Live Review: Carl Cox, Kolsch, Eric Powell

High up in the hills of Perth, at what is likely one of Perth's best venues, thousands of experienced and quietly confident party veterans filled the Red Hill Auditorium to witness a rare opportunity — one of the greatest DJs of our time, Barbados-born British house techno champion and dance music pioneer, the legendary Carl Cox.

Eric Powell kicked off the party with high quality tunes, creating a pleasant vibe as the audience watched the sun slowing sink into the sea, turning the sky orange. 

By the time the stars were out in their full magnificence, Danish techno artist Kolsch took to the stage with his fresh inventive sounds, injecting the audience with an extra dose of cheer with his mix of What's A Girl To Do by Fatima Yamaha.

At a few minutes to 9pm, one to the coolest looking dudes this reviewer's ever seen graced the stage. Was it Marsellus Wallace from Pulp Fiction turned DJ? No, it was someone even cooler: Carl Cox. Everywhere you looked people had their phones ready to record what was about to happen next.

Within seconds of getting his hands on the decks, this notoriously charming musical ambassador made full use of the microphone and had everyone jumping up and down in delight. Bouncing around on stage like a boss, and in his element, he inflected us all with his irresistible energy, reminding us all how long he has been in the business. Knowing exactly what to say and when to say it, he delivered delicious new sounds that both refreshed us and took us down memory lane to the good old days.

DJ Annie Mac was right when she said Cox's "got a way of wrenching your emotions". Alongside his devoted admirers, gig-goers visibly felt a deep sense of nostalgia as they realised they were dancing with the same legend who filled childhood homes with the magical new electronic sounds of the early '90s and had them dancing around the living room in ecstasy, and who, over two decades later, is still the King Of Techno.