Unmistakably one of the biggest Psychedelic Trance acts in the world, Infected Mushroom were back in Australia to promote their new album I’m the Supervisor. Last time they played the Gold Coast, not even a cyclone could keep their willing crowd away and judging by the large line up upon arrival to Trocaderros, this tour was going to be no different.

Now psytrance events are known for generating a lot of body heat, as psytrance isn’t exactly the kind of music you can stand still to. Standing in line however, felt very uncomfortable as the heat from the venue poured out. Those waiting in line were beginning to wonder if the venue was air conditioned. The answer was yes, but its ability to cool 1200 stomping punters was certainly put to the test. Later in the night, the heat would get so bad that the sweat dripping from the ceiling was almost a constant mist.

Once inside, the sounds of CY echoed through the main room. Looking around, one could easily be confused into thinking they were in the middle of a wet t-shirt competition. There were more half naked men than at the Mardi Gra and those who still had tops on were drenched in sweat.

Next on the bill was Brisbane’s own Funky Space Elf. Last time I saw him play was at Earthcore’s 10th Anniversary in 2003 where he showed those southerners that Queenslanders do know our pstyrance. Personally, I couldn’t think of anyone better to play the lead up set to Infected Mushroom and it seemed the crowd agreed. The room temperature seemed to go up another 5 degrees with Funky Space Elf’s hard driving psytrance revving up the punters even more.

Around 1am the neighbouring Beatz and Bass room opened up with some very cool air conditioning, laced with the sounds of Brisbane’s Scott Walker.

It didn’t take long for word to get out that there was a cool room in the house and soon the room filled up. Mr Walker played one of the best sets I have ever seen him play, combining some very chunky techno and heavy bass lines. It was Shredlock however, that seemed to fill the dance floor up with his buffet of jungle, break beat and hip hop.

Pushing back through the crowds into the main room, I managed to secure a spot not far from the stage where I could view the masters of the night, Infected Mushroom. Last time I saw them was at their sunset & rain performance at Earthcore in 2003, definitely one of the music highlights of my life, so this time they had a lot to live up to. Eren Aizen and Amit DuvDevani graced the stage along with new guitarist Erez Netz and the crowd went completely wild. After only 8 bars of their opening track it was easy to see why Infected had taken on the talents of Netz, he is an absolute genesis on the guitar. The addition of rock elements to those wonderful 303 acid lines was certainly a match made in heaven.

Infected have had a lot of criticism regarding their latest album I’m the Supervisor, many psytrance purists claiming it to be too ‘commercial’, especially due to the addition of vocals, something never used in their past track. Seeing majority of the tracks off of the new album performed live though, brought a whole new dimension to their new sound. The highlight track of the night was certainly Cities of the Future. DuvDev belted out the lines “We’re going to run, run, run to the cities the future. Take what we can and bring it back home”. His vocals sound so much better live, then the vocoder type vocals on the album. I think if many of the old fans who have slammed this track, actually heard it live, they would then realise how good it is. Another track that tore the roof off was the album’s title track. Hearing that melody thumping through the 45k watt speakers with DuvDev singing “Come on, come on dance with me” was an experience in itself.

While the crowd enjoyed the sound through the 45k system, it seemed Queensland Liquor Licensing didn’t. Around 3:15am Infected Mushroom had to actually stop playing and some unknown figures were waving for punters to move out. Being a crowd of over 1200 people, many did not follow instructions and stayed inside. 5 minutes later the music was back on again and Infected graced the stage not too long after. Rumour has it that the sound was measured to have been 15dB over the venue’s limit, only for them to later realise that was actually due to crowd noise and feedback. The Gold Coast having a 3am lockout rule, meant that those that did leave when they were told to, couldn’t get back in, so there were approx 200 very unhappy people left sitting outside.

Infected Mushroom managed to hold their heads high and went on to finish their set with a bang. Never have I seen an act that can combine the sounds of everything from classical to techno in one show and get away with it so smoothly. Erez Netz was an amazing addition to their sound and like others I really look forward to seeing him play with them in the future. Psytrance was once known as the sound of an underground movement, but if this night was anything to go by it will soon be the sound for the masses. Definitely one of the best live performances Queensland has seen for this year and a night that won’t be forgotten. Big thanks to Fusing Brisbane and Earthcore for bringing these guys to Queensland again.