- The last time I saw Booka Shade was in 2007 at Liquid, a Barcelonan club that boasts a large outdoor dance floor surrounded by an even larger swimming pool. It's a night now infamously etched in the memories of the group of friends I was travelling with, mainly because of its copious rum consumption and resulting mishaps. One friend was promptly and roughly thrown out for relieving himself where a bathroom was not, while another—apparently keen for a mid-clubbing swim—dived into the shallow area of the pool. With a clearly visible and affecting bump on his forehead, he paraded about loudly in front of the stage pointing and yelling at Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, "I love you Booka! I love you too Shade!" I remember them exchanging a rather bemused smile before returning him the love. It all felt a bit rock 'n' roll to be honest.
Photo credit: Patrick Munoz
It's a fitting memory, because if there was ever an inkling back then that Booka Shade had the potential to become like rock stars of the dance world, their recent Sydney performance certainly gave the impression that they've become just that. Maybe it was The Metro Theatre and its live rock heritage, maybe it was the youthful exuberance of the crowd, or maybe it was the beefed up, re-edited versions of their tracks that seemed to exceed what is essentially electro house club fare. Whatever it was, there's no denying that it was a far more explosive show than that gig in Barcelona.
Naturally it was cuts like "Darko," "Mandarine Girl" and "Night Falls" from sophomore monster Movements that received the biggest crowd response, however it was during the slightly newer tracks when the two seemed their tightest and most comfortable. "Charlotte" was one such example, with Merziger simultaneously working the gear and singing the robotic, vocodered lyrics while Kammermeier skilfully held it all together on his electronic drum kit.
Tracks from the forthcoming album, More, were played too (though unfortunately and rather surprisingly "Regenerate" was not one of them)—the already familiar single "Donut" going down a treat as well as brand new track "Bad Love" which, despite pointing towards a somewhat newer direction, stayed true to their signature sound.
Photo credit: Patrick Munoz
By the time the crowd had cheered them back on stage for the inevitable encore, the boys looked like they were having as much fun as the crowd, managing to coax a sing-along of their breakthrough track "Body Language." It was a moment simultaneously weird, wonderful and very indicative of our times: a crowd not mouthing along to lyrics of a chorus but to a bouncy synth line. It's another Booka Shade moment I'll happily whack in the memory bank…this time devoid of any public urination or mild concussions.