- Monday the 1st of November, Cup Eve, a day most Melbournians can skip work, school and other forced commitments, to recreate! Along with many others, I made the trek into Bourke St, at 12:30pm, and cruised into the Metro, for a long night with The Man Like, Sasha. His name is famous the world over, ever since he made it known at a little club called Shelleys, and then a not so little club, Renaissance. It's the way he plays records, the way he cascade's melody upon melody, and squeeze's the emotion out of your heart. He's a legend, and it's been 2 long years since he last gave us a taste. Here we go again!
As I walked in, Phil K was just finishing up with some chunky breaks, thumping away like he can, obviously doing his best to get the vibe to the ecstatic levels required for such a special guest. He did well, as Sasha walked on in, just a little after 1:30am, cheers and whistles and the kind of fanfare usually reserved for national sporting heroes heralded his arrival, and he casually got things underway with some rolling, bass-driven breaks. I was still having a bit of trouble trying to find some room to stand as I rode the current of displaced bodies to the far corners of the venue. I eventually situated myself behind a pillar, which did little for the eyes, but it was nice to be ever so slightly out of the walkway. Did I mention it was PACKED?!
Here we stood, with no room to dance, but still content to listen and enjoy the sounds coming our way. T'was about this time, he played the coolest track so far, a deep, half-kicked tune, layered with guitar lines, that culminated in a beautiful arpeggio. While it hadn't the lush Northern Exposure intro I was hoping for, it was great nonetheless, and there were some incredible melodic arrangements. I was starting to get excited... After about 45 minutes he dropped one of those BASSLINES, the kind you can really feel, and everyone in the place had something to say about it! Things really got going at this point, the music was positively acid-based, and funky, and hard, and the dancefloor was even more packed than before, I didn't think it was even possible to cram that many in!
Before long, passouts were announced, and thankfully, many took this opportunity to get out for a time, and ease the pressure on the rest of us (cheers guys)! I took this opportunity to get amongst the main dancefloor and find the rest of my friends. A few chance meetups later, I finally found myself in the middle of the dancefloor, jumping around with the rest of my little crew, and cheering away in the breakdowns and buildups, that by this time, had begun to really make an impact. Sasha was in 3rd gear, fast enough that you know about it, and slow enough that you know he's got a lot more gears! I was really appreciating the sound-system at this stage, the music was loud, really, really loud, but still crystal clear, with plenty of room for all the sub-bass frequencies Sasha was indulging in.
In a 4hr set, it's hard to remember everything in exact chronological order, and I can't say I remember a lot about the middle of the set, except to say that it kept getting better, and harder, and there were plenty of moments, be it a breakdown, or some filthy voice sample, a looping, rollicking buildup that went forever, and came out filtered to the max and caving your head in. There were some fun times had, and a good 2hrs to go! I had to leave the dancefloor for a half-hour to get outside, get some fresh air and rest my aching legs.
We came back in around 4am, Sasha was well into the latter stages of the set, rocking it like few can, the tracks had taken on a darker edge, although he still knew when to bring in the trance, dropping LSG's 'Fragile', I nearly lost it. Tunes like this don't get much of a spinning anymore, but they still sound as good as they ever did. The wonky analogue bassline, and heart-string melodies were more than I could handle, and I had to lean against the wall and soak it in for a few minutes. Aaaaaahhhh. Maybe a half-hour later, and it was LSG round two! 'Netherworld' comes softly in, and then breaks... down... Oh yes. I got the impression that a lot of the punters didn't know these tracks, which is a bit of a shame, but what I wouldn't
give to hear them for the first time, again! This is 4am, this is what I want!
The set was taking on a disctinctly electro-driven sound, and a few really vocal, punky tracks made an appearance. They almost would've sounded out of place, but thanks to his digital/laptop arrangement, all had that special Sasha touch, an emotional edge that kept them in check. A blinding remix of Miss Kitten's recent 'Professional Distortion' was one of the particularly enourmous tunes of the hour, and had the crowd in a frenzy! This was the end, and we all knew it, we just didn't know exactly how it was going to happen. Sasha did, and dropped a couple of well known bombs, Schiller's 'Ruhe (Humate Remix)' and the infamous 'Watching Cars Go By' that had so many arguing over his Involver compilation. I don't care what the haters think, that tune is absolutely MASSIVE, and he kept it going for a good 10 minutes!
After watching us have it, he deftly brought things down with some softer beats and lush vocals. He had run overtime by 25 minutes, but Kasey Taylor didn't care... "One more mate, one more!" Nice one!!!! A sultry, electro-pop tune began, and for a moment, I think a few people were a bit "Wha!?", but it was pretty cool, and a hark back to older, 'funner' times, and just when we all thought it was finished, he broke it dooown, and smashed it back in, and well jumped around for another few minutes. He eventually finished, slowing the tempo down over a couple of minutes, really slow, until you could hear the crunch of the kick, and then it stopped. 4+ hours of the master was over. I really would've liked to see Kasey play the morning set, but I had nothing left, and I walked out, very satisfied, with all my friends, and we drove away.
I knew it would be 'one of those sets', and I've got nothing but praise for Sasha, he continues to set the boundary farther away. His new laptop setup, complete with Ableton live software and midi controller is but an evolution of the DJs repotoire. It's all about the music, and with Sasha, the music is magic. It could be a while until he graces our shores again, but we'll all have the memories until then. Till next time!