It didn’t take much convincing from a couple of Desyn fanatics to witness the encore performance from this progressive goliath last Sunday. Like most, I was on cloud nine after the events of Saturday night (the Renaissance Summer Ball), so I’d have probably lobbed anyway, nevertheless, the fanatics had plied me with a plethora of pre-gig Desyn propaganda which included a.) his rolling set at Suzi Q’s earlier in the year, b.) the wraps on last weekend at Candy’s, and, c.) Balance 008, a unique and progressive master stroke.

We arrived at the Garden around 6.15 to see Nic Fanciulli (aka Skylark) on deck, and were instantly impressed to see Sydney’s hippest crowd, most decked in shorts, thongs, hats, visors and sunglasses, grooving along nicely. The Sounds team had made some changes over the preceding fortnight which certainly added to the opening day atmosphere. A number of large umbrella’s had been annexed with their impact being twofold; firstly, providing cover from the searing sun, whilst secondly, enclosing the area a little more allowing more of a club like atmosphere. The stairs up to the Slip Inn had also been closed off which nullified the constant and painful flow of punters in and out of the main arena. By the time I’d grabbed my first pint of James Squires’, Fanciulli had dropped an absolute stonker, in Lifelike and Kris Menace’s – Discopolis, and shortly after, an epic, low end squelchy remix of Sander Kleinenberg’s – The Fruit.

Meanwhile, amongst the ordinary punter, there existed some solid debate as to the identity of the “mystery international guest DJ”. A quick check of the chaos around the DJ booth revealed, amongst other notables, none other than a blonde flaxed, James Zabiela, who, not content with obliterating all and sundry at Renaissance some 10hrs prior, just had to get a little (or a lot, as the case would be) more of the Sydney party action. Still, saying that, one could hardly blame him; 28 degree lazy Sunday evenings in the middle of December come along in London as often as a Paul van Dyk tour of Australia. Back to the main course, Desyn. Amidst the magnificent backdrop of a clear Sydney night sky etched with a glorious crescent moon and, one solitary beaming star situated immediately above the DJ booth, Desyn took over from Fanciulli to the rapturous applause of a now frenetic, swarming mass, eager to eek the very last out of their battle weary bodies.

Maisello played what could best be described as a “classic courtyard” set, relentless in it’s progressive groove, and with enough “hands in the air tunes” to keep the punters crying out for more. To be fair, the crowd were so up for it, it probably wouldn’t have mattered if Desyn was up there mixing a milkshake. Within half an hour, Masiello had pounded out (within the obvious limitations of the Garden’s sound system), Joey Negro’s – Make a Move on Me (oh the reflective drive of it), Haji and Emanuel’s – Take Me Away and Max Graham’s – Automatic Weapon; all of which served to swell the heaving throng to such an extent, that more dancefloor space, and vantage points were needed. Easy enough done. Down came the umbrella nearest the DJ tent, and up climbed the punters; soon enough the Garden’s few fittings overflowed with those wanting a squizz at the Bedrock leviathan.

At the same time, some of the crowd seemed content enough to let Desyn go on his merry way; a selection of handsome young gents sat cross legged atop a giant flower pot, pow wowing, the regular 80s retro set did their best to recreate some of the worst dance moves ever seen to man, whilst others decided to put some “creative” clubbing based touches to one of Sounds’ signature garden gnomes. Ben Korbel looked on most perplexed. Desyn all the meanwhile continued to showcase his flawless mixing, bringing in a ripping new version of Planet Funk’s – Chase the Sun, a delightful dub edit of Groove Armada’s – Easy, and perhaps in a show of appreciation for all of us, a hitherto unheard version of Skylark’s – That’s More Like It. An exhausted looking Desyn finished up around 9.30pm, and whilst most of us could have stayed on for more, it was probably just enough.

Whilst Masiello’s set lacked the crazy flow and flux of Balance 008, he more than made up for in his ability to seamlessly deliver a myriad of progressive bombs. In short, it was the perfect end to a weekend no one wanted to end. Fanciulli, Zabiela, Sasha, a mash up of gargantuan proportions, a little snooze, a pizza, several beers, mates, tunes, some more Fanciulli, and then Desyn. 18 hours don’t come much better than that. We never saw a “mystery” international take to the decks, or CDJs as they now so often are, but it didn’t matter. I think I can confidently say on behalf of all of us who went to both Renaissance and the Garden, a huge thanks to the Sounds crew for putting on such a monster. Well done guys, it was our pleasure helping you destroy both venues. We look forward to your next offering.