Fuzzy’s seasonal breaks parties have long been the mainstay of the Sydney breaks scene. And as the scene has expanded, so have the parties. From the legendary Metro parties to recent outings at venues like the Bondi Pavilion and the Hordern, Fuzzy have toured pretty much every breaks DJ and live act worth their salt at least once in the last few years. From the days of one international DJ and a few local supports, Fuzzy have gradually upped the ante with bigger names and more acts, to arrive at a point where we are treated to the kind of roster of local and international acts you might expect at a major music festival.

Arriving a little too fashionably late, I managed to bolt through the gates in time to catch the second half of Ugly Duckling, the familiar opening strains of Dumb it Down washing away a long day of long-distance travel. I came to the conclusion long ago that UD are by far the flyest white guys on the planet, and my assertion was proved correct once more.  Anyone who can make a concept album work is worthy of the utmost respect, and to make it work live is even more impressive. After a roof shaking rendition of Turn It Up, the boys had the whole crowd converted to the benefits of the meatshake. Turkey Jerky for me, please.

Qbert got off to a rocky start thanks to some minor sound issues, but the loyal were rewarded with a mind-blowing display from one of the worlds most eminent turntablists. More than just a champion battle DJ, Qbert’s innate ability to draw the most incredible array of sounds from a piece of vinyl and a mixer and work them into a cohesive set puts him at the forefront of turntablism as an artform. He seemed conscious of the dangers of forgetting about the music and just showing off for an hour, which would be an easy trap for a DJ of Qbert’s calibre to fall into. He also proudly showed off his latest toy, the Vestax QFO – a space-age looking deck with an inbuilt fader, for on the go scratching without the need for a mixer – check out www.turntabletv.com for photos.

After their knockout set at this years Field Day, expectations were high for the Drumattic Twins. From start to finish they had me completely captivated, which is no mean feat considering my goldfish-like attention span. So many of the big-name breaks acts that have toured Oz in the last couple of years have played good but same-ish DJ sets, that seeing something different was quite exciting. Feelin’ Kinda Strange was a predictable but effective way to get the crowd up and dancing, but over the next hour and a half the pace was frenetic and the track selection constantly surprising, the Twins throwing everything from Usher’s Yeah to Masters at Work’s classic To Be In Love into the breaks blender. Toward the end things took a bit of a rave turn, which seemed especially appropriate given the Hordern’s history. The energy in the room was absolutely electric, and right on cue it started snowing. Yes, snowing, thanks to some serious air cannons and lots of fake snow. It was a big, flashy “look at us” from Fuzzy, and the crowd loved every minute of it.

The hillbilly twang and vicious screaming vocals of Born Too Slow (feat. Kyuss’ John Garcia) started the Crystal Method’s set with a bang, and there was nowhere to go but up. The Crystal Method have defined a genre with their trademark rocky aggressive breaks sound, so I was looking forward to seeing what they would pull out in a DJ set. Of course Ken and Scott plowed the extensive TCM back catalogue, and some judiciously chosen tracks from other artists (most notably the exceptional Hyper remix of Sarah McLachlan’s Stupid) added a bit of variety. And what better to way to finish than with the track that started it all, the timeless Busy Child.

Eschewing the lasers and OTT lighting of most parties of this size in favour of effective design and restrained, intelligent lighting, Fuzzy proved once again that they are at the top of their game in terms of event production. Sound quality was generally good if a little quiet, but I suppose it’s better not to raise the ire of the neighbours in these early stages of the Hordern’s renaissance as a dance venue.

Part of me misses the scuzzy old Metro parties, but if moving to a larger venue means seeing the likes of Ugly Duckling and The Crystal Method on the same bill, I can put my nostalgic grumblings aside. Admittedly I’m still grappling with the concept of council worker vests and glowsticks at a breaks party, but if more people are enjoying the music I like, I suppose that can’t be a bad thing. Given the success of this first uber-breaks party, it will be interesting to see what Fuzzy does next. Will the seasonal breaks parties just get bigger and bigger? Or will we see a return to the smaller scale club setting? Looks like we’ll all have to wait for the next instalment…