So many times is Canberra accused of being nothing more than a heartless roundabout. Admittedly, we are plagued with an overabundance of roundabouts, but anyone who danced under the sun in Commonwealth Park that day will testify that Canberra definitely does have a heart.

It’s true that tragedy often brings out the best in people, and while dance events are often dismissed as nothing more than a display of shallow hedonism, United Nation was so much more than that. At the risk of gushing, there was a real sense of community. It was there from the moment you stepped through the gates (erected by volunteers) and got your wrist band (from a volunteer); then noticed an organiser rushing around, permanently glued to a mobile phone who still had time to give a smile; and then walked down to a marquee to check out a DJ (playing for free).

The whole concept worked so well as an outdoor event — everyone came free of attitude, rare in clubs. Particularly touching was the generosity of everyone involved in creating such an awesome day.

Feeling somewhat apprehensive that United Nation was an all-ages event (it’s sometimes distressing knowing that you’re doing the same thing as someone a decade younger than you) my worries were left outside. Watching thirteen year olds exclaim “I got on the radio!”, shriek like maniacs after being handed an ITM sticker and then run off and dance barefoot with gleeful abandon to funky house actually turned out to be quite an uplifting experience. Their energy and unabashedness definitely contributed to the day.

The venue and layout was excellent. Set amongst the lush green of Commonwealth park, there was a festival feel in the air with food stalls, two tents and the main stage. The sound was crisp and clear however, sometimes it seemed a tad bit quiet in the main area. The production of this event was phenomenol! Stage 88 was decked out with screens, special lighting and effects, Canberra has rarely ever seen before. Of course the only thing that seemed missing on the day was a Bar however there were obvious reasons for this. All in all, the set up was very impressive.


Mikah Freeman opened the main stage with some down tempo house sounds as the birds were chirping, Frisbees flying and children were playing in the park. The main stage took quite a while to fill up, however when the sun had set, all was let loose as a sea of flailing limbs and glowsticks took over. Highlights on the main stage include Chris Fraser inducing the first sign of a dance floor, Alex Taylor playing the repetitive (yet catchy) summer anthem, “I’ve got so much love” by Thomas Bangalter and DJ Falcon, and who can forget the sky being lit up with thousands of glow sticks during Mark Dynamix’s set.

Meanwhile the Friction arena was popular throughout the whole day with Mig.L and Milkbar Nick opening with some sexy house sounds. Typhonic was up after that, delivering an awesome mix of reggae fused breaks, signature scratching and rolling drum n bass. He had the tent packed out by midday with big tunes such as Fatboyslims remix of Missy Elliot’s “Gossip folks” . My only question is why isn’t this talented DJ on the main stage at peak time? If you haven’t heard Typhonic play lately, then I suggest you go out and get your fix.

Friction residents Jeff and Ryan took the helm, dishing out some exciting house tunes. However they may have started a bit too deep as they quickly lost some of the crowd’s interest. Nevertheless with excellent track selection such as Infusion’s remix of Bjork’s gorgeous “Pagan Poetry” and some crazy magic over Fischerspooner, they rapidly regained the crowd’s attention, before handing the reigns over to Nash and Anjay.

Opening with Anjays new track, it was evident that we were in for some serious broken business. What we didn’t know was that ITM reporter and star MC Mewz was going to be complimenting the set with her awesome MC skills. Nash and Anjay dropped some dirty breaks including dance floor bomb “My house”, before handing Mewz the microphone. Laying rhymes over Freq Nasty’s “Amped” and “Goose”, Mewz worked the crowd into a frenzy, providing something different and refreshing.

Meanwhile, the Inthemix arena at United Nation delivered a feast the likes of which the capital has most definitely been pining for for months now. Upon Lan Shannon stepping up to the decks, the tent made a rapid and enjoyable turn for the best as our local bass heroine spun a set that surely she must have been happy with – the crowd certainly was. With nothing short of stunning presentation, Lan built the arena’s vibe up with an exquisite mix of hard trance including tracks such as “In a Trance” from Mark Richardson (Nukleuz Red) and Miss Behavin’s “Such A Feelin’ (Lee Haslam vs Guyver Remix)” (Tidy Trax).


If this wasn’t enough to blow everyone’s socks off, a good dose of Archie versus Yoshi then sent the now packed arena into hard house mayhem. Between Yoshi’s uplifting track selection and Archie’s banging sound, the set didn’t lose its momentum once. It was great to hear Archie’s scratching patterns screaming at us through a big sound system once more, and Yoshi looked like he was enjoying the music more than the crowd. Massive cheers were heard all round when local superhero Typhonic stepped up for a cameo scratch that was a) technically flawless and b) made incredibly good use of the sample which, as far as i can tell, had never been heard before by Typhoid’s ears.

DJ Wag (aka THE Yakooza) from Germany certainly saw absolutely no difficulty in operating a set of turntables, nor hyping up the crowd. Toting an “Overdose” T-shirt, the man kept his set hard and tough the whole way, he played a number of his own productions including the classics “Cocaine”, “The Darkness” and his own cranking remix of Avatar’s “Red Planet” (Bulletproof). Finishing with a certain reviewer’s favourite track, “Hands Up” from Arome (Overdose), the arena’s final impressions were absolutely stunning.

All in all, a massive thanks must go to Paul, Lan, Dave, Damien and anyone else who was involved for their dedication to putting together this Charity benefit and helping us all celebrate the human spirit. In a scene where words such as “Breaking even”, “DJ fees” and “Production costs” linger bitterly on the tip of our tongues, it’s quite refreshing to see industry types and punters give something back to the community. Who knew that giving to charity could be so much fun! The production was amazing, no doubt the best production Canberra has ever seen and we can only wonder how much organising and planning went into this event. However not all of us can be DJs, sound and lighting people or promoters and it may very well be true, that some of us are only good at partying. Nevertheless at United Nation we could party for a good cause.