Returning to the Arkaba top room, this particular edition of Anthems was always going to be a special one. A homecoming to where many Anthems tunes were first heard in Adelaide, it was also a farewell evening for Paul Hamon, Anthems promoter extraordinaire. It was a very smart move on Paul’s behalf to begin the event with a private party at 8.30, meaning the room was already half-full with a ready-made atmosphere before opening to the general public at 9pm.

MC Maestro D kicked off proceedings with a set on the lighter, housier side of old school, a fitting start to ease into the evening. Super special drink prices helped to get the crowd moving and it wasn’t long before the dance-floor was grooving.

I spent much of Madness and Devious’ versus set and ATB’s sesh chatting with old dance-floor friends – one of the distinct pleasures of the Anthems events. There’s always a familiar face to welcome you and reminisce with, which is why these parties always manage to entice people out of “retirement”, as well as provide a great atmosphere to make new friends. I couldn’t resist darting back onto the dance-floor in between conversations though, with some amazing old gems I only ever get to hear at Anthems nights. It was so good to hear some of the rarer old school tracks, instead of the usual classics that get a bit of a thrashing on occasion. I thought it particularly restrained of the DJ’s to leave playing the first Prodigy track until nearly 1am!

Mr S brought out the big guns for the evening, with a bunch of tunes that brought a massive surge of adrenalin to this poor dancer’s tired legs! Without doubt, this was the set of the event for me, with just about every one of my old school favourites being played. Building up to an amazing crescendo with “Time to Burn”, things came to a very abrupt halt with the electricity cutting out! The smoke machines had tripped the fire alarms, but it took only a short while for the fire department to arrive and re-set the electricity. Most importantly, the house lights didn’t come up and shock the blissed out atmosphere back into reality!

The night was finished off with a colossal H-Bomb versus Angu$ old school hardcore set, by which time my legs had just about given way from jumping around like a mad thing, so I was content to watch proceedings from the side lines for a bit. Angu$ obviously enjoys coming out of retirement for the occasional Anthems event and the grins on both lads’ faces were mirroring those on the floor. A few wicked tracks got me back in amongst the bouncing crowd intermittently, but I finally had to admit that the Red Bull had worn off and old age had won out!

Leaving behind a very happy crowd and exiting the premises on a high was an ideal finish to an almost perfect night out for me – awesome tunes, great company and completely exhausted from dancing!