Audiences, particularly techno heads have been brimming with excitement since the announcement of a Laurent Garnier show in Melbourne in January. Generally it’s never good to get ones expectations up too high before a show, but given it was 2000 that he last played here, it wasn’t hard.

Despite The Metro’s renovated “super-club” status, the venue for the show still kept some potential punters away. Unfortunately some Melbournites just can’t seem to get over its “reputation”. The long weekend also contributed to numbers being well below capacity, with some people saving themselves for the abundance of festivals taking place or weekends away in the country.

Although it’s hard to tell, the room was probably holding around 1000 people, with probably a half crammed onto the dance-floor and about two thirds actively standing and listening. There seemed to be some problems with sound, pretty much limited to the fact it could have been louder and with more bass. There were also problems with the vibe in the room. Security were patrolling the joint constantly, stopping people sitting on the floor, even though it there was very little seating available if you didn’t want to dance or stand. The loft room also appeared to be closed, so the line up was trimmed down slightly from two rooms to one.

Ben Cromack, a techno favourite had the honour or warming up for Garnier. As expected he pounded it out, effortlessly and meticulously, the crowd gulping it in. When Garnier hit, it probably took about two tracks to get the pace back to where he wanted it. Those who heard his interview on Kiss Fm the Thursday prior already had some clue that it was going to be something more than “techno” that Garnier was going to be presenting.

While I thought his eclecticism didn’t shine through, it was definitely present in wee bits. In the hours between 1am and 4am, he played mostly techno, moved into drum and bass (of all things), and then into minimal. While his mixing was meticulous and the music of a high quality, it would have been interesting to have seen Garnier mixing up the styles as much as he had inferred during his interview. It’s strange that while he doesn’t want to be seen as a “techno DJ” in three hours he plays mostly techno. Curiously, Garnier seemed more passionate and energetic when mixing the few drum ‘n bass tracks than he was with the techno. While it may have seemed like he was going through the motions, it certainly seemed to be enjoying himself with all the fervour and animation you would expect from an international DJ who has been doing it for over a decade.

Whilst not discounting the proven quality of Garnier as a producer, DJ and live act, at times it felt like the programming could have been improved. His set could have been edgier and the energy and the vibe in the room could have been built more effectively as I’ve seen acts like Collabs Live (Chris Leibing and Speedy J) do when they played the Metro in August 2006. That’s still my techno highlight of the last 12 months. Tell us yours.