Scene legend DJ Fresh, heavyweight kiwis the Upbeats and a back to back line-up of local DJ’s brought the bangin’ sounds of drum n bass to Villa, Perth’s premier nightclub venue; a truly nostalgic night that evoked hazy memories of bygone days at Heat, the prior incarnation of Villa and the old home of Perth drum n bass.

The Loaded Dice promotions crew (the force resposnible for some of the best drum n bass nights in Perth) were behind the organisation of ‘Thumper’ implying from the get-go an epic night would ensue; coupled with this was the headline set from DJ Fresh, one of the most important figures in the evolution of drum n bass over the past decade, and making all the right moves of late with two EP’s absolutely destroying the drum n bass charts in 2009.

The night started off with four hours worth of back to back DJ mayhem, with ten local lads laying down some heavy tunes for the steadily growing crowd. It was good to see such an array of Perth talent smashing the vinyls; I was very impressed by the mixing skills of all involved; as with their track-listing, suitably packed with some of the biggest tunes floating around at the moment. In particular I really enjoyed Sempy and Concept’s midnight set; possibly due to the fact I had gained access to Villa’s awesome VIP section by this point; where the intimacy of watching the DJ’s in action is unparalled in any club in Perth and probably Australia.

At around 1:30 am Fresh took to the decks, playing
exclusively with control vinyls and Traktor Pro for his set; highlighting in a way how far digital DJing has come, slowly taking over the domain of one of the last genres where the vinyl format still plays a huge role. By this stage the club was pretty packed, and according to a friend who worked at Villa at about 75% capacity; probably the best level to ensure a suitable atmosphere is created by the crowd yet not too packed as to make dancing a game of dodge the flying limb. As one would expect from a DJ plying his trade for well over a decade, Fresh was mixing to perfection and dropping tracks both for the heads and those who were only familiar with some of the drum n bass anthems. Accompanying Fresh on the mic was the very talented MC Lowqui, a regular at many Loaded Dice gigs. The highlight of the set for me was when Fresh dropped his own track ‘Heavyweight’, easily one of the biggest singles in drum n bass this year, mixing it in with the dubstep remix of Heavyweight by Benny Page. As these tracks were being spun Lowqui was running around the club like a madman, eventually making his way to the DJ booth to announce the next track in sequence; another single by Fresh that is making huge waves all over the scene in the UK; Hypercaine; one of the most epic five minutes of mixing i’ve heard in a while.

As Fresh wrapped up, some of New Zealand’s finest talent took to the booth in the form of the Upbeats. Renowned for pushing a very heavy sound in their set, the crowd was not disappointed as some big tunes from the likes of Spor, Chase & Status and all the usual suspects were played for a very appreciative crowd. Ultimately there was no room for negativity in regards to reviewing the night; all the sets were well constructed, and the crowd was one of the best I’ve been a part of in a long while; mellowed out yet at times I think everyone in the club was up and shuffling. In my eyes any gig at Villa will be fun as it is one of Perths best venues in terms of equipment (think nexo monitors); while some are quick to criticise its bad points (like a congested entrance hallway) and the occasionally bass heavy sound I was more than impressed with all aspects of the night; and getting to experience it all from the VIP bar made it truly memorable.