Leftfield, Shy FX, Black & Blunt and more
Friday, November 18, 2016
It was hard to believe when it was announced – the legendary Arcadia Spectacular, world-renowned from Glastonbury to Ultra Miami as a festival highlight, and one of those jealously-inducing things British pals go on about, the incredible ‘rave spider’! Yes, THAT Arcadia, was coming to Perth, to blow our tiny little minds.
Setting up smack bang in the middle of Elizabeth Quay, like some crazy alien spaceship, the buzz built during the week, as construction commenced on the giant spider-like structure – especially when they started testing the flame-throwers.
An incredible feat of creative engineering, pioneering design, and cutting-edge lighting and sound, Arcadia was built from recycled military and industrial equipment. It evolved into some kind of incredible, immersive show that’s kinda like a combination of Cirque Du Soleil and a giant rave.
With jet-engines as eyes, the massive 50 tonne three-legged metal beast houses a DJ booth, a mind-blowing, dazzling array of lighting and laser rigs, projection mapping capability to transform the appearance of the spider, moving hydraulic arms and giant flamethrowers spewing 50ft flames out of its head. To say it’s quite a spectacle would be understatement of the year. As a regular fixture at Glasto, and having toured a handful of other places around the world, it’s quite an honour that Perth got to host the Australian exclusive, for three big nights.
The punters turned out in force Friday night, spilling into the sprawling venue from 5pm – the early start time capturing the attention of the after work crowds. Kicking off the festivities was a great selection of local talent from the thriving Perth scene. Winner of the Pilerats ‘Ones To Watch’ competition, Boneflip, followed by Scots ex-pat, deep house gun Kovaxx and Soundcloud remix star Loston. All these boys are not just DJs, but talented young producers making their own music.
Almost as impressive as the spider itself, was the way Elizabeth Quay (I dub thee EQ) was utilised for the event and the way the landscape was transformed into some kind of post-apocalyptic playground. EQ actually works brilliantly as a festival venue in this format – with a giant, multi-coloured, strobing mechanical spider nearby, the Belltower and that white loopy thing, don’t seem so out of place.
It was also wonderful to see an indigenous performance included in the show, and it was a powerful moment as the sun set. It started with a child and a man addressing the crowd, introducing the performance of Yallorr Keeninyarra, the dance of the Wadjuk Nyungar people. It is a dance of unity, that was performed many years ago in that same spot, calling upon the Spider Spirit of Garrgatup (Kings Park) from the Aboriginal Dreamtime, to weave a web that creates strength and togetherness throughout the nations. From one spider to another, it was a fitting tribute, with a wonderful message of coming together in celebration. Much respect to Nikki Graski and The Event Agency for realising this magical connection and incorporating it into the show, as well as being largely responsible for bringing Arcadia to Perth.
An Australian and Aboriginal flag were both flying high, as a group of men emerged, bearing ceremonial shields and web-like regalia, singing and dancing on and below the spider, as they started up in song with clap-sticks. As the magical, otherworldly sound of the didgeridoo kicked in over the beat and morphed into drum ‘n’ bass, the similarities of the ancient/modern music was striking. The crowd joined the dancers on the floor as the beats picked up, rising to a peak, and the spider came to life, giving us a taste of the light and fire show that was to come. It was great to see how much everyone got into it and how well it was received.
Up next in spidertown were Black & Blunt, Perth’s own dynamic duo of bass and breaks, veterans of the scene, internationally acclaimed producers and long time RTR Full Frequency presenters. The boys had put together an extra special set that was perfectly suited to the vibe – energetic big beats, scorching electro-infused breaks, with some huge dubstep sounds – the impact enhanced tenfold by the explosive light show from the spider.
Alex Clare’s massive dubstep tune Too Close, went down a treat – the huge drop saw the sea of people dancing under the spider explode into life. While some choice selections such as classic acid house tracks Wink’s A Higher State Of Consciousness and CJ Bolland’s Sugar Is Sweeter pleased the more discerning, mature punters, as the sweet sound of tweakin’ 303s filled the night sky.
Another incredible highlight of the night and a crowd favourite were the Lords of Lightening, who had a few 10 minute slots in-between acts. The Lords are essentially a couple guys in red and blue conductive body suits that stand atop big podiums housing giant tesla coils, who harness the electrical power and fight each other with lightening, all in time to a stomping drum ‘n’ bass soundtrack! It’s totally insane.
Then it was time for the main event – The Landing Show – a choreographed performance that introduces Arcadia and demonstrates its capabilities. And it seriously blew everyone away with a total sensory overload.
Starting off with a real sci-fi vibe, a robotic voice announced the arrival of the spider on earth, calibrating its systems. Three smaller auxiliary arms slowly moved out and over the crowd, and suddenly acrobats in incredible costumes tumbled out of the claws, spinning and swinging on ropes above the crowd to dramatic music, until the giant structure finally burst to life in synch to some heavy industrial dubstep, and on the first big drop, a massive jet of fire shot into the night sky, like an explosion, the screeching noise of the pressurised gas was deafening, and the heat intense.
The crowd were stunned, jaws hit the floor, and cameras came out, hopelessly trying to capture the spectacle. As the acrobats continued to dazzle in tri-unison, some even swung down low to ‘abduct’ some people from the crowd, hoisting them up into the air to the spider, and spinning them in ‘web’.
The soundtrack to the show itself was top notch audio design, like something Amon Tobin would produce. An outer ring surrounding the spider, designated by giant flaming Victorian lampposts, featured a circle of sound from speakers pointing inwards. Underneath the spider was a proper dance floor, the inner circle, with even more lights and speakers.
It was indeed a hard act to follow but we’d called in the best – Neil Barnes of the legendary Leftfield, climbed into the spider, starting with some solid techno before moving into tough, progressive house sounds. When Barnes DJs, it’s very different to his live outfit, he doesn’t play much Leftfield, it’s mostly fresh, unreleased tunes – but he snuck in just enough classics to keep it exciting.
Song of Life sounded as great as ever, and Afro Left was seamlessly mixed into the timelessly brilliant Phat Planet – such a massive tune, with one of the all time great drops, it provided a climatic finale to his set. Though overall his set was a bit patchy and progressive in parts – though it was perhaps just more suited to a club than the whole giant rave spider thing. Mind you, anything following the Landing Show would be a step down in energy and intensity.
It was then over to old skool UK jungle legend Shy FX to finish out the night – and he proved a big hit. His more upfront, jump-up style of big, warm, dubbed out ragga sounds was perfectly suited to the vibe, including Dawn Penn’s You Don’t Love Me (No No No) and SL2’s On a Ragga Tip. Proper bangers.
The perennial favourite and highly appropriate Out of Space by The Prodigy got a huge reception, and Shy even blended in a bit of UK Rap and Garage, including his own old skool classic featuring original badman UK Apachi, Original Nuttah.
Taking us home he mixed up the pace with some dub reggae vibes, including The Specials’ A Message To You Rudy and Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry. After a brief break, we were treated to one last insanely heavy dubstep track with a totally mental explosive ending that saw the spider let rip with everything it had.
The following night, they did it all again, this time with Alison Wonderland, Carmada and friends providing a younger crowd with a bangin’ soundtrack of trap, dubstep and hip hop, and then an all-ages show on Sunday.
Massive props must be given to City of Perth, DCA, The Event Agency and Boomtick among others for coming together and making a show like this happen at Elizabeth Quay. It’s set quite a precedent and was truly an amazing, mind blowing experience, no one will forget.
ALFRED GORMAN
Photos by Alfred Gorman
