Trashbags feat. D.I.M. @ Plantation Bar, Sydney (11/08/07)
The Webster Dictionary defines a trashbag as… Well to be honest, I’m pretty sure the guys at Webster wouldn’t have a clue what a trashbag is. But any seasoned clubgoer would be well aware of what a trashbag is. It’s one who parties ridiculously hard till the early hours of the morning, backs up after big nights without any worries… These people are almost superhuman in their partying abilities. With an event carrying a name like Trashbags, it’s easy to carry a preconceived image of pure anarchy, and keeping this in mind I felt it was time to see if the monthly party lived up to its name.
But really I was only there for one thing, to see D.I.M.. Hailing from Germany where minimal and tech dominate, electro generally plays second fiddle to those more popular styles. But after hearing the Mark Dynamix Mixtape around this time last year my interest in the European electro sound certainly did begin to grow, and after hearing it here and there around Sydney, the chance to hear a full set was something to look forward to.
After having heard his remix of the Chromeo song Fancy Footwork which I absolutely loved, I was keen to catch some of the full D.I.M. experience. The promise of a different sound was also very enticing, and the German electro sound is a lot darker than what you hear on your average Ministry of Sound compilation. Arriving at Plantation bar around midnight, after some confusion at the door I made my way inside. The place was busy without being packed, and you could still walk around easily enough. The venue itself however left a lot to be desired. I’ve never been a fan of plantation, its layout never really appealed to me among other things. But more about that later…
I wasn’t quite sure who was playing at the time but I must say the music was very fresh. Your average punter would be pretty impressed, but I couldn’t help but notice that a large majority of the songs were lifted straight off the new Bang Gang mix compilation and the mixing was even ‘banggangesque’ with the constant mashups that were going on. I guess when you are the trendsetters then the imitators will always be following closely behind.
After hearing that the night had been the hot topic of debate on our own inthemix forums, focused on the usual topic of ‘posers vs. music lovers’ and featuring the same old jaded statements, I felt had to see for myself what all the fuss was about. I paid close attention to the vibe and the crowd when I arrived at the venue, and I couldn’t help but notice the fashion faux pas going on left, right and center before me. Now personally I’m quite a fan of some the retro revival that is going on at the moment and I definitely own some of those clothes, but there is a difference between ‘retro’ and ‘just plain bad’ fashion. Retro is cool if you learn from the mistakes of the past, but clearly some people have learnt nothing and dress just as badly as we did in “the decade that fashion forgot”. The vibe was one of slight pretentiousness, and the crowd didn’t really seem ‘up’ for anything other than constantly being too busy thinking they were top shit. I was bumped several times unnecessarily by people on the way past… Like it’s too hard to simply move a step to the side. Seriously!
Around 1am after some forgettable mixing, the man that we’d all been waiting for graced the decks. Sporting a shaved head with a beard, D.I.M certainly had that German look about him I must say. The difference in the sound that began to pump out of the speakers was very noticeable, the music got instantly darker, heavier and the crowd was loving it.
I was standing at the back of the venue, watching the crowd and the man behind the decks get right into it, until I felt a few drops of water on my arm. To my horror when I looked down it wasn’t water, but rather condensation dripping from above. I looked to the ceiling to see that it was gathering there, before moving away very quickly indeed. The air conditioning in Plantation was absolutely atrocious, basically because there was none at all. I was sweating like crazy, and all I was doing was standing: the heat in the venue was almost unbearable. I thought of how some poor souls must have been suffering when I noticed half the dance floor was wearing hoodies: certainly an example of ‘fashion over function’ if ever there was one.
Not to be deterred by the heat, I ventured into the dance floor where it was certainly 45 and rising… A wall of sound simply caved my head in, very much like the French sound that is doing big things right now but darker, stricter and more… German. There was simply no letting up, and when he played his Fancy Footwork the place erupted. Several where also thrown down from Boys Noize, who I am also massive fans of. Do yourself a favour and check them out! The sound system left a lot to be desired, very average and for a performer like D.I.M. it didn’t do him anywhere near the justice he deserved. That kind of sound, with so many layers and hard synths, gets distorted very easily on poor sound systems. Around 3am the sound reverted back to the same old same old, and I knew it was over. D.I.M. had played an absolutely incredible set and unleashed a sound on the crowd that was like no other.
I walked out of the venue with damp jeans, sweat soaked hair and feeling a bit dirty. Arriving home at 5 in the morning just to see the sun come up, I couldn’t help but feel like a trashbag. But hey, if that was the worst part of the night then I couldn’t care less. All in all I had a great night out, but only because the music was simply amazing. I strongly suggest you all to catch DIM play at Sounds on Sunday this week because he will be playing on a sound system that really does him justice.
mangina says...
ha, i just had a look at the photos from this atrocity. i saw the bad hat, sunnies, fluro and a bandana across his face. what a dick. sounds like the review was spot on.
Rated E says...
Nice review. I've been to trashbags a few times, and it seems that a lot of people complain about how crowded it is in there, people bumping into each other left right and center, I certainly had that problem. And the heat is just too much to bear as well. Guns N' Bombs played a great set a couple of months ago (except for the plantation sound system, yuk). Thank god it's moved to YU.
dankobiaka says...
Good review. Spot on. What a crap venue, full of complete wankers. If that bandana across the face thin catches on, I think we will be able to safely say the Sydney clubbing scene has hit rock bottom..... for me, atleast.