Fifty glorious years of Pacha Ibiza - what a ride. Such an occasion call for a party. Naturally. We're on Ibiza, what else do you propose?
Adored island-wide, globally recognised with such a legacy in place, Pacha's 50th Anniversary Party couldn't possible live up to its billing, could it?
Parties that carry such a burden can sometimes collapse under their own weight of expectation. For example, while it's by no means a consensus shared by all my colleagues, this writer feels that the final ever Space Closing Party didn't come close to previous years' Space closings.
With pre-sale ending weeks ago, the forecast pointed to a historic night. Pairing Pacha' two biggest stars, Solomun and Marco Carola, together for the first time added further prestige.
Recognising the majesty of the occasion, the crowd matched the notoriety, creating a fervent dancefloor right from the word go as clubbers poured inside from doors open. They truly delivered on their side of the bargain. The atmosphere was as good as any club night I can recall.
This was Pacha dancing, prancing and sashaying in all her glory.
There's little doubt the thousands in attendance were drawn primarily through the unlikely union of Solomun and Marco Carola, if not the original excuse for the party itself. The duo, strange bedfellows perhaps, duly delivered. Yet it would have been unfair not to involve regular Wednesday hosts Bedouin somehow.
Presented with a full dancefloor in front of them for their "warm-up", Rami and Tamer clasped the opportunity with both hands and blew everyone away. To call this anything other than one of the stand-out sets of summer, would be doing it a massive disservice.
There was music that referenced their Middle Eastern heritage, alongside more robust and modern dance music, such as Raxon's The Fall, Mind Against's Explorer and an old Pacha favourite in Moderat and DJ Koze's Bad Kingdom.
By the time they had finished, the dancefloor was primed and the scene teed-up for the two dance music idols to take over.
In some respects, Saga is criminally overlooked compared to parties with more visibility. Yet the crowd that gathers every Wednesday night, does so in the knowledge that they are in for a musical treat.
In much the same way Solomun did, and perhaps arguably Carola too, it really feels as though Bedouin have grown into Pacha. It is now a club that is influencing their sound.
With debut album Temple Of Dreams just about to receive a volley of club-ready remix packages, Bedouin seem to be entering the next phase of their career. Pacha's 50th Anniversary Party might be the catalyst to push them up a level higher.
Get ready for the Vintage Culture take on Tijuana to drop later this month, which has been doing damage at Saga and again set Pacha's dancefloor alight tonight. A faster tempo remix of Coldman is another to watch out for.
Happy 50th birthday, Pacha! This night may be spoken about as the occasion when Solomun and Carola united for the first time. But for me, it'll be the night that Bedouin stole the show.
Tickets for the nine remaining dates in Saga calendar can be purchased below, including this coming week when Seth Troxler and DJ Tennis are the heavyweight guests. Don't bank on them outshining the hosts though!
PHOTOGRAPHY | by Raul Sanchez
