I've been waiting for others to report on Jeff Mills' dates in Sydney and Melbourne, but since no one has I will do the honours as I think his Australian (Art Of Connecting) Tour warrants it! Note: this is fairly subjective and discursive.
I caught Jeff Mills twice this last week, in Sydney (I was there for work) and Melbourne, respectively, and he was spectacular. The Sydney gig was at Home, which is now the city's main club. For some reason, Sydney, while bigger in terms of population, has fewer venues and less of a 'scene' than Melbourne, so since Sublime merged with Home it really is the only viable venue for a DJ of Mills' calibre and status. Plus, it has an excellent sound system. I must admit I didn't know what to expect as to date I haven't liked the vibe at Sydney events, but I was very anxious to witness Mills in a club venue, as opposed to a 'rave'. Jeff attracted something like 1500/1600 to the club on a Wednesday night, which certainly stunned me; it was sold-out, in fact. And, let me reiterate, this is not a city that has a huge techno scene - a point even the promoters and guys in the record stores (like Reachin') acknowledge. The crowd was less friendly than Melbourne but were very, very appreciative of the DJ. Often you find that the crowd thins out but that night it never did. The momentum was sustained throughout. Luckily for me, the Melbourne tour promoter, Richie McNeill, aka Richie Rich, (of Hardware Corporation), was in town and so he invited me to join him halfway through; I also knew the Sydney guys through work. It was definitely a great honour and a privilege to watch a master like Jeff at such close hand and from behind - less than a metre. I have always thought what makes him special as a DJ is not just his speed but also his fluidity and grace, and intuition. His set - how can I describe it - had a similar feel to the recent Lifelike LP. It was at times epic, lush and soulful, at others funky and more minimal (but never 'bangin''). He took it in some interesting directions and he jammed on the 909 twice. I heard little things here and there that I couldn't identify that were very funky and warm. I am not a very good trainspotter, but he played a couple of the PM tracks that Australian crowds love, also Knights Of The Jaguar (a couple of mixes?), the beautiful If, Strings Of Life and I think even Aril Brikha's Groove La Chord. What I noticed was his passion for DJing; as he went through his boxes for the next record he had the animated expression of an enthusiastic child. I thought it was endearing, anyway. You could never say that he just goes through the motions. The crowd could come quite close to the decks and at one stage a girl was trying to read a label, which he noticed, and, since that turntable wasn't assigned, he placed his hand on the record to slow it down so she could read it. By that time she was looking elsewhere, but he waited for her to turn back around. Jeff was scheduled to play for about 2 - 3 hours but actually played for much longer (maybe 4), obviously because the vibe in the club was great; he even played an 'encore'. His agent was laughing by this time, "He doesn't want to stop!, He doesn't want to stop!" - and it was a bit like that! After that Jeff shook hands with the guys and hugged some girls, which, to be honest, I've never seen him do before! They were very warm and affectionate towards him. I love it when great DJs are appreciated; it pains me when they're not. So I left Sydney with a good impression. Melbourne was cool but different. It was a huge rave, Hardware 16, in an old storage shed on the docks, which must have attracted a few thousand on a Saturday night. The crowd seemed much younger and, alas, there were a few kids who were out on God knows what. On the whole they were much warmer and friendlier towards each other than the Sydney crowd but, if you're like me, a puritan/alien who never drinks or takes drugs, and don't like being smothered by clammy, sweaty strangers who want to 'hug' you (actually suffocate and bruise and maul) and have your hair touched (pulled), then there were moments of discomfort (or am I just getting old?). But still the kids knew who they had come to see and that was Jeff. And they were very responsive. Many saw Jeff here in Melbourne on NYE at Welcome 2000, which was by all accounts magic, and they wanted an 'encore'. Right now, Jeff owns Melbourne. His set at Hardware was quite different, but just as captivating. He started off with Jaguar and played for about 4 hours, again with great variation. Like a techno Janus, looking back and forward, he played some old music, some new. The lighting was striking; the neon signs from the flyers (depicting a futuristic, Bladerunner metropolis - a Japanese city, I think) were replicated on the backdrop. I've noticed that most times someone reviews a DJ on this list, they mention the direction of the set, the technical aspects and the records played - all important, of course - but no one analyses the DJ's presentation and things like that. Jeff, like most great DJs, has real presence. But one of the things that is noticeable about him is his repertoire of facial expressions (the guy has really expressive eyes) and the way he moves, you learn how to read all this and interpret it (or at least respond to it) and it accents the subtleties of the music. Or at least it does for me. Me, I always connect with things like that. When he latched into a groove he liked, you could tell, on some level he was thinking, 'This feels good.' Still, I find it very hard to accept that he insists he is no perfectionist when he turns up in immaculately pressed slacks and polished shoes - that's consummate class and elegance! I was trying to take it all in 'sampling' it for my memory so I could relive it, which is hard when surrounded by spaced-out kids (that's raves for you), but, 'ravers' aside, it was a great night. Locals Voiteck (live and funky) and Will E Tell (DJing) were in top form, too. Will departed from his usual 'hard' techno, playing a slightly more experimental set. I hope people appreciated that, too. Cyclone
