Heading to the Espy Friday night, I was really looking forward to seeing Vadim who was a DJ I had been meaning to catch for quite some time now. He’s the producer of one of my favourite Ninja Tune albums, U.S.S.R. Life From The Other Side.

Accompanying Vadim to Australia this time was DJ Sarah Love. Unbelievably the show was being put on for free – which as you could imagine – was definitely within my budget. So having a few extra dollars in my pocket for a beverage or three, my friends and I headed on down to St Kilda.

As we entered the familiar, grungy surrounds of The Espy, Thief – aka Gsan – was at the decks, and getting a little inventive, mixing a hip-hop instrumental dub, with the a capella of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walking. At regular intervals his partner in grime Eliza Wolfgramm stepped up to the stage, singing over his ragga-tinged, bass heavy beats with her honey-dipped, soulful vocals.

The diminutive DJ Sarah Love stepped up to the turntables around 12am. One could almost hear an audible crick, as several dozen men instantly strained their necks doing a 180 degree turn to get a view. After a bit of a false start (she had not used this particular mixer before), she did not waste any time getting the party going, instantly winning the crowd over with Talib Kweli’s undisputed classic Get By.

Over the next 90 minutes she played an old school party set, consisting of a who’s-who of hip-hop royalty. She dropped Nas, The Pharcyde, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Gangstarr, and of course, the Wu-Tang’s many incarnations. During one particular Wu-Tang track, a wannabe b-boy next to me decided to ‘bust out’ some decidedly dubious breakdance manoeuvres, nearly bowling me over in the process!

At 1:30am, it was Vadim’s turn on the wheels of steel. Vadim’s subtler, more groove-based style of funk takes some time to work up to a peak. This was unfortunately lost on much of the crowd who may have not been there to specifically see him, or were a little wiped out from the sheer energy of Sarah Love’s set. Nevertheless, the hardcore fans remained front and centre, while Vadim subtly worked his way through some blissed-out grooves; scratching and using effects in his unique, blunted style.

I could not be certain, but at one stage it sounded like a Sean Paul a ccapella emanating through the PA, over some Vadim beats. While this left me scratching my head a little, I was soon bobbing about to Vadim’s classic The Terrorist. Just when I thought he was going to keep up the chilled out pace, Vadim switched it up, dropping dubstep and drum and bass.

A knowing smile reaching the face of Vadim as he looked down toward the fans dancing about with a renewed sense of vigour. The night attracted a friendly, chilled-out crowd – and who could argue with the free entry? Please throw more shows like this, Espy!