The last time Dan Stephens aka one half of Nero, just about the hottest production outfit in dubstep and drum and bass at the moment  was in town he featured on a bill with 3 other internationals and played two seperate sets over the course of the evening. The first was a high energy ball tearing drum and bass set, and the second was a dubstep set which went down at 4am and unfortunately this reviewers legs just couldn’t go the distance on that particular evening. Saturday night at Shape Nero made his second appearance in Perth this time as the star attraction with a whole two hours to showcase the pair’s work and with the sheer abundance of quality tunes they’ve been putting out recently, this set was sure to be a classic. Break it down for the full review.

The gig sold out around a week prior and arriving at 11pm the venue was well on its way to being jam packed. Muller was warming up the crowd, smoothly mixing some deep, rolling drum and bass. Most punters appeared to be conserving their energy, with few actually pulling out the dance moves at this point. When the first dubstep beat for the night was dropped courtesy of Birthday Boy, Rekab the dancefloor started to swell. Starting off with some tough techy beats such as Jakes’ Warface, Rekab kept things interesting by switching up the rhythms with tracks such as Benga’s Transform. Rekab gradually built the energy levels up and the inclusion of a few more electro sounding tracks such as Joker’s Tron meant the vibe was just right by the time Nero took the reigns at 1am.

Kicking off with Innocence and slamming straight into the VIP mix of Sub Focus’ Coming Closer Nero wasted no time in getting into that epic uplifting big room sound the pair are so famous for. Some older classic tunes such as Emalkay’s When I Look At You and Chase and Status’ Saxon and Eastern Jam made have provoked a bit of chin stroking action from a few people in the room though the vast majority didn’t seem to mind, losing their shit in fine form. The dubstep remix of break through track  Act Like You Know came around and a couple of Doctor P tunes including Sweet Shop and Nero’s remix of Ghosts n Stuff by Deadmau5 kept energy levels high and the crowd sufficiently rocking.

A smooth transition into the drum and bass section of the set ramped up the sweat levels in the club as Nero tracks Electron and Sounds In Motion were given a good rinsing. Chase and Status’ Streetlife was a highlight toward the end of a surprisingly short drum and bass segment. We were then thrown back into the sounds of dubstep, as the monsterous Sub Focus remix of Rusko’s Hold On sent the room into a frenzy . The tune that it seemed many had come to hear, Nero’s remix of MJ Cole’s Sincere was finally dropped toward the end of the set and was sincerely (HA!) appreciated, the crowd grooving in unison to the ever so sweet bassline. A couple of monster tunes, possibly material from the upcoming album wound out the set and as Nero stepped down a sea of upward reaching arms and a deafening roar suggested the DJ was well appreciated.

Q-Bik took control and showed why he’s one of the highest rated drum and bass DJs in Australia. The New Zealand born Perth based DJ and producer who’s been turning heads worldwide never fails to impress. Mixing with precision, Q-Bik layed down some pumping drum and bass and managed to keep a very significant number of punters on the dancefloor til the wee hours.

Definitely a night which lived up to its hype. The only criticism of Nero was that the DJ was perhaps lacking in a bit of crowd interaction. Ears will surely be ringing around Perth for a couple of days as the volume in the club was incredibly loud, but hey, it’s a dubstep gig innit? Props to Knowledge Music for a rip snorter party, the first in a string of crackers coming in the next few months – Instra:Mental, Logistics, Marky and more. It’s a good life here in the West.