After a fun-filled day at Brisbane’s first summer dance festival Stereosonic, Family’s official afterparty seemed the logical place for festivalgoer’s to continue their day into the night. Boasting a massive line up of fourteen DJs plus a live electronic act, it didn’t take long for the entry line up outside to become proportional to the performers inside. Spreading almost the length of the block, this was probably the biggest physical challenge of the day. However you know what they say ‘no pain no gain’ and despite its intimidating size, the line actually meandered along quite fast to the credit of door staff and security.
Once inside, the air-conditioned Family was akin to an oasis, I took refuge momentarily on the couch of the gallery to rest my weary legs that had endured an hour and a half of the Crooker’s treatment at Stereosonic. This was the perfect location to rebuild my strength for the electrical onslaught that was to follow. As the numbers inside quickly built up, so did the tunes that Chris Wilson threw down onto the dance floor. With remixes from Chris Isaac’s Wicked Game, Beastie Boys’ Intergalactic to Laidback Luke and some pumping electro house in between, this party was well and truly already in full flight.
By the time Tommy Trash starting jumping around behind the decks, Family was looking its absolute best, full of life, smiles lasers and strobes. Leaning over the gallery rails as the warm amber globes lit up, I was lucky enough to catch a sea of jubilant arms raise up to a fresh Kings of Leon remix. As Tommy Trash cut out the treble and mid equalisers on the mixer, the crowd screamed out that now well known chorus to Sex On Fire and we all became part of the show. His set screamed of after-party madness playing some the tunes of the best acts of the festival.
Like the crowd in a grandslam tennis match heads turned quickly from Tommy Trash in the DJ booth to the surprise act Infusion on the Family’s main stage. From the first beat Infusion had the crowd’s attention and held it for the next hour. It was an absolute pleasure to witness the live electronic act from Melbourne build it up and thrash it out for the appreciative and enthusiastic crowd. With three keyboards, drum machines, sampler and iPod, the trio certainly rocked it out jumping non-stop behind their respective tools.
It was hard to leave the main floor but a quick trip upstairs to Uncle Room was rewarded with a combination of tech house by one of Brisbane’s finest Kieron C. After the move upstairs, it became apparent that one of the biggest problems of the afterparty I had to face was deciding where to go. Next door in the Lounge bar DJ Damage was laying some seriously funky tunes with some impressive scratching to boot. By 2am the Swiss maestro Robi Insinna AKA DJ Headman was taking the main room into yet another direction. Mixing in a remix of one the biggest indie tracks of the year ‘kids’ by MGMT. Remaining casual the entire time, Headman kept his head down as he worked away throwing in plenty of effects to go with his pumping electro set. With surprisingly little body movement and enthusiasm, Headman let his solid tunes and dirty beats sell themselves.
It was left up to Jason Morley & Habebe to close the deal on what was a spectacular night and as the numbers dwindled, the tunes kept coming at a thumping pace right to the end. As far as afterparties go, this was definitely up there with the best! With such a great mix of deejays and the Infusion live act on hand, all that was needed for a great party was a good crowd and a good venue of which the Family once again provided both.
