Just finding the venue for the Elefant Traks Christmas party extravaganza involved considerable effort. Advanced backstreet navigation skills not used since weaving my way around Alexandria to find underground rave parties in were called into action. The Factory Theatre may be a little out of the way in terms of regular hip hop haunts, but the trek was definitely worth it. So lacking in quality live music venues, Sydney has been crying out for more venues like this for ages.

It’s a perfect venue for hip hop – a large stage at a height so that all corners of the dance floor can see the performers, a massive peaked roof, a corner filled with comfy sofas, and of course a bar. Acoustically the venue was streets ahead of comparable live music zones, including the Gaelic Club and Metro. Although, beyond the immediate dance floor in front of the stage, it was a little difficult to make out exactly what the MCs were saying, but this could be solved by moving closer to the action!

Arriving too late for Astronomy Class, we luckily managed to catch a few lines from Urthboy before he finished up. The party had only just started, but by this time the venue was absolutely cranking – with the dancefloor already starting to resemble a mosh pit. The Tongue took it up another notch, injecting angry rhymes with just a grain more than a pinch of salt. Having only seen him in photos I was amazed (and impressed) by how young he was and how confident he appeared. He knew exactly what to say and how to act in order to pep the crowd up, and thankfully steered clear of ‘when I say oh, you say yeah’ type clichés. Joined by Diaz and a band, the Tongue quickly settled into the more laid back pace of reggae. While the pair worked excellently as a duo, at the same time it was easy to appreciate their contrasting individual talents. If the Tongue is accomplished at holding the audience’s gaze, Diaz is an absolute master. With a fittingly firm onstage presence, Diaz pummelled the crowd with line after line of solid yet fluid prose. I thought his style was a touch more suited to the choice of music than the Tongue, which slid effortlessly between dub, reggae and hip hop.

By now the dance floor had tripled in size, and it was unfortunate timing that at this point there was a large gap in between acts. This marginally compromised the vigour of the crowd, although DJs Monkey Marc and Prince V managed to maintain the momentum. We were, of course, waiting in eager anticipation for Hermitude, the intelligent instrumentalist dub duo fresh from a four month overseas tour. Hermitude is probably Elefant Traks most talented instrumental outfit, and the pair are clearly extremely talented musicians in their own right. In common, the two share a keen sense of rhythm and impossibly nimble fingers, with El Gusto manning drums and turntables and Luke Dub on the keyboard. In a few short minutes, Hermitude had brought the audience around the world of dub-inspired musical genres at warp speed. After the first few instrumental tracks, which included the best Jungle break down I have heard in years, the pair switched to the musical styles which probably most inspired them – jazz, swing and organ, interestingly enough!

Another heavily pregnant pause between acts ensued, and shortly before 1am The Herd made their appearance. Confirming what I had suspected from the start of the night, that Elefant Traks has taken a decided turn for the dub in its production values, The Herd continued this theme. As always, Ozi Battler was en pointe, managing to balance both the cynical and hilarious parts of his brain. Some of the group’s newer acts were reminiscent of the dub and reggae vibe heard earlier on, however later in the set some classic tracks including Only 19 were thrown in.

All in all, an amazing venue with a varied and impressive line up of talented hip hop heads – just what you want to celebrate the silly season with! Apart from the long breaks between acts and the misleading information on various websites as to where the Factory Theatre is located, this was an extremely professionally run event. Note to venue promoters: if your club is located in Marrickville, don’t put on your flier and website that you’re based in Newtown. Or Enmore. The punters will have a hard time finding where you are!