Adelaide’s rave scene was set for a seismic shockwave with the “X-perience 2 Dance Tour,” a highly anticipated showcase landing on Thursday, January 7th. Bringing a powerhouse lineup of UK talent to the city, the event featured live acts Dream Frequency and The Prodigy for their promoted final Adelaide show, alongside influential DJs Sasha and Paul Oakenfold, all set to take over the Heaven nightclub for a landmark night.
Event Details
Clear and accessible logistical information is the backbone of any successful event, providing the essential framework that allows attendees to plan their experience. For a night centered on music and community, these core details—date, time, venue, and cost—are the first and most critical points of connection between the promoters and the dance floor.
Date, Time, and Venue
The event was scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 7th, with doors opening at 9 PM. The chosen venue was Heaven, located at The Newmarket Hotel, 7 West Terrace, Adelaide.
Ticketing Information
Entry to the X-perience 2 Dance Tour was priced at $20 per ticket. Prospective attendees could purchase tickets in advance from several key local outlets:
- CC Records
- Central Station
- The Newmarket Hotel
Additionally, a promotional offer provided a chance for fans to win one of five free tickets by phoning in on the day of the event. With the logistics clear, the main draw for the night was unequivocally the world-class roster of performers.
The Performer Lineup
The event’s lineup was a carefully curated showcase of the era’s electronic music landscape, featuring a potent combination of top-tier international live acts and globally recognized DJs. This blend, bolstered by a strong contingent of local Adelaide talent, highlighted the interconnected and vibrant nature of the early 90s global rave scene.
Headline Live Acts
Topping the bill were two of the UK’s most formidable live rave acts, Dream Frequency and The Prodigy, performing what was promoted as their final show in Adelaide. This billing promised a high-energy peak to a night already stacked with talent.
International DJ Showcase
The tour also featured two of the most influential figures on the international circuit. This was to be Sasha’s very first performance in Adelaide, while Paul Oakenfold was arriving with the formidable reputation as the “number one dance music mixer in the UK,” promising to bring the cutting-edge sounds of the British scene to the Adelaide audience.
Local Support
Rounding out the night was a roster of Adelaide’s own established local talent, tasked with setting the stage for the international headliners:
- Groove Terminator (G.T.)
- Hugh-Z
- Brendon
- James Ingram
- MC Scott T.
A lineup of this magnitude demanded more than just a room; it required a sonic and visual temple, and all eyes turned to Heaven to see if it could deliver.
Venue and Production
The success of any rave experience is intrinsically tied to its environment, where sound, light, and space converge to create a fully immersive atmosphere. For an event featuring major international acts, the venue’s quality is paramount. The selection of Heaven was a clear statement of intent to provide a premium production experience.
Described as a “superb rave venue” and an “impressive well-furbished room,” Heaven was equipped with state-of-the-art production facilities. Key features included:
- Impressive moveable lighting rig
- Chic decor
- Intelligent lights
The promoter’s confidence in the venue was evident, especially following what they described in the era’s characteristically chaotic style as a “dance test on Saturday night last Wednesday.” Their commentary was bold:
“Anyone who witnessed the lightening and sound at the X-perience dance test… will tell you Adelaide’s top club is leading the way in Australia.” and “X-perience is for yourself.”
This focus on a high-quality physical space set the stage for the artists, but the broader context surrounding the tour provides a more complete picture.
Context and Commentary
To fully appreciate the significance of the X-perience 2 event, it is essential to look beyond the promotional materials. Insights from past performances at the same venue and direct commentary from one of the headlining artists offer a deeper understanding of the expectations and the cultural climate of the time.
Insights from a Previous Event
A review of a previous X-perience party held at Heaven provides valuable context. While the venue itself was highly praised, the artist performances received a more mixed assessment. The Prodigy’s set, though energetic, was described as “standard” and without surprises, even as “MC Maxim Reality was up front pumpin’ the crowd in a lovely quilted silver suit” and “The dancers Keef and Leroy kept the energy gangin’ gangin’.” More pointedly, the DJ sets from both Sasha and Paul Oakenfold “neither seemed to move the crowd greatly.” This previous reception, compounded by the fact that advertised headliners Frankie Knuckles and Graeme Park were no-shows, undoubtedly shaped the expectations of the returning Adelaide crowd.
Sasha on the State of Rave
Was the prior audience’s muted reaction a reflection on the DJ, or on the crowd itself? Providing a direct perspective, DJ Sasha offered a candid critique of the UK rave scene that might shed light on the dynamic. He expressed a growing disillusionment with the direction of the movement, highlighting a shift he found concerning.
“The music was awful,” he explained, noting that the UK scene had become “dominated by a really young crowd that isn’t actually into the music. They go because their mates go.”
Sasha’s musical philosophy was rooted in pushing back against these trends. He detailed a preference for “mono melodic garage tracks” over the dominant “Belgian hardbeat” of the era. His strategy as a DJ was to challenge the audience rather than simply play the expected hits, aiming “to look for new records and try and big things out that people won’t be expecting to hear.” This approach could very well explain why a crowd anticipating familiar anthems might have been left stationary by a set designed to break new ground.
In line with this forward-thinking philosophy, it was announced that Sasha’s new single, ‘Appolonia’, recorded under the alias B.M.EX(S), was set for release in the UK on the Union City Recordings label later that month.
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