Live Review: Alison Wonderland, Hayden James

Punters were lined up at the doors at nine o’clock on the dot on Saturday night at the Metro Theatre, hoping to snag some of the last tickets to get on in the action and see rising Australian DJ Alison Wonderland perform the only Sydney show included in her nationwide tour.

Sydney’s Hayden James provided tunes for the early birds, remixing the likes of Kendrick Lamar for those in the bar line to appropriately commence the night’s bumpin’ and grindin’. Down in the mosh, James got the crowd’s blood pumping with an energy-packed set, which included a special appearance from another Sydney name, Michael Di Francesco, aka Touch Sensitive.

The buzz and energy in the room was cranked up another notch when Alison Wonderland finally hit the decks at midnight. First things first, Wonderland sampled a snippet of Spice Girls’ Wannabe mashed up with her own juicy beats and it was perfect. Spice Girls transitioned to Kanye & Jay Z’s Niggas In Paris, in what was a run of eclectic-yet-totally-right remixes and original sounds. This beat-maker has more than an ample amount of her own material and I Want U, an original track Wonderland dropped earlier this year, was the sure-fire highlight of the night.

While she may only be relatively new to the game, it looks like Wonderland has all but perfected a winning formula for a great performance. Booming bass, well-chosen beats and some flawlessly executed dance moves – it’s seriously worth watching her perform just for those moves. Wonderland had the crowd on her side from the first minute.