The streets of Wollongong were empty, in spite the mild weather and clear night air. After turning a corner and heading a few hundred metres up the street, we – photographer and myself – spotted Cooney’s Tavern. People were loitering around the venue, heading inside or approaching from side streets, all drawn towards the hotel as if by a magnet – encouraged of course by the music being played inside, audible even from some distance away.

With a sense of anticipation, we stood in the queue, showed licenses and received stamps, and were then shown inside. The bouncers on the door were friendly and inclined towards easy conversation, rather than the brutal looks and attitudes that a lot often tend to convey. This is the first time I’d been to a Bustin’ event, in spite of their increasing popularity in the Illawarra and South Coast area. Even for those generally unfamiliar with hip-hop, house or breaks, their events – as well as their regular Friday night at Cooney’s – are becoming well known for a consistency and quality typically lacking in the local electronic music scene.

Eyes became accustomed to light, and ears to music, as we moved into the venue: the hard-driving bass-lines overwhelmed the sweeping and more subtle rhythms, the sound much suggestive of drum n’ bass than what is often referred to in places as ‘nu-skool breaks’. The set-list pasted on a pillar at the dance floor’s edge suggested Ben Henderson was behind the decks, and so we sat at a table towards the edge of the room and surveyed the scene, and listened.

The dance floor was a bit sparse at this early hour but by no means empty, a state it didn’t achieve until the night’s end. People streamed in and out from the beer garden, which was perpetually awash with a dim yellow glow. Just as many stood idly by the main bar, or the slightly smaller one near the dance floor, relaxed enough to enjoy the music; not as yet willing to engage in any more strenuous activity. We were the same, and even though I found it impossible not to move at least a hand or foot in musical accompaniment, I wasn’t on my feet and really in the thick of things until partway through TV Rock’s set: no slight against them or Ben Henderson, only against a sore leg and a perception of ‘earliness’.

Following an interesting remix of By the Way by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers – and a couple more tracks with obvious, and unique sounding funk-rock influences – Ben Henderson handed things over to TV Rock.

As the vodka and Red Bull flowed, the punters headed over the course of ten or twenty minutes to fill the dance floor. I headed there myself, passing a girl selling single roses from a basket, a number of which she had offloaded by the night’s end. The lighting system was more impressive from a closer position, saturating bodies and faces with intense, flashing illumination. Yellow flickered to orange, then to red and green, and the lights shimmered and moved – as did the dancers – in exact coordination with the sound.

There were a couple of jarring moments in TV Rock’s set, in which remixes and tracks from their debut album Sunshine City abounded. However they were few and far between, less a result of error than ambition. Pulsating electro sounds contrasted with buzzing, older-school synth beats, and the crowd’s liveliness had been built to expert crescendo by the time Nancy Vice and Seany B arrived. They got straight into the swing of things, with vocals timed expertly with the music and crowd interaction encouraged. It wasn’t long before both were sweating it out, but they kept up the pace, rattling off both tracks I didn’t recognise and those I did, including Bimbo Nation.

They kept their performance up for a longer time than I thought possible in endurance of the dance floor’s heat, but eventually had to finish, much to the disappointment of the punters. Although TV Rock played out the rest of their ninety-minute set, this was obviously to a number of people the peak of the night, and when it had come and gone, so did they.

GT came on to a crowd that, while diminished in numbers, seemed to increase in fervor and receptivity. Some attendees were not aware of GTs skill and stature in the dance music world, but those who were found themselves stuck to the dance floor, shifting and flailing with the buildups and breakdowns. A searing, infectious metal aesthetic seemed to typify some tracks and certainly kept the atmosphere alive. Even so, the set was as well rounded as any I’ve heard.

As the minutes were eaten up in enjoyment, so things finally came to a close. We stepped out from the sweaty warmth of Cooney’s Tavern, and were enveloped in the kind of cool air that is instantly suggestive of the early morning. Then we headed home.

It was hard to point out a singular bad point about the night: the quality of the lighting, the sociable atmosphere, the friendly staff and of course the music, as well as the venue in which it was able to be played. All led to an excellent evening, one which I’d be disappointed not to be able to repeat.

Early in the night, during a break from sweating it out, I had got to talking to a local guy in a DJ Shadow t-shirt. He told me he thought the Wollongong scene needed a more consistent, focused sound, and that one artist or a small group playing one style of music would guide it in a direction he felt would be positive. If consistency in promotion quality rather than musical style is at all needed, then Bustin’ have gone well to solving that problem.