CHANGE CITY :
On a typically balmy Sydney night, things were about to get a whole lot warmer. Quite literally. The UK’s Danny Howells was coming to Chinese Laundry, and there was excitement aplenty. And well, there was people everywhere, with the crowd streaming through the tucked away door downstairs. It was a crowd made up of people there strictly for the music, and others that just happened to amble on in for a fun Saturday night and a damn good rinse.
An early 11pm slot for our man had that crowd coming in earlier than usual, but it meant that the warm up set from Jeff Drake got even more attention. Given the murmurings of the controversy in Perth earlier in the week, Drake may have been under the spotlight maybe a touch more than usual. But he handled it with absolute aplomb, as many predicted he would. A solid prog set delivered with a straight bat, and as 11pm approached and Howells walked through the crowd en route to the decks, he clearly liked what was unfolding before him. “Oh I like this place…”, he said as he politely made his way through the crowd: some patting him on the back in a gesture of advance appreciation, others pissed about who this young bloke thought he was as he maneuvered his way to the front. I guess in some regards, DJs aren’t known for how what they look like: it’s their sound and reputation that precedes them.
As Howells met Drake, it was like two old friends so glad to be reunited. Given that the two have paired up before, it was no surprise that the camaraderie between them was palpable. Hell, Drake even dropped a track with his own little sample: “Danny mother fucking Howells”. Nice. And so it began… Howells ripped into his set, and from the outset it was obvious he was not mucking around. Many had tipped or maybe even expected a journey that would start with some deeper house sounds, before moving into the deeper prog; nope, as we witnessed Howells smacking straight into the chunkier progressive stuff. As we approached midnight, he was flying, and we were all going with him. Things got pretty hectic in the main room there; not only was it bloody warm, but the human traffic in and out, as one ITMer astutely pointed out, made it feel like you were party to a breast cancer charity walk. Though it was a little more exhausting than I’d imagine that would be, because given the heat and the cramped conditions, it ended up being pretty hard work in there.
Danny kept going though, and as some considerate fool let fly with his bodily odors towards the front (we’ll assume it was a ‘he’ because if that was a ‘she’, then God help us all), Danny took it in his stride, waving the air with a vinyl cover while holding his nose. Pretty funny, and it showed his engagement with the crowd: sights, sounds and well… smells. Nice.
The tunes continued thick and fast, with chinstrokers admiring from outside while getting some respite from the tough conditions, while others soldiered on and basically, were losing their shit on the dancefloor. With one vent in position towards the front, everyone was clamoring around it and it all became very intimate. We ventured out to the Cave where we saw Robbie Lowe ultimately doing what he does, and doing it bloody well. Always a pleasure seeing Robbie play, and on Saturday night, it was a nice reprieve from the unbridled chaos of the pseudo-pinball game unfolding in the main room.
That said, such was the fun all were having, that time was absolutely flying and it was soon approaching 3am, and with a scheduled finish of 4am, everything went up a notch. Up until that point, it had been bloody good. Now, the stakes were raised even further and everyone began having even more of a ball. Danny went into overdrive, and once again took us all with him, and we lapped it up thick and fast. Don’t get me wrong, I love my prog, but one of the all too familiar criticisms is that, well, it doesn’t go anywhere. Be that is it may, tonight Danny was taking us somewhere. The last hour was unbridled enthusiasm and energy from everyone involved, no less Howells behind the decks, who looked like he was digging every moment. As he looked out into the heaving crowd, he would’ve seen a sea of happy faces beaming back at him, thankful for the kick-arse ride he’d taken us all on.
If there was one thing that Howells demonstrated on Saturday night, it was that he’s certainly adept in capturing the crowd’s interest; and once he has it, he certainly doesn’t lose it in a hurry. Over the five hours, he covered it all: some tech, some more uplifting stuff, and obviously, lots of prog: some deeper, some not so. But time after time he’d build and build a track, with the excitement in the room building with it, until it all exploded in a fit of climactic joy, and you just knew all hell was going to break loose. No complaints about that. As 4pm arrived and we all scampered off, there were smiles aplenty. All up, a bloody fun night and one of the sets of the year.
Wowk says...
Excellent review, my man. Want to do them full time? :P
Stoosh says...
One little typo at the end, says 4pm instead of 4am.. Killer review thou!
avatar_karma says...
spot on my man.
RanaBanana says...
Loved it! Great review Elliot
trancefan says...
I'm an English teacher and a fan, so i say awesome review, A :)
ehcoroche says...
great review... captured the night really well danny MOTHERFUCKING howells!!!
alks27 says...
Danny Rocked! Shame that the venue didnt put the right info up. I asked when Danny was on (the sign said 1am), and they said 1am..so i meandered until then.. i feel cheated, missed out on a good extra hour or so! Oh well, will see him play in uk next year, music was outrageous!
Laundry says...
alks27 - all the posters in venue said 11pm , we sent out numerous messages to facebook groups
ehcoroche says...
" Danny Rocked! Shame that the venue didnt put the right info up. I asked when Danny was on (the sign said 1am), and they said 1am..so i meandered until then.. i feel cheated, missed out on a good extra hour or so! Oh well, will see him play in uk next year, music was outrageous! " no1 to blame but yourself if you couldnt find out, they were great about letting everyone know