It had been a while since this old disco dog had boarded a floating dance fiesta, and to celebrate Spring had arrived in style. As we waited to board the Bella Vista yacht from Man of War steps it was difficult to tell if people were more excited about seeing Peven Everett or the fact it was legitimate shorts weather.
Split across two levels, the lower would provide an afternoon of live music vibes finishing with Peven and his merry men of musicians. The top, sun drenched disco deck, would play host to selection master Boogie Monster, fine party purveyor J-Nett and a closing set by Mike Who.
A frustrating wait to get to the top deck governed by a “one up one down” policy meant that when the soles of my shoes hit the second level they weren’t leaving anytime soon. Watching Boogie Monster flip between a selection of disco and funk in the first few hours was an absolute delight, and despite the sound missing some depth (assuming harbour noise restrictions were at play) he had the crowd whipped into a frenzy of high fives, smiles and, well, boogying.
J-Nett stepped up next and had immediate impact. Classics like “Love Come Down” played at sunset, while cruising under the Harbour bridge, confirming that this was, in fact, a god damn party and not a single body in the top deck remained still. J-Nett perused her way from disco to house, finishing off with a flurry of deeper sounds, setting the scene nicely for Mike Who.
As the sun descended so did we to the lower deck in preparation for Peven Everett. We were greeted by the always energetic CC:Disco, patiently throwing down tunes as Pevens’ start time continued to push back. Someone knew what they were doing though, as by the time he started there was no less than a mosh pit style crowd gathered at the edge of his modest stage. Pushing and shoving turned to dancing and hip shaking as he opened with ‘Stuck‘, and followed later with ‘One Way Ticket‘. As the crowd became too much we moved to the back of the room, where the sound was equally as good, and the room to free the feet infinitely larger. Peven continued to jam away well after we docked (not that anyone noticed), taking his time to thank the crowd for their good vibes. Red Bull Music Academy should be applauded for delivering a truly unique experience to catch this complete master of his craft.
Thank Red Bull Music Academy Weekender for having us along.
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