Gig Review: Yacht Club DJs @ The Corner Hotel, 16th October

Without sounding like toooo much of a pretentious dickhead, I honestly believe that a part of writing is accepting that there are some things which words simply cannot adequately describe. The Yacht Club DJs set at the Corner Hotel on Saturday night was one of these things.

Anyone who has seen the Ballarat boys live before probably would have some idea what I’m talking about, however this was my first time seeing Yacht Club live properly (for more than a few minutes at a festival), so I really was not expecting a show this wild, intense, crazy, and awesome.

It was one massive party from start to finish, and was one of the most insane hours of my life. Yacht Club played a whirlwind of a show, going from hit to hit in the space of thirty seconds, so that by the time you were getting tired of jumping and screaming along to one song, the next one would be starting.

They blended and mixed tracks seamlessly, and there was literally no break in the intensity and the madness. The fact that there was a barrier and security guard set up in the Corner Hotel, something which I had never seen before, demonstrates perfectly just how mental this show was.

But instead of doing injustice to the gig with a wordy review, here are some of the things that happened, in no particular order:

Black Betty.

A fairly long version of All The Small Things which saw literally every person jumping as high as they could, arms outstretched into the bight lights emanating off the stage and singing as loudly as they possibly could.

My favourite song ever, Chicago, was played briefly in one of the coolest surprises I have ever witnessed as a gig. I won’t soon forget moshing to the Sufjan Stevens ballad.

A constant stream of promo CDs being thrown out from the stage.

Their trademark remix of Little Red’s smash hit Rock It which lifted the intensity to a whole new level.

Prisoner Of Society, which saw the entire crowd bellowing “WELL WE DON’T NEED NO-ONE, TO TELL US WHAT TO DO”.

These Boots Are Made For Walking.

Almost perpetual crowdsurfing from the duo, constantly vaulting the barrier to get amongst the crowd.

Florence’s You’ve Got The Love with Mumford And Sons’ The Cave as a backing track.

Water being sprayed out from the stage into the thankful faces of the sweaty people at the front of the crowd.

Around The World by Daft Punk, which absolutely went off.

The Middle.

The set finished with one of the duo jumping into the crowd and making out with a girl in the audience, and I can think of no better way to sum up the party that was Yacht Club DJs than this.

I spent literally the entire show in the very middle of the mosh, which in all fairness was pretty much the whole Corner Hotel, and I don’t think anyone was still for even a single track. Yacht Club moved through songs with ferocious energy and efficiency: this is true music for the ADHD generation.

The constant energy in the crowd was truly impressive, continually reaching new highs just when you thought it couldn’t. I kept on being separated from the mates I went to the gig with, only to be reunited through jumping movements and crowd pushes. In these moments we got very amped at our reunion and partied even harder.

By the end of the set I was not only completely and utterly exhausted but also drenched in sweat, out of breath, and covered in bruises. It was mental. There were probably twenty other awesome songs that I forgot about, but the gig really did pass in a ridiculously fun blur.

It was probably the best $20 I have ever spent, because man did Yacht Club bring the party. This was not your normal Corner Hotel gig, but then Yacht Club DJs aren’t your normal DJs, either. These guys really are onto something, and it’s hard not to see them going from strength to strength as they tear up pretty much any Australia festival and venue they want.

Like I said, even though this may have just been another party and another show for Yacht Club DJs, for me this was simply incredible and I cannot wait to relive it next time they tour. The lack of their trademark blowup crowdsurfing dinghy was slightly disappointing, but you certainly can’t complain about how much time they spent out amongst the crowd.

But anyway, like I said, words are pretty useless in this case. If you haven’t already, I cannot recommend strongly enough catching a Yacht Club headline show. By the end of it you won’t know what hit you, only that you really, really enjoyed being hit by it.