Upon the last minute venue change scepticism reared its ugly head, yet the posting of the new location on Overdrive quelled suspicion and folks looked forward to their trip into the intrepid wilds of Wentworth Point. We drove around Sydney Olympic Park several times, lost, I will admit, having forgotten a map. Eventually, through accident, we found the right road and ended up in a quiet area of town, deserted except for the multitude of cars lining the dirt kerb. The distant sound of music wafted around us, leading towards a building, a security checkpoint, a rave!

Hard Wars Indoors was another in a long line of successful Overdrive events. With headliners like perennial favourite Scott Brown, gabber king Neophyte, and protégé D-Passion, it was little surprise that this event was on every ravers calling card. The venue, a warehouse in a random industrial area near Sydney Olympic Park, was perfect (no residential area within a coo-ee). Parking was free, there was a shuttle bus from Sydney Olympic Park railway station and Macquarie Uni (thank you Overdrive for these thoughtful touches) and security was tight but polite (and no queue when I got there – WIN). Also I must point out the lighting rig which, despite being fitted so that it displayed best to people front and centre, was very tidy (and I never take much notice of these things, so for me to say it was good, it must have been noteworthy!) My only gripe for the night in terms of production: the sound. Admittedly it is hard to get gabber sounding right in a warehouse environment… and I am sure they tried… but it does spoil the music when it sounds like noise!

Rightio, on to the music! Left-field entry of the night goes to MM9 for busting out 20 mins of industrial metal. Interesting inclusion… can’t say I dug it, but the crowd did not appear to dissipate so maybe they were into it. Scott Brown, probably the world’s most recognisable hardcore DJ, busted out an hour set including the anthems ‘Elysium’ and ‘Memories’. He then played b2b with Neophyte recreating their recent Bonkers CD effort. Neophyte then played for an hour alone dropping some older tunes like ‘Hardcore to the Bone’ and ‘Army of Hardcore’. D-Passion spat out industrial hardcore for an hour before Weaver vs Suae injected happy hardcore into the crowd for the finale. Meanwhile the second room was filled with an eclectic mix of music. My two favourite sets coming from Raziel and Nexus Project (hardcore with a tech bent… yes please!)

Overall, what a night! Overdrive get some great DJs and it was fantastic to see them backing it up with a solid venue and lighting. The sound could have been better… but I never ventured down the front, and I’d say it was rockin down there! Hold onto your fluffies, no doubt Overdrive will be back in 2007 with more of the best hardcore, happy hard, freeform and gabber DJs for your aural pleasure.