It was an interesting parallel that the day of this review my daughter brought home a McDonald’s Madagascar toy that chanted I Like to Move It with every shake. A reminder that Erick Morillo’s career has gone from respectable commercial success to recognized underground icon. Creating the Subliminal label along the way and putting back into the scene with a financial stake in the Pacha brand. He has become a public face for dance music sitting in for Pete Tong on Radio 1 and became a regular on MTV Europe. So the opportunity to take in New Years Eve at Home, Sydney’s playground, with Morillo as headliner was something I was definitely looking forward to.

The night started with sometime glamour model Emily Scott laying down a set filled with house classics. Unfortunately great programming was undermined by questionable equalization on the mixer that forced some in the still filling room to withdraw upstairs with listener fatigue. Nevertheless for many she successfully kick-started momentum on the dance floor. She played the role of support well and looked like she was having a great time doing it. Bouncing about behind the decks and looking far more animated than the Pacha dancers that came on during the following sets.

Johnny Gleeson took the stage at 11:00 and immediately dispelled thoughts the Home sound system had any shortcomings. Everything suddenly sounded full and clear without feeling the least bit extreme. He energized the dance floor with a set that was a beautifully fluid blend of basslines, samples and short understated breakdowns. His version of Around the World really did it for me. His set was like a ‘how to’ display of playing support to perfection. It was a crime that many left the main area at midnight for an obscured view of Darling Harbour during the firework display. Although a good proportion were back quickly afterward.

During Johnny Gleeson’s set the Pacha dancers came to the stage. Although statuesque and photogenic they seemed more about creating eye candy than moving. They achieved that in spades leaving the role of dance floor catalyst to the DJs. An eye-catching moment was later in the night when one of the dancers became enveloped in a plastic bubble with swirling bubbles all around her.

Knowing Carl Kennedy’s impressive background and those who he has worked with, it came as a surprise as his performance started that he appeared to be under the illusion he was headlining. The opening tracks of his set were littered with breakdowns that he appeared to string out and over distort in an attempt to fire up the room. However it came across as showboating and got very old very quickly. The dancefloor opened up a bit as many voted with their feet and went to other parts of the venue. He must have taken this on board because his set improved soon after and became a lot more vocal. Which was great because finding an easy passage to the dance floor wasn’t hard for the next two hours.

The combination of arriving halfway through the night from Melbourne, together with Morillo’s standing as headliner and icon all added to a sense of anticipation. When he finally took the stage at 2:20 the room was a sea of excitement. Punters converged on the main dance floor from other parts of the complex like water through a hydroelectric dam. He humbly introduced himself to rapturous applause and went about laying down a Subliminal session. Even though the first part of his set felt muddled he had the stage presence to overcome both that and a blown circuit breaker 20 minutes into his set. In all honesty the occasion was propelling the room forward more than Morillo was initially. But the man warmed to the task and played himself in nicely as the night wore on taking the whole room along with him.

Highlights of his set were Reach 2008 by Lil Mo Ying Yang, I wanna freak U by Eddie Thoneick, Organ of Love (Want Love) by Ropero, Scissors & Java and a surprisingly good remix (perhaps Morillo’s) of Beyonce’s Single Ladies. Another highlight was seeing him working on a laptop in the middle of his set in what appeared to be production work on the fly. Whipping the just burnt CD out of his computer straight into one of the CDJs and working it in as if he’d been mixing it for months. Morillo’s Latino background worked its way into his set around 5:30. By that stage he was truly on a roll.

It was plain to see Erick Morillo is absolutely in love with life behind the decks. His mannerisms were an entertainment package in their own right. No only did he sing along with every vocal breakdown, his highly animated expressions included kissing the air in time with the beat, whistling through his fingers and generally keeping his hips in constant motion. He was a joy to watch. He obviously appreciated seeing others move too because he made a point of buying a round of shots for the front 2 rows of the dance floor midway through his set along with an entire case of spring water. He also announced his intention to play until midday. While he finished two and a half hours earlier I have no doubt he could have gone the distance if management and the crowd were willing.