Mad Racket “The Locals Party†@ Marrickville Bowling Club Sat 24th July 2004
<!– @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } –>
Mad Racket is a consistent party provider. Still kickin well into its 6th year, this party collective has out lasted many of its contemporaries and maintains its underground ethic with emphasis on quality production and intelligent music. The result is a party that respects its punters offering a haven for self-expression, be that on the dance floor or in what you choose to wear (or not to wear) Mad Racket is a party for the open minded.
The venue still holds up as one of the best around: Marrickville Bowling Club can be found in the back streets of the inner west industrial zone. On a quiet night you can hear the bass from almost a kilometre away, but yet I have never known this party to get shut down due to noise complaints. The club maintains its charm as a recreational centre for the bowling set, but it comes alive as a party space with super sound reinforcement and cool visuals courtesy of the Mad Racket crew. The dance floor is legendary, plenty of souls have left their bodies temporarily out on those tiles, whilst the choice of couches beckons seductively to those who prefer to watch.
For the Locals party, there is a healthy turnout of punters despite the Splendour exodus and bitterly cold and damp conditions. The crowd is a well-seasoned lot who feel the urge to shake off their ugg boots and get down to some seriously tasty house music. Typically, there is not one glow stick in sight, but the groove is definitely hitting its mark and more people are on the move then not. This is deep and dirty low slung house music in its element: a musically sensitive crowd who know what they like and a venue with the right mix of space and creature comforts.
For some on the night, that level of comfort extended to wearing very little at all as they shook their bits to Jimmi James’ quality deep tech house. But, being a Mad Racket affair, no one really took much notice of anything other then the music. With the crowd suitably oiled up, Jimmi James slid off and Alpha Town Collective sidled up to soak us in yet more saucy sensations.
Alpha Town took us on a tour of their new live material during an extended and well-received set. These two guys dished out some highly infecticious grooves with deep bass lines that swung hips and heads alike, whilst the lengthy layers of housey goodness mutated delightfully. Their set was well structured and ended in slightly more up-tempo terrain that reflected the heightened vibe of the room.
Ken Cloud took proceedings to the next level with his chunky slabs of meaty beats. The crowd was sitting deep in their grooves, only taking five to partake of the very modestly priced drinks. I believe that this particular Mad Racket featured some of the most consistent and enjoyable music I’ve heard out on the tiles for a while. A party that reminded one of certain halcyon days of past. Long live House. As the Racketeers would say: Well Bowled, Well Rolled.