My favourite temporary music venue is alive again, oh joyous occasion, Beck’s Bar is playing host to a handful of eclectic gigs throughout January as part of Sydney festival and first up, for me, was the Amanda Blank-headlined FBI night.

The most exciting part of my night was the venue; the huge outdoor sitting area and roomy tented area where the stage is provide much room to relax and have fun with some friends whilst waiting for the acts to begin - it really made me wish that the Hyde Park Barracks were used more often for events.

The line-up for the night did not do much to pack out the venue but that added to the casual-feel of the night as Killaqueenz took to the stage and attracted a relatively small amount of people. I have seen these ladies do their thing before live and have remained only semi-impressed but tonight seemed to be a great improvement for the girls as they immediately won over the fans with their appropriate party hip-hop tunes – they may even have the sound system to thank as the bass seemed to sound much better than when I saw them last. Their main strength is that they complement each other so amazingly well and ride the beats so easily that you cannot help but love them. Tracks like ‘Kick in the back door’ and ‘Bitches’ ensured that the party was started for Devlin & Darko (BBC Soundsystem) to take over.

BBC Soundsystem impressed me greatly as they pulled out some unexpected tracks such as The Chakachas' "Jungle Fever" and Jerry Butler’s “I’m Your Mechanical Man;” it was clear that this set was for party people who wanted nothing of the repetitive and outdated mainstream tracks that DJ’s bring to the table whilst promising a night of urban party tunes. I was thoroughly enjoying this set when Ms Amanda Blank took the stage in a flash.

With an entrance that probably seemed like an epic introduction to hype the crowd up (in her mind), Blank displayed her vocal skills whilst disrobing to reveal her very revealing outfit. Playing on ‘hipsters’ desire to feel all ‘trashy and sexy,’ Ms Blank showed off her full-of-attitude-and-bass party hip-hop but I just couldn’t get into it – the crowd seemed to love it – but her typical party raps seemed to only shine because of the incredible diplo-produced beats that stay consistent with the style of fellow party rapper Spank Rock – speaking of him, Blank did not perform her verse from ‘Bump’ – I was unimpressed and began to miss the Killaqueenz.

BBC Soundsystem stayed on and played some more party tunes after Amanda Blank left the stage but the track selection paled in comparison to the impressive pre-Blank tracks. However, the audience continued TO party-hard as Anna Lunoe ended the night with a fun (as always) set.

So the support outshined the headliner for this particular gig – a usually rare occurrence, which doesn’t say too much for Amanda Blank but says plenty for the Killaqueenz and the awesome, mature taste of BBC Soundsystem.