Few parties have stirred as much interest, banter, hype and anticipation as Armin Van Buuren’s 6-hour set over the June Long Weekend. The whisperings began on the forums, and after an agonising wait it was announced by Future and before we knew it, the weekend in question was here. Massive expectations were buzzing around clubbing circles all week, to say the very least.

Sure enough, the massive line outside the Vodaphone Arena at 11pm was testmament to the sold out status of the event, with thousands of punters in attendance. As expected, the police and their pooches patrolled the line outside which amazingly, was mercifully quick as it was a ball-freezingly cold evening. The cute little white outfits that dominated the landscape were more suited to a Summadayze party than a chilly winter night.

With the international headliner beginning at midnight, the majority of the crowd got in early and by the time we hit the floor at around 11:30, Mark James was moving things along well, continuing his run as one of Australia’s premier DJs and producers. Playing before AVB is a tough task but Mr James knows the ropes well.

When it’s all glossed up for a big event, the Vodafone Arena makes for one of the most visually spectacular venues that you could possibly ever find for a large-scale dance party and after years of practice, the crew from Future have got it down pat. Awesome layout up the front, loads of people lining the seats on either side, lights, visual screens, lasers and so forth. Oh, and that sea of white. It looked awesome, check out the pics in the ITM gallery for some of the massive arena shots to give you a good idea. But the White Party theme certainly made it a pain in the ass to find anyone!

I sought high ground for the start of AVB, who was welcomed by a euphoric, booming reception from an eager, happy and hyped up crowd. In case you weren’t paying attention, the stupendous visuals coming from the pyrotechnics stack drew your eye to the man of the 6-hour moment, Armin, as he embarked on his massive trance journey.

The 6-hour set is an interesting beast – not many people get a chance to do it, and not very often. So it’s definitely a different approach to a 2 or 3 hour performance. Either way, AVB is the master of ceremonies for an epic set. Arguably the first hour or so meandered at times, but the quality tune progression and precision mixing (maybe a bump, but no train wrecks) still made it interesting.

The whole experience was buoyed along by an amazing crowd. Relaxed, smiling, interacting, having fun and everyone enjoying each others company, with very few wankers present. It was a night where seemingly, folks were going with 20 of their close friends. It was just one of those nights where the crowd was wonderful. Massive amounts of people on an almost limitless dance floor. The perfect setting for the trance maestro from Holland to do his thing.

By about 2am things had clicked up a notch. I had been for a sit, a chat and a toilet break and I was ready to rock. Armin progressed through a bit of this and that, a touch of electro and breaks at times but he was still telling a great story. Without getting too hard, the intensity slowly built in layers, filling gaps and getting more groove on, a platform for what was to come.

For me, things really broke open after 3am; sometime after Fly Away graced the decks. There was definitely more trance, more continuity, greater lengths of rolling, driving tunes that had the crowd going. By then there was countless hands in the air, dreamy resets, progressive build ups and banging bass. Sweat, more smiles and moments where every single person on the floor hit the same rhythm and went crazy. The incredible visuals, with dancers in mirror ball suits, reflecting a kaleidoscope of lasers provided plenty of eye candy for amusement….as well as the other sorts of eye candy from the opposite sex.

As far as event organisation goes, it was flawless. The crowd flowed perfectly throughout the venue, the number of ticket sales was reasonable and the security was friendly and unobtrusive. Space was filled, but there was always room to move. Access to toilets, drinks and seats was fine and there was never the fear of being locked off the dance floor; always a welcome bonus! Well done Future, 10 out of 10 for event organisation.

Music wise, it was done beautifully. The sound quality was great, and worthy of Armin’s incredible skill and ability to read the crowd. While I did not like every track dropped, that was never going to be the case for a 6-hour set. But with stellar anthems like Heaven Scent and 7 Cities saved for that last drive home …. What more can I say?

For me, the new mix of Smack My Bitch Up was an odd selection so near to the end but hey, finishing with Binary Finary was something that these days, only one of the big names can pull off. Melbourne had one of those nights.

It’s not often that you go out expecting the world and come away completely satisfied, never mind traveling home with a slice of the universe. I had a ball, and I’m pretty sure there are 5,000 other sore heads sitting in front of heaters right now with the exact same smile on their face. That’s the fourth time I’ve seen Armin Van Buuren. Looking forward to number five. Long live epic trance!