another, before we found ourselves front row centre. At one point, I think I might have hurt someone’s toe rather badly with my uncontrollable urge to jump up and down to another euphoric climax, before heading back up to the upper tiers where there’s more room in which to dance and you can really feel the atmosphere up there. JOC kept the surprises coming when he dropped The Anthem by Filo & Peri (cue one more bad sing-along from yours truly), shortly thereafter banging out The System by Inertia (his collaborative project with Thomas Bronzwear). Other rollicking highlights of the set included Out of the Sky, Temptation, Without You and the closing track For An Angel.

How did eight hours pass that quickly? Before I had even realised it, I was joining the crowd in giving John O’Callaghan a rapturous reception for what was a brilliant and highly eclectic set. The atmosphere, the music and the production (wow) will be talked about for years to come. I, like so many others, wanted the night to continue on forever but alas, 6am marked the end of what was easily the best Godskitchen Perth party to date. Bring on 2009.