Up Top gains Altitude



The location and smiley kebab man down stairs may have not changed a bit, but the comfy décor and banging tunes that keep you going all the way through to recovery are a definite enhancement in this punter’s book!



Yes I am back in action at what used to be an old time fave’ location – The Up Top Bar, but with a new and improved look and sound this place now rocks on under the appellative Altitude. As I entered the club wearing what could only be described as grossly inappropriate clothing for a full on rocking occasion, I soon realised that the very laid back and somewhat attractive crowd encompassed all facets of the clubbing community. The funky underground beats of the lively and cheeky smiling Jeremy K was distending into the bar area encompassed by reclined leather couches and curtains creating separate domains.



It was as if we had arrived at rush hour, with the club filling quickly yet the amount of people never compromised the comfort factor on and off the dance floor. I moved quickly down into the prime rockin’ position next to the DJ booth and absorbed Jeremy’s hard and funked up beats that were sorely needed after being exposed to music by the likes of Nsync and Britney previously that night. I hadn’t seen the devil in disguise, Mr. K for a while, but he is well known to most for his dance floor assaults at residencies such as Hard Kandy, Viper and Bubble, as well as old school blinding sets at the likes of Welcome 2001 and Summerdayze 2001. Jeremy plays a fantastic mix of the well known and more underground tunes covering all styles of hard house and trance, which is welcome talent at Altitude. The almost 10 years of experience this man has in the Melbourne scene, from the humble beginnings at the Mansion in 1992, brings a well-established feel to the new club night. With each new smiling face on the dance floor Jeremy would delve deeper in to his massive range of record treats and give us a mere sample of what was to come. He kept the crowd pouring in for more and fed off the ‘hands in the air’ action, before handing the reigns over to a new face in the scene to me, but surely a face we will be seeing many times again – DJ Miss Mel.



Miss Mel could only be described as another angelic looking performer to grace the decks, with an innocence that could only be broken down with her straight off the mark, hard and dark trance inspired set. She had us in the palm of her hand and her set alternated between harder house with trancey peaks, only to bring us up and back down and up again before letting it rip into a fantastical beam of energy (sorry but that’s the only way I could describe it!). It was as if Miss Mel could find even the slightest points of quality within the most commercial of tracks and create mayhem on the dance floor. Her selection of beats and sounds the perfect complement to what all was looking for in the night. Although I was now exhausted, the feeling that Miss Mel was about to leave the stage meant that I had to rock just that little bit harder to ensure she knew crowd appreciation was high.



After what seemed like an eight hour set the new favorite finished up and I thought that it was the end of my night, only to be completely re-amped and surprised when the likes of some of my beloved Frantic DJ’s, Ben Kakoschke and Craig Jon hit the decks. Yes, could it get any better when the club you have just fell in love with turns into an awesome recovery party known as BPM right before your eyes?



With many of the faithful still remaining from the nights rockin’ onslaught, and now even more fresh (and some not so fresh) looking punters entering the club, I fell into a state of blissful insomnia. Kickin’ back on the couches and observing the friendly interaction while still taping in time to some awesome tunes, honestly does Sunday morning get any better!?!



When I finally retired into daylight, I could have had a better accidental clubbing night if I had tried. The atmosphere from the crowd to the creature comforts of the venue was fantastic. Everyone had that old school friendly vibe and although busy it was not unbearable – you could always manage to find your own little position. As well as Jeremy K and Miss Mel, regular DJ’s include Fab, Beanie and Albie, as well as special guests each week joining the BPM team for Sunday recovery. I will definitely be venturing back to the rhelms of Altitude again!