OMGS! We’ve finally arrived in our own home town! And it was our fearless scout leaders at Club Kooky who got us there. It might’ve taken them 16 years to work their way up from those sweaty underground venues in deepest darkest Darlo to the exalted heights of the Sydney Opera House but last night it happened – and in a big way.
With the icon’s sails in full screen mode, dancing with radical rainbows projected from across the waters of Circular Quay, the Kooksters gathered on the western forecourt for what would be a stella boogie. Transformed from the dour space it had been the night before after the Abbey Theatre production of ‘Terminus’, the foyer was alive with fabulous everybodies. Gunther Marx was sporting his excellent nude tattoo body suit with protruding sand-filled penis and Faggot Rooster was strutting his fabulous elevated stuff with a massive toy tiger wrapped around his shoulders. Dallas Dellaforce was out in force as was nee Bourne who was all over it in a flash.
But it was the music that everyone had come for and our divine DJ’s delivered. Shiny star Avra Cybele was the first to hit the decks, making us sway in a totally gay way in the amazing Studio space then later in the foyer behind a camp gilded grand piano. Stephen Alkins also rocked the piano set-up enticing people from “all walks, skips and jumps of life” to take to the illuminated dance floor. Kooky’s fairy Godparents Seymour Butz and DJ Gemma spun us around what has to be Sydney’s best dance floor back in the Studio and Stereogamous dropped their heavenly remix of LCD Soundsystem’s “I Can Change” – a track that Johnny premiered under the stars at the Boomiale this time last year and which still makes everyone jump with delight when they hear it. Designed for optimum sound, the Studio pumped as it has never done before. I recall partying here like it was 1999 back at the turn of the century but last night Kooky totally popped its cherry
The live musical component was a knock out too; the all-girl wall-of-scrumptious-sound group Wonderlust debuted to a rapturous reception leaving the stage with a promise of a recorded album soon. And hot off the plane from Toronto came Azari & 111, shaking their funky groove things in a smokin indie/techno set that saw the two vocal frontmen hop off the podium and get down on the dance floor a la vintage ‘Soul Train’. All this fresh meat was threaded together by London’s Horse Meat disco DJ’s and Rome’s DJ Baldelli rockin da big O House to it’s foundations.
It was a excellent night and big thanks to curator Stephen ‘Pav’ Pavlocic for making it part of his Vivid Festival 2011. Our booties are still bouncing to those deep rhythms and our souls will be filled with that loving light for a long time to come. Happy sweet sixteen Kooky! You’re deadset rootable.
p.s. if anyone finds my raspberry beret….