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Original Transmissions & Ascend Presents Pqm + Andy Page Live!! - 26.11.2004

Author: Phil Watkins
Thursday, December 2, 2004
Chronik and Andy Page smoke Altitude for all its worth!

You know one of those hot nights in Melbourne when it is really hard to move yourself out of the chair to get out and then you realise that this might be only time you can actually wear those hot pants you have always wanted to...oh sorry wrong review.

Original Transmission had the best of the best live acts in Australia last Friday night all in the one place at the one time. PQM presenting his new project Chronik, with vocalist Matt Peri and Andy Page getting live with his bass guitar for one of his now infamous live sets. If you are into your tunes then you would have been there if not you would have missed out on possibly one of the most up front nights in the Melbourne dance music scene this year.

Altitude is a first floor venue raised above Russell Street in our beautiful city and has a really nice thing about it. In the sweltering heat under a full moon the Friday night energy was running high. Walking into the venue the masses waited drinking just to keep cool. It was a very bar atmosphere which was kind of nice, old friends catching up and talking their week and to those not in the know then you would be forgiven for thinking that this would just be a regular night out with friends, not one which would showcase the future of the Melbourne dance music scene. I would not have had it any other way as it s when you don't expect something that it hits you in its purest form.

In hindsight I would say that this would be a clever thing in the end. Andy Page did not end up coming on until 1.00 after word on the street said 12.00 but I'm telling you by the time he came on the crowd were well up for it. It's been awhile since I have been to a rocking house and breaks party normally the crowd are quite scarce and it's really hard for the artists to get into their thing in a decent atmosphere, but this was completely different. Andy Page is one of the tightest producers in the world at the moment his tunes are completely seminal at times, the crowd showed their appreciation with the hands in the air and those faces that you misconstrue as being quite sexual if it weren't for the music being played. Tune after tune, checking Andy you know he knows what he's going to do the crowd next and only every so often you will see a little smirk rise out of the concentration when he sees that he was right. When "Serpent" which in my opinion is one of the most unrelenting tunes of this year came through with it's electric guitar it was over, the crowd let go and it was time to get down. Altitude was brimming with energy by this time and as Andy finished up to screams and applause, the set up for the Chronik began.

Dance music is now in a beautiful place. The evolution of live music and electronically based sound scapes is due to create a vibe that will not be beaten and one artist who it is a great pleasure to see make this jump is PQM. After finding the right vocalist in Matt Peri, who you must hear to believe, I feel that their first live set in front of an audience will be the beginning of great things to come, and yes you might think that I'm just saying that but I would not have been there in the first place if I didn't think that it was the case and I was right. The Flying Song was one of the first house tunes that put PQM on the international map for me and the live version with Anya was excellent and hit the spot with the crowd and you could feel that energy rise again. I already had particular favourites in mind for this set, and when PQM sat down and grabbed the guitar and Matt started to belt out "Mello", my eye brows raised and I knew that my little statement about the evolution of PQM's latest tunes had begun. I must say that I actually preferred the live version to all the times I have smashed up the venues where I have heard it played in DJ sets. When things are done live like the Chronik did, the raw sound comes through you in such a new way, a breath of fre
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