Salvation Party recipe: Get hot DJs (some from Sydney if available)... This weekend's Heaven fifth Birthday party in Auckland this Saturday and everyone's invited. We can also confirm that there will be all the lasers, go-go dancers and 'psyklonic mirrored objects' you can handle. The first Salvation party was in May 2003, at Bed nightclub on K' Road. Co-organiser Mike Modrich tells the story: "Marty, Donald Bennett and myself were having a few drinks. They were saying that they wanted to DJ more frequently, but they didn't want to commit to a regular Friday or Saturday night somewhere. In those days Donald had just finished DJ'ing at Kiss and Bed – two iconic clubs on K' Road. We all had full-time jobs – we just thought it would be nice to have an event where Donald and Marty could play and we could invite all our friends along. I made the mistake of saying 'well it can't be that difficult to organise a dance party', and they said 'you're on!' So that's how the first Salvation started." ...add Go-Go boys wearing a little as possible... The goal was to bring a Sydney-quality nightclub event to Auckland, and provide a welcoming diverse vibe. "When we go to Sydney and London we're totally blown away by the clubs and parties over there," says Modrich. "The production value is so high. And the only event that came close in New Zealand was the Hero Party, so we saw an opportunity to create something that was visually impressive but a bit more intimate. In those days, Flesh nightclub was the only real clubbing option for people. "So we just marketed it to our friends, and we thought we'd get a couple of hundred people, but ended up with around 350 people." Modrich says that Auckland's nightclubbing and dance party scene has changed a lot since 2003. "Musical tastes have changed – what people like is much more varied nowadays. Some partygoers have a very staunch view of what music should be like, and aren't prepared to vary their musical diet. So you can imagine what it's like for the promoter having to cater for a very diverse group of people. It's nice in the bigger parties where you have the budget to cater for a wide range of genres, but for smaller parties you have to be realistic and aim for where you know you're going to be able to sell tickets." ...turn on those laser lights to this Saturday's party are still available, with details on the link below. Salvation's video pick of the month – Sneaky Sound System's Kansas City is shown below. Matt Akersten - 19th August 2008