After weeks of anticipation the long weekend arrived bringing with it a performance by Infected Mushroom at Gas Nightclub. Comprised of the Israeli duo Amit Duvdevani and Erez Aizen, both classically trained musicians, Infected Mushroom have had a major influence on defining psychedelic trance since the group formed in 1997. Their last three albums released on BNE records: ‘Classical Mushroom’, ‘The Gathering’, and ‘BP Empire’ have had overwhelming success and a significant effect on defining the genre.
We walked over towards Gas only to find a densely packed line stretching from the Bohem entry right down to the nearby corner. After making it inside the club there was already a large gathering of people in the Bohem room, with trippy chilled beats playing in the lounge atmosphere. Instinctively heading downstairs into the Gas main room, the venue had been transformed into a psy-haven with colourful props by Pan-O-Vision and many fluorescent artworks hanging throughout the venue by SparksArt. The mood was set for a huge night. I knew we were in for one hell of a show when I saw the impressive array of live equipment lining the front of the stage, featuring an enormous mixer and a number of keyboards.
Having missed some of the earlier local DJ’s, it was fast approaching 1am and Tract was playing back to back with Adam T hitting the crowd up with some great psytrance tunes. The complex 303 patterns and rolling bass lines were oozing out of the Gas sound system beefed up especially for this event by the promoters with the addition of subs and speakers scattered throughout the venue. Next up at the decks was Raptor, a hero of the local psytrance scene playing at all major events in the country. He stepped the tempo up another notch, priming the crowd for the special guests due onstage at 3am.
The diverse crowd was a tribute to the variety present in tracks produced by Infected Mushroom over the years, with many punters having travelled far and wide to see the acclaimed duo perform. As some of the crew started to scurry around, frantically checking all the equipment in the darkness the atmosphere continued to build. With the main room packed to the rafters before the performance started, the duo appeared to an unbelievable reception from the crowd. They started their set with some soft samples that carefully lead into the first of many banging beats, and from that point on the crowd were treated to a first class journey through the entire flavour range of sounds within the genre. The sound throughout the entire set had a sweet crispness that can only come from hardware equipment being played live on stage. The guys only elevated the mood by exuding an awesome stage presence indicating that they too were enjoying themselves just as much as the crowd.
The night was described by the promoters as a performance to showcase tracks from their upcoming 4th album titled ‘Converting Vegetarians’ but they carefully wound in classic tunes such as Mush Mushi and the track Electro Panic produced with Yahel. The 1½ hour set flew by as they carefully layered trippy guitar riffs and gliding synth melodies over booming kicks and crisp percussion patterns.
As the duo finished off the crowd showed its appreciation by going absolutely mental as Fanny slowly pumped up the volume of the decks to preserve the awesome atmosphere. Coming from Byron Bay, and having played at many international events his experience was apparent as he treated the crowd to a display of flawless mixing and spot-on track selection. Finishing the night with a quality set moving with the vibe and taking the relentless crowd through till morning.
Overall, the performance by Infected Mushroom was an impeccable display of mind blowing psychedelic trance. Unfortunately the cost of tickets was a tad high at $49, and I heard $70 on the door, but it was a very well produced evening. Compliments to Yak & Yeti, and BNE records for putting on such a great night.
