The mystique and cultural impact of Melbourne's most famous nightclub through the eyes of one of its veteran DJs.
There is just something about Revolver. Everyone has a story, an impression, a curiosity, which almost tips into fear for the people who have never been up the steep stairs and danced in front of the cage: fear of the unknown.
It’s a nightclub that feels like a house party with a bunch of strangers – strangers you might never see outside of the club but spend hours dancing beside, indulging in the ebb and flow of the dancefloor, becoming a single organism thriving off the shared energy.
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Revolver Upstairs, a long-lasting, intriguing, and infamous southside nightclub colloquially referred to as Revs, has an air of mystery like no other club or place in Melbourne. Undeniably Australia’s most famous nightclub, it’s a place where people can be themselves, blend in, let loose, and become part of the tapestry of the all-encompassing atmosphere.
Revolver Upstairs opened its doors in the late 1990s. It quickly became a hub for music and creatives and has hosted local and international talent, including the likes of Fatboy Slim, Fred Again.. and live acts such as the Avalanches. Revs is a cultural institution that is the beating heart of Melbourne’s music scene.
Mitch, who goes by the alias Kids Table, has been DJing at Revs for years and has been a regular punter even longer. He says he first came with a few mates around 15 years ago and it was a turning point for him. “When I came in here, the music that I heard, I hadn’t really heard that style of music before and it just hit with me.” He was hooked. The next week, he drove up from Geelong on his own to take in the atmosphere again.
“I was just sitting here for probably 8, 9, 10 hours, and I remember Silversix was playing in the afternoon and he came from behind the cage and he said ‘man, who are you here with?’
And I said, ‘oh, no one, I just came through cause I’m frothing the music.’”
After that, Mitch came to Revs nearly every weekend for two or three years before he had his first opportunity to DJ. He was asked to go back-to-back with Mike Toner one Sunday afternoon. From then on, Kids Table played sets at all hours of the weekend and took every opportunity to DJ at Revs.
“It was just really good because it was the main place where I was able to play anything I wanted. It just came out organically. It was a perfect setting.”
Kids Table’s sound is a pulsating blend of techno and house that creates a fluidness and rhythmic dynamic in the room. When Mitch is DJing he knows what he’s aiming for: “The best thing you can do for a dance floor is to let it breathe.”
Revs isn’t a festival where people come and dance for short, intense bursts. People are there for hours and the energy needs to be maintained by the DJ being in a flowing conversation with the crowd.
“Think about being a caretaker of the dance floor when you’re playing, you can kind of curate those moments where you can roll between energies, a liquid flow like the ocean, you don’t just want concrete.”
As a longtime lover of Revs, Mitch said he wanted to give back to the club in his version of a love letter, an artfully filmed set, that gives a taste of the Revs energy, intrigue, and atmosphere but doesn’t tear away the veil.
On the day I’m there, Kids Table walks ahead up the steep stairs, past the cage to a round table. It’s Saturday afternoon and the club is closed for a brief moment before the weekend parties resume and the doors reopen at 5 pm Saturday until 9 am on Monday morning.
“This place is special, it’s not about taking the veil away,” he said, looking around at the walls filled with art and character.
The set does exactly that. It gives you a glimpse into the magic that is Revs, the darkness of the venue, the different energies and tempos of the set, and the flow back and forth from DJ to the crowd through the cage. It also gives people who have never been to Revs a chance to be part of that energy, to tempt them out of their comfort zone, and go enjoy the freedom that is dancing all day and night at Revolver.
“You can come here by yourself. You can come here with a crew. Either way, it doesn’t matter because once you’re in, you’re all the same.”
The community and devotion to creativity seems to be what has made Revs such a powerful and enduring presence in Melbourne. If you are lucky you might stumble across Kids Table playing an early morning set or you can have a taste of it here.
Part of the mystery and joy of Revs is joining the fray and seeing what emerges – you never know who you might see, who you might meet and who you could become, in an environment that values art and expression above all else.
