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Kristian Nairn, Ego, Genga, Rad Wedding DJs, Animal House DJs
Villa
Saturday, August 30, 2014
It’s a funny thing, celebrity – it can lead to all sorts of other things. Of late, that other thing is the celebrity penchant for being a superstar DJ on the side and cashing in on your short lived fame à la Paris, Bieber, Pauly D or David Guetta.
Some may even remember a few years back when Mike Fielding – Naboo from The Mighty Boosh – visited Perth for a DJ set, and despite the costumed affair being a fun night, Naboo’s set itself was fairly disappointing. Lucky for us, Hodor proved to be an entirely different affair.
Kristian Nairn, who we all know better as Hodor of Game Of Thrones, came to Perth. And like a mighty dragon, the big man slayed it. Turns out Nairn is in fact a great DJ technically, and knows how to work a room and create a party. This should be no surprise though really, as Nairn has been DJing for much longer than he’s been acting. He was in fact a resident DJ at The Kremlin – a legendary gay nightclub in Belfast – for over 10 years. His prominent profile in fact helped him get into acting.
Villa lent itself well to the theme – the venue decked out like the finest hall in Westeros – with the regal stage set featuring two suits of armour, crested flags, ivy lined pillars, and at the back, the giant throne of swords itself. There were Kings and Queens, Knights and Ladies, Night’s Watchmen, Hodors and White Walkers. There was even a Tyrion running around.
There was a great selection of Perth’s finest party DJs in support including the Rad Wedding DJs, which comprised of those merry pranksters Aaron and Paul of Jump Climb, and The Animal House DJs.
Warming up for Hodor was Sydney AVJ artist Ego – who had put together an amazing spectacle for us to witness – projecting a mash up of Game Of Thrones footage and other assorted randomness on two big screens, cut up and remixed in time with the block rockin’ beats. A great party set to work the crowd up to fever pitch in preparation for the big man.
Nairn ambled onstage to be greeted by massive applause, shouts of ‘Hodor!’ and a Sea Of Phones. He became acquainted with the controls and then started his set by getting on the mic and issuing forth what must be the greatest intro statement of a DJ ever: “All right, let’s kick this shit off. HODOR!”. The crowd accordingly went mental. Fake swords were raised to the sky. Wildlings roared and leapt in the air in merriment. There was much rejoicing.
Nairn plays a tightly mixed selection of upfront house music that was perfect for the evening’s festivities. A relentless pace was maintained, thumping bass drums and synth stabs were the order of the night, with a smattering of vocals; but he steered clear of cheese, keeping it mostly underground and deep. While everything seems to get called deep house these days, Nairn dabbled – but kept it mostly upbeat, party movin’, piano-led grooves with funky beats.
Witnessing the man in the flesh, he really is a giant at a massive 6’10’. So much so that he seemed to make the CDJs look like little toys. But he sure was adept at using them, stabbing the buttons and dropping beats with his huge fingers, and flicking the faders with his big thumb.
But at the end of a 1.5 hour set, there was still much partying left in this crowd and the Pilerats DJs and Genga did well to keep the vibe going and the people moving into the wee hours, as the motley crew of allsorts slowly stumbled out into the dawn streets to make their way home after a grand celebration. Hodor!
ALFRED GORMAN
