The Nokia Terminal Nine festival returned to Brisbane for 2005, this time in the much roomier confines of the QUT Riverstage.

First cab off the rank after arriving were Town Drunxxx, AKA Lazy Grey and Ken Oath, who provided afternoon entertainment with some stock-standard, but entertaining, Aussie hip hop. Salmonella Dub wafted their trademark laid-back, breaky grooves and then managed, as the afternoon meandered into evening, to reel the crowd down the hill to the dancefloor with some louder and funkier beats with reggae tinges.

The revered Mix Master Mike gave everyone what they’d expected with a hip hop set that had the stage area alternately jumping and staring in awe at his unparalleled scratching abilities. There was new pop (Snoop Dogg’s Drop It Like It’s Hot) and old pop (Black Eyed Peas’ Holiday); there was old hip hop (Rob Bass’s It Takes Two) and new hip hop (Jurassic 5’s Break). There were lots of Beastie tracks. And then there were the tunes that he really should have just left alone: Nirvana’s perennially predictable Smells Like Teen Spirit, Jackson Five’s Blame It On The Boogie, and The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army each made appearances that could not have been explained away as cameos.

What does an internationally famous DJ like Mix Master Mike, with what I imagine to be a fascinatingly large and unimaginably expensive record collection, need to play Smells Like Teen Spirit for? And who on the planet wants to hear Seven Nation Army again, ever? I thought only local pop DJs employed in the city played those tunes, and even then only by request at four in the morning. I was expecting a scratch champion to be capable of entertaining and surprising me without having to pull out the Jackson Five.

Of course, Mike was overall a wild success. His set was boppy and funky, and his scratching alone was worth the price of admission – anyone who’s seen him at work, live or recorded, will be familiar with his sometimes frantic, sometimes off-hand magic with the needle.

After an hour’s hip hop from Mix Master Mike, and with Kid Kay Ferris banging out electro on the second stage, it was good to hear some breakbeat from Kid Kenobi and MC Shureshock. The usual combination of chunky bass lines and spiralling riffs from the Kid and expert MCing from Shureshock dragged the audience back to the main stage for tracks including Chemical Brothers’ Galvanise, Alter Ego’s Rocker (with lyrics from the Fugees’ Ready Or Not from Shureshock), and Pendulum’s Fasten Your Seatbelt.

Overall, an enjoyable day in the sunshine, and certainly an excellent fix of breakbeat goodness for at least a couple more months. Bring on the Summer festivals!