Live Review: Sampology

The crowd was sparse at the Bakery as early birds took full advantage of the empty space to casually wander around as local DJ Ndorse (of Brow Horn Orchestra fame) took to the decks to pump out some quality beats. With the crowd still small, electro-pop outfit Crooked Colours, undeterred, launched straight into their set. Of the crowd that were there, many seemed to enjoy the band's synth-laden numbers and party-appropriate beats, including their j-friendly track Anywhere,  as well as a cover of Muscles' breakout hit, Ice Cream.

Already a well established artist in Perth's gig scene, DJ Charlie Bucket promptly set up on the decks, ensuring that punters didn't have to go tune free. As always, Bucket demonstrated that he can mix, scratch and pump out jams effortlessly, keeping those spirits and hands held high. Those who have witnessed the first-hand wonderment of local Sam Perry elsewhere would have already pre-empted that they were in for a treat. Using only effects and loop pedals, his amazing vocal range, and some visuals, Perry provided once again a captivating and strong set, appearing to leave the audience in awe. By this time in the night, the crowd at The Bakery had reached almost maximum capacity and had transformed the venue into a sea of people all eager to find a good spot inside before the headlining act begun. In the meantime Charlie Bucket returned to the decks to deliver some tunes again, only this time there was a large crowd readily lapping it up.

With no time to muck around, Sampology busily set up for his Apocalypse-themed set. Mixing a vibrant assortment of clips from many iconic films (many of them starring Bruce Willis), the music videos and various contemporary and retro tracks undoubtedly took a lot of skill and co-ordination to master, but amazingly, he made it look all too easy. Delivering a superbly seamless performance with a witty sense of humour to boot is definitely worthy of praise, which is exactly what he got, with the audience digging every moment of a set that traversed genres fluidly – electro, disco, hip hop, dubstep… the journey had it all. With spirits high, the party vibe had well and truly set in, as Ndorse returned yet again to ensure that people had some serious fun until the very end.