If ever there was a party to generate pre-rave controversy, this was to be it. Whispers of a Gammer and Lisa Marie no-show. Set times never making 3D. A new venue. It is little surprise that, when we entered the SOP warehouse sector, it was to a soundtrack of rumour, curiosity and suspense.

When the rave crowd invades Homebush, they do so in style. Cars, windows down, music cranking, people waving and dancing. Shufflers decked out in phatties, kandi kids covered in brightly coloured beads and fluffies. Excitement and anticipation permeate the air. The queue grows, 10pm draws near. Scoring envy-inducing VIP entry allowed me to witness the gate opening mechanics of Powerhouse. Security worked hard to ensure all three stages were running prior to letting the hordes access. Head honcho Sam was on hand, a sure sign of his commitment to the smooth running of Utopia. A cheer arose as the barricades were removed and the crowd slowly filtered through.

The warehouse sector has not been used for a rave. It plays host to the Big Day Out’s Boiler Room, but the environs were no doubt surprised to welcome shufflers, stompers, hardstyle and happy hard. Three warehouses were used. The Kelly and Jenko pavilions played host to the main and hardcore rooms respectively, whilst a small portion of another warehouse was roped off for the mashup room. The venue was, of course, a nod to the old school days of raving. Sound was well-managed, so long as you didn’t stray too far up the back. The laser show was solid, especially the laser greeting entrants to the main room, although I’ll be the first to admit this element of production doesn’t bother me. Whilst many would advocate the superiority of the Superdome (now the Acer Arena), one must tip their hat to Powerhouse for innovative rave venues (Wonderland, Glenworth Valley and now the SOP Warehouse sector).

My first stop was the main room, complete with 18+ bar area and friendly bar staff. Matrix was opening, and he was backed up by Nik Fish Amber Savage playing an unusually early timeslot. Over in the hardcore room, locals Scape, Duckie and Fenix got proceedings moving. The first international in the main room was FiNRG genius Alex Szahala. FiNRG is a moving blend of twisted psy, soaring trance and driving beats. My favourite track was his own ‘Dryad Machine’. I hope the crowd appreciated this unique EDM genre, although in all probability the only track they recognised was his finale; ‘Adagio For Strings’. Dougal played sans Gammer and Lisa. His hour behind the decks did not lack because of it. I was especially thrilled to hear him drop Darren Styles’ bittersweet ‘Save Me’.

Italian hardstyle headliner Technoboy was sensibly allotted 120 mins of airtime and, damn, didn’t he use them to awesome effect! He opened proceedings with his latest production under the DJ Gius alias, ‘V For Venusian’. His set was a carefully selected blend of old favourites and latest releases – his remix of ‘Sky High’, ‘Backbiter’, Tatanka’s ‘GTP’, ‘Miss Kidman On A Cruise’, The KGBs ‘Infinity’…it was two solid hours of bass-tingling hardstyle. He even dropped, much to the delight of the crowd, his seminal ‘War Machine’. My only surprise came from not hearing ‘Guns n Noses’. If you haven’t already downloaded the live broadcast, do so…now!

I was walking to the bar area after Technoboy when Lisa Abbott’s lofty voice singing “I Feel Alive” had me racing back to find my friends. Yes, it was time for the much anticipated ‘You’re Shining’ live PA performance; a defining moment in any happy hardcore-loving life. There is a short interlude here. The MC announced that some dodgy pills were getting around. No promoter wants their event associated with illegal substances, so respect must be given to Powerhouse for taking the responsible approach. Let us hope everyone took heed of the MCs advice to “look after each other”.

Rightio, back to the music. Organ Donors time. Easily the set of the night. This duo must be seen to be believed! Their scratching and FX wizardry are first-rate, and their unrelenting energy behind the decks is infectious. Marco V’s ‘First Light’ got the work-over, as did Walt’s brilliant ‘Let The Music Play’. It was fantastic to see Powerhouse owner Sam behind the decks dancing and enjoying the positive crowd reaction – please bring Organ Donors back! In time-honoured fashion, Suae closed the main room. He played harder than normal, presumably because happy hard was being dished out by Silver in the hardcore room. He sent the crowd into the chilly morning with the finale tune Tricky Nation.

News from the other rooms… Weaver played exceptionally well, even dropping ‘Come Fly With Me’ for some very ecstatic mates of mine. RX was impressive, arguably better than Szahala, although seeing both sets was impossible as they both played 12-1 (which seemed rather silly to have both FiNRG sets at the same time, meaning fans couldn’t catch both). I heard good reports about Luke Spellbound from the mashup room, and happy hard fans certainly enjoyed Storm, Silver and In-Effect.

Endings are bittersweet. Awesome memories tinged with the sad knowledge that the party is over. Thankfully, we all know there is always another rave….Prophecy: Chaos Theory anyone?!