It’s hard knowing what to expect going into a gig headlined by DJs. At the Melbourne stop on Triple J’s House Party Tour, what shone through was not so much a party atmosphere but more of a club vibe. There were plenty of random hook-ups, feet being trampled on in the dance floor and a heap of rocking bass-heavy mixes.
Triple J’s Mix Up host, Deacon Rose kicked off proceedings and while the crowd was mainly focused on the happenings at the bar, when Nina Las Vegas made an appearance on stage, she got the crowd to shift their attention to her mate’s set.
Things kicked into gear when the Rose played a remix of Lana Del Rey’s breakout hit “Video Games”, that’s when the Prince Bandroom’s d-floor really started to get packed. A very smooth and beefed up version of Usher’s Diplo-produced track “Climax” was a highlight of Rose’s set. He certainly gave the R&B crooner some indie credibility, which is a rarity considering Usher is the same guy who brought us such lyrics as “Honey got a booty like pow, pow, pow/ Honey got some boobies like wow, oh wow.”
After Rose finished off his set it was Flume’s turn to get the hipster-dominated crowd moving. The masses responded by flocking to get a chance to be as close to one of the DJ scene’s hottest mixers.
Flume knows the best way to please a crowd, chuck in some Biggie into your set and you’ve got everyone hooked. Closing his slot with his own massive remix of Hermitude’s “Hyperparadise”, which incited the crowd into an absolute frenzy; limbs were flailing, toes were being stood on and it was all in a dazed glory of Flume’s creation.
Headliner Nina Las Vegas had a lot to live up to after Flume’s huge set and she failed to disappoint. She kicked off her set with a slowed down version of Frank Ocean’s hit “Thinking About You” before blasting through some loud, foot stomping tunes.
M.I.A’s “Bad Girls” and Skrillex’s “Bangarang” were two of those tracks, and the crowd was starting to warm up nicely. Unlike Flume and Rose the triple j House Party host engaged in a little bat of banter with the crowd. She even decided to do a bit of dancing while in a very tight dress on what was a very small and unstable table, and admittedly the girl’s got some moves.
The majority of her set consisted of tracks found on the recently released House Party compilation including Dead Prez’s “Hip Hop”, Steve Aoki and Afrojack’s party-pumping song “No Beef” plus a heap of others. Chuck in a bit of Jay Z and Kanye with “Ni**as in Paris” and there wasn’t really a let up from start to finish in Nina’s set. Azealia Banks profane laden “212” garnered the hugest response from the set while the closing song, “Paddling Out” by Miike Snow wasn’t far behind.
There’d be plenty of sore bodies the next morning from the massive amount of dancing that was done throughout the night, and a few sickies were likely to be taken the next morning. That’s the price you pay when you decide to party all night with Nina Las Vegas and her possé.
– Jac Manuell
