I had heard stories of people spending over an hour in the queue to get in to drum and bass gigs held at Rise, so fortunately when I arrived at 11.15pm the line was moving quickly. It had been a long time since I last visited the club, probably a good 3 or 4 years to be exact, but inside the layout and décor was much the same. There were a few new lights, perhaps, and a couple of white arm-chairs up behind the DJ booth (the purpose of which intrigued all night). I am still none the wiser, as nobody sat in them. The good old podiums were still there, and it brought back memories… Is there any clubber in Perth who hasn’t climbed up there to dance to a killer tune at some stage?

The crowd was still a bit light-on at this early hour. A few people were out on the dancefloor, and a couple of girls had climbed up on to one of the podiums and were doing their best bump and grind routine, much to the delight of the guys seated below. But when one of them started pulling up the other one’s dress, security were quick to shut them down. It was quite a mixed crowd in attendance as well. Some people were smartly dressed; girls in dresses and high heels, guys in long sleeved, collared shirts. Some were dressed a bit more casually, wearing light clothing and joggers, which was more what I expected for a drum and bass party. Then there were those who I assumed to be the regular patrons, with phat pants and glow sticks. Perhaps the crowd mix reflects the wide appeal of drum and bass in Perth?

Greg Packer played a great warm-up set. He varied the tempo and styles a bit, moving from the liquid of Brookes Brothers’ Tears You Down through to a drum & bass remix of the Collie Buddz ragga track Come Around. Later still, he moved into some harder tracks, including the glitchy bass of Noisia’s Diplodocus. The advertised set times had Marcus Intalex playing first, but in a surprise departure Doc Scott came on at around 12.15am. It was immediately apparent why he has been christened “King of the Rollers.” There was a rolling heavy bass dominating the tracks, with the drum beats somewhat secondary. Everyone on the dancefloor was obviously enjoying what he was playing, and I hastily finished my beer to get out there myself!

Knowing that there was another popular drum & bass gig on the same night, I wondered if Marcus Intalex was playing a later slot to give people a chance to get from one venue to the other? In the second surprise for the evening, he stepped up to the decks around 12.45am! He and Doc played in this manner for the rest of the night, not quite back to back but alternating roughly every half an hour. They’ve obviously been playing a few dates together now, and the transition from one to the other was fairly seamless, although you could tell a subtle difference between their sounds.

I had recently revisited Intalex’s FabricLive 35 mix and actually had a few misgivings about going to see him perform. It’s still a great mix, but it’s very vocal driven and a little bit lighter in style than the drum and bass I had been listening to over summer. However my doubts were swept away as soon as he stepped up, with the beats becoming heavier and faster. There were lots of slow and repetitive bass underpinning the tracks, and of course the soulful tinge that he is known for. Sometimes a mellow sax would play out over the top, other times a lush string sample would ring through.

Not to be outdone, Doc Scott showed that he too could lay down the harder stuff, with deep bass tracks that you could feel vibrating up through your body interspersed with snippets of more frenetic beats. I don’t know how fast the BPMs were as at this stage, but I hope my heart wasn’t beating in time as I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a good thing. Throughout it all the music was hard and deep, but oh so smooth. It was the kind of night where you get lost in the music and you remain on the dancefloor, not realising how madly you are moving your legs. That is, until you wake up feeling stiff and sore the next day!