It has been the event of the year for over a decade, and this year, the annual go crazy event that is Madhatters, held at Ambar, lived up to its expectations.
Arriving early for a pre-party, the look of things to come was presented when we were greeted by the door girl, who was representing with a Manchester United kit, somewhere not far off in the distance one of the ref’s blew their whistle – and it was then this writer knew the night had only just begun.
Ambar had spared no effort in their setup, with the entire club decked out in pizzazz. Hanging garden like tendrils abounded and oriental themed items of various shapes and sizes dangled from the ceilings. One of the best parts of the clubs “additions” was the opening of the back room into a whole new section of the club for the evening. This was also decked out in variety of paraphernalia, as well as a deck-setup of multiple proportions – perfect for back to back, who both put on great performances during the evening. Between Micah being successful in his mission to find Perths’ most audacious Mullet wig and the rest of the Breakaholics and the Nyquist-nurses smashing out multi-deck wonder, the backroom was a great sojourn from the main room. With styles frequently swapping back and forth between breaks and electro house as miss T, Flex, Choice and Cody also made their own bass-splitting appearances and the entire setup presented a unique facet to night.
In the main room, Mark Dynamix was the definite highlight of the night – with half a set that must have been comprised as pure dub-plate or hard to find bliss, there was no stopping the man as he showed Perth exactly how electronic music is able to make legs move in wanton abandon. Amongst the mix of unknown dubs were several of the regular Ambar anthems, which very much pleased, and Dynamix surprised with his versatility. HooknSlings brand of beats n breaks was a welcome addition, and he kept everyone going with a nice fix of his brand – in fact, the Main room was completely packed through the evening, with Prizzy the Scare Everyone With His Pliars Toothfairy, Wish, Skelly, Marty Karate, Tone and Headboy Ben Mac (breath) all joining the Main room fray during the evening – and all putting on great sets.
With bar staff dressed to the hilt, freaky mannequins scattered through the club scaring the shit out of people by not talking back, she-devils, cops, American football players, Go-go girls, game referees, bloodied nurses, friendly French maids, Indian chiefs and a manager dressed to the hilt in civil war apparel, there was never any telling what was to come next, and indeed words fail at the mere thought of the diversity of uniforms that people put forth. At some point, entry was made by four policewoman, handcuffed to what may have been the luckiest criminal ever, obviously leading him to the dance-cell for an evening of incarceration.
The evening is still burry as this article is finished – and no amount of notes hastily written on the back of a napkin because a writer had lost his notebook, or couldn’t figure out scattered writing the next day due to an overbearing headache due to “toomanydrinkitis” can match nor come close to explaining the fun of the evening. People played music. Great f*ckin music. People got dressed up. People met new people. People had an amazing night. People worked hard to set it up – the effort put in by Warwick and the Ambar crew, the guest djs and the local host was nothing short of sterling – and all these things are what make an amazing Madhatters, and why it continues, every year, to leave all who attend wanting another fifty two weeks to pass as soon as possible, so that they can just do it all over again …
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