Yuksek was in town performing a DJ set at Villa, so being a Villa virgin and a bit of a fan of his music I thought I would go check him out.

My first impression of Villa Nightclub is that it looks a lot like Metropolis Fremantle – except the main area is slightly bigger and has the added bonus of not being in Fremantle. One thing that struck me is the position of the DJ booth, being suspended above the dance floor I would imagine it is quite hard to connect with the audience. One of the Death Disco DJs described it as like playing to a “fish bowl”, and that he “felt a bit rude” being so far above the dance floor. Once you are on the dance floor though the sound system is wicked, and I love the pit; although I could see it getting packed like a sardine tin at a sell out gig.

When I arrived Grantley Hyde was on the decks spinning us some electro tunes to help get everyone in the dancing mood. This was followed by half of the Death Disco DJs, who continued the electro theme of the night. Most of the songs played by the openers were mainstream electro which I thought was a bit odd. I was expecting Yuksek to play a more French-house sort of set and having two electro sets played before hand wasn’t going to do him any favors. The crowd seemed to enjoy it nonetheless and by the time the Death Disco spinner had finished up the floor was getting close to packed.

Yuksek appeared shortly before his set, clearly tired after a long flight from Europe. This translated through to his performance which seemed well rehearsed and lacking in energy. He was also smoking heavily while he was playing, this along with his tired demeanor put him one glass of red wine away from a Dylan Moran impersonation. But credit where credit is due, Yuksek happily posed for a photo half way through his set with a punter who clearly had no sense of ceremony.

His jet lag was reflected on the dance floor which was moving along nicely but nowhere near what you would expect for an international artist of his standing. His set consisted of mainly bouncing house tunes with a dash of electro pop vocal tracks. The highlight of the night came when Yuksek played some of his own songs such as Extraball (got a big reaction from the crowd), Tonight and my personal favorite Take A Ride. Apart from these moments of glee I felt a bit let down from his set and by the time he got to the end of his set the dance floor was already thinning out.

I’m glad he came by Perth on his way to Sydney (a lot of artists wouldn’t have bothered) – but next time let’s hope he stays a bit longer, gets some rest and gives us the full live show.