You have to love Australian girls, especially when one of the world’s leading DJs is married to one: the result of which is a biannual Christmas trip to Sydney and a corresponding night of yuletide trance destruction. Cue Ferry Corsten, one of the enduring Dutch trance masters, who last Friday promised a five hour offering at the newly renovated mainstay of Sydney clubbing, Home Nightclub.
Thanks the sleeping antics of one of our best, we arrived at Home around midnight with our normal posse cut to three, albeit soon inflated via an old friend from the UK, via Florida, as well as a young bloke, a Ferry fanatic, who had brought not one, but eight record covers for signature, all packed away neatly into what looked like an old souvlaki bag. After a quick search of the premises, we found ourselves a grandiose little spot downstairs, tucked away amongst the coloured lanterns, and with plenty of comfortable seating. By the time we’d downed our complimentary beverages and amidst a ‘not unpleasant’ introduction from hometown hero Patrik Carrera, we’d strapped ourselves in for what was to become one of the all time great evenings in Australian dance music history.
The honorary Aussie kicked off at 12.30 amidst a crowd that best resembled that of a rock concert; hardened groupies punching the air at the front, a largish moshpit immediately adjacent and the greater listening populace affixing themselves to every other decent vantage point available. First tune up was Toca Me, which set the scene for the next five hours of what can only be described as a trance anthology, resplendent with a relentless selection of Ferry’s own classics, a bevy of avant garde stormers and a myriad of timeless anthems. Within the first hour, Corsten had rattled off the orgasmic Maor Levi’s Shapes, Alex Bartlett’s Touch the Sun and his own Duran Duran lyrically-based Fire. Shortly after and when asked for his non-learned view on the evening to that point, our British friend ushered the quote of the night; “I’ve got some CDs of this sort of stuff, it’s the type of music I put on when I get the Mustang out and fang it down to Miami!”
The next hour or so saw the Dutch behemoth break with what could be deemed his ‘own genre’, beginning with the beautifully revealing Breakfast hit The Sunlight, which had the crowd clutching at the lasers as if they were pegging their collective thanks onto a kaleidoscopic Hills Hoist. Shortly after, and from out of nowhere, came the tune of the night, Cosmic Gate’s (roll on NYE) Fly Away, a contemporary anthem of goliath proportions and one which rendered a general defenestration of all and sundry in a moment that can only be described as ‘hectic’. Subsequently, Corsten did return to type, rolling out a trifecta of his own delectables in Galaxia, Beautiful and Sweet Sorrow, the latter of which had our young friend fishing around hopelessly within the souvlaki bag.
No report on the night’s proceedings can be complete without an assessment of the newly renovated Home premises. For the most part, the new set up is fundamentally better; seating on all levels providing ample relief for those in need, a super-sized bar allowing unhindered watering and an air-conditioning unit, whilst not keeping things icy, doing the job. On the downside, Home urgently needs to fix the sound system. On our short trip upstairs, we may as well have been wearing ear-muffs, whilst down the back of the main arena things are little better. Up close, the distortion is awful, despite a set of speakers that have in the past (Godskitchen 2006) provided an enchanting clarity.
Back to the main fare, where by mid set, and amidst a barrage of aural artillery, Corsten had the massive crowd in full obeyance; so much so that the more enthusiastic were literally hanging, like trance monkeys, from the rafters, or in this case, the supporting beams alongside the right hand side of the main dance floor. With the super structure buckling madly under the weight of up to ten well built males, it was of great relief to see Home’s security step in and contain the carnage to that purveyed by one great Dutchman and a couple of CDJs. Not to be outdone, Corsten dished out more of his own; LEF, Junk, Brainbox and appropriately, Sublime, and then once again, some of 2007’s biggest; Onova’s Platitude, M6’s Destination 6, and finally the ASOT tune of the season Big Sky, which was much appreciated by my better half, and probably less so by our recalcitrant big sleeping friend in Port Macquarie, who at approximately 4am was forced to listen on an old Nokia phone amidst a barrage of wild celebration!
Within the final hour Ferry took the opportunity to reel off a conglomeration of well loved anthems; Carte Blanche, Out of Blue, Synaesthesia and finally Madasgascar’s Art of Trance. 5.30am passed, and amongst a heart clutching gesture from the man himself and with Home’s MC working the still monstrous crowd into a chorus of “Ferry, Ferry”, Corsten closed with an encore of It’s Time, and then personally took to the microphone to wish us all safely into 2008. Class.
With the melody-less pound of Amber Savage quickly upon us, we thought it prudent to exit, and reflect on what had truly been a trance epic. On fanging the Suzuki back home, I was left to recount whether I’d witnessed a more heroic trance offering. After much thought, and despite existing as a dyed in the wool Armin lover and general big-name trance tragic, I can honestly say that last Friday night was the best trance night I’ve ever witnessed. Great tracks, flawless mixing, a fantastic venue and most of all, a populace giving their all far extending the festive spirit. Roll on Christmas 2009 when it’s Ferry’s turn to do the family thing again.
