It’s was my first time at Sydney’s Stereosonic. After missing out on the previous two years sell out shows I tingled with anticipation waiting to experience what Hardware-Totem and onelove Music Group had to dish out in ‘09’. Changing the format of previous years from four satellite shows over four venues to a consolidated single event spanning from Moore Park across to Hordern and surrounds, the stage was set for a truly epic day. Sadly, from the get-go the festival was fraught with organisational and technical problems that were only briefly interrupted by rare moments of heart pounding electronic bliss.

After a ticket booth operator made my entrance rather difficult - my ticket handed over with the recalcitrance and glaring eyes of a disciplined child - I joined the throng of tattooed bodies as we were herded towards police, more police, and the invasive hands of the bouncers. A remix of Booka Shade’s "Body Language" floated over the fences and lifted my spirits.

The six stage set up in a relatively small space resulted in a somewhat bivouac experience as party goers scrutinized appropriately confusing maps and argued over where the Bloody Beetroots were playing. Although impossible to predict the overwhelmingly popularity of the Beetroots in the wake of their single Warp it goes without saying that a large space would be required for back to back Beetroot, Surkin, and Crooker’s performances. Mind bogglingly they were placed on, or rather should I say ‘in’ the Outrage stage aka Royal Hall of Industries with a capacity of a meagre few thousand. The Outrage stage was closed down by more police than I would expect to see at a North Ireland Peace March hours before the Beetroots were to play. The growing powder-keg of Stereosonic was amplified by the oppressive sun, dust, and excessive consumption of booze. It erupted at the end of Grant Smilie’s less than inspired second set for the day.  An enormous brawl broke out left of stage. If the organisers had implemented a “Tops on Policy”, whereby ticket holders would be ejected for not wearing a t-shirt, then the patrons had executed a “gloves off policy”, and fought on until they tired.

There were a number of shining performances. Home-grown club scene hero and formidable DJ Ajax left the audience panting after mixing some of his trade mark house-electro-rock hybrids. The Axe Axwell in his Swedish House Mafia sunglasses belted out track after track of pure party pleasure getting feet shuffling to his infectious bass lines. Everybody put their hands up for Fedde Le Grand as he played to one of the biggest audiences of the day. ‘The Dutch Master’ didn’t disappoint with his set whipping the crowd into such a frenzy they were seeing starry nights in the middle of the day and willing to cut each others ears off.

Headliner Deadmau5 played a set that a passing drunk described as something “I would have rather listen too in my car”. He was not far off the mark. Headlining acts need to finish with a bang. They need to be dynamic rather than progressive. The slow start rocked people into a somnolent sway and there was seemingly no attention to track choice or how they songs related or flowed from one another. The end result was an overall lack of any real rhythm or cohesion, all in all a pale performance.

Crookers played predictably, albeit with enjoyable results. Disrupted by technical difficulties nearing their last song they managed to get out all their favourites. Now famous remixes of ‘Thunderstruck’ and  ‘Day and Night’ brought the Outrage stage to its knees. The floor was covered in more sweat than booze which is always an indicator that the performers have done something right. 

Photos from the day have been supplied by the promoter and are used with permission.