PURE 2018 feat Carl Cox @ Metro City
w/ Paco Osuna, Nastia, Eric Powell and many more
Tuesday, April 25, 2018
They say music is a universal language. I don’t really feel that bollywood dancers really get country and I don’t think most death metal fans relish in K-pop. That being said, after a night at PURE on Anzac Day Eve, Techno really is for everybody from every walk of life and the legend, the king, the Carl Cox was testament to that.
The techno/ deep house scene in Perth is fairly limited to Geisha Bar and Habitat events so you can imagine the surprise when out of the woodworks came hundreds of passionate fans absolutely fiending for the sensation, the feeling of this genre. After putting the kids to bed some avid fans were lining up at the ripe time of 8pm, but on the other side of the lake, Halsey had the attention of this Xpress reviewer until about 11pm which meant I got into Metro City to catch just the end of Nastia to be front and centre for our headliner.
Nastia is the cyber gal who makes it hard to believe that she came from a small Ukrainian village, but she must be doing something extremely right to be the opener for Carl Cox. With some real hard hitting intergalactical tech she showed some extreme diversity and was almost considered by some as too much for a support set. But could the limelight really be taken away? Hardly.
Venturing around the venue saw the balconies closed off and a real separation between the outdoor and main stage which was a real shame as that sense of inclusivity was so prevalent at a gig like this. Seeing and watching people interact and enjoy the act from all levels is what really sells Metro City to me but it just wasn’t available for this event, perhaps a result of it not selling as well as they’d had hoped? The balcony though held a nice set up and general vibe – being able to dance surrounded by skyscrapers and the stars, as cliche as that sounds, gave it that touch of Berlin rooftop. Despite the possible lack of sales, the main floor was still ready and waiting for the big guy.
Sporting a ‘Sunrises, House and Techno’ t-shirt Carl Cox stepped into the huge DJ booth cube of blinding screens and lazers and didn’t waste any time getting that funky foot-stomping type techno out. There was so much drive in his set that the double heartbeat BPM made you fall so easily in tow by dancing or simply just moving with the beat. His eventual arrival gave the whistleblowers something to toot about and I wondered if this is what Ibiza is actually like.
For a guy from the 80s he somehow has managed to keep up this infectious enthusiasm that plasters smiles on his fans’ faces with some even lighting up a J on the dance floor. Not to mention the tightest and cleanest mixing between techno funk and tech house I’ve heard in a long while. Truly infallible.
Kicking it up a notch more for the last set, Spaniard Paco Osuna kept it considerably hard tech and slightly monotonous as the crowds began to filter out.
I don’t think I really realised the magnitude of this performer and the fact that he is basically royalty of this scene but it was a real eye-opening experience to feel that compulsion to move – it really was such a pure feeling.
MIA CAMPBELL-FOULKES
