Live Review: Sasha Grey

Sasha Grey is a woman of many talents, boasting an extensive resume including; model, author, adult film star, playing in an industrial noise band, and starring in a number of movies and television shows.

When she announced she was starting to DJ, it was assumed she was just joining the ranks of the many other celebrities-gone-DJ, who have plagued our nightlife in recent years.

Playing on a Sunday night in Adelaide has its issues, and the possibility of a half empty club crossed this reviewer's mind – half the people in the venue could have had no idea who she was, but the other half were waiting eagerly for her to enter the booth. After coming on 40 minutes later than her scheduled 12am start time, the busy Zhivagos Sunday night crowd welcomed her with cheers as she put on her headphones. She began by picking up the microphone, saying, “Hi Adelaide, I’m Sasha Grey. Let’s dance our fucking feet off,” and instantly launched into a remix of Rune RK’s Calabria.

Dancing and singing along, the crowd seemed all too pleased with her song selection as she continued through her set. To start with, it did seem like Jessica Gonyea (her DJ partner) was doing most of the work and Grey was more or less just dancing, but as the set progressed she looked far more confident. Sipping on a blue Curacao cocktail, Sasha Grey was anything but an amateur as she engaged the crowd with each track. The venue livened up as she launched into each song, mixing as well as any professional DJ. Her face lit with a gorgeous smile as she danced and laughed, singing along with the crowd to a remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Heads Will Roll. Not seeming bothered by the constant ‘selfies’ being taken with her from the front row, at one point she even took somebody’s phone to take a myriad of photos of herself. Finishing up with thank-yous to the crowd, she left the booth as cheers went up in appreciation.

While her set only went for an hour, it didn’t seem there was a moment where she didn’t have the crowd firmly in her grasp. Sasha Grey can confidently add DJ to her ever-growing resume.