Adventjah is an event that is certainly a highlight of the Brisbane calendar. Saturday night and Sunday morning’s festivities saw an Adventjah with a broad line-up and one might say a lesser emphasis on the harder styles that have become the festival’s trademark. As last December’s Advent*jah was a highlight of 2000 for me, this instalment had a lot to live up to.

Arriving at Adventjah is in a way the most exciting part. Walking past the stage end of Hard House/NRG pavilion on the way in, the shaking bass induces butterflies in the stomach and brings a real sense of anticipation. There were no roller doors shaking to the beat this time and I have not since heard of noise reports from my inner city friends. Had the volume sadly been turned down this year? Who knows!

It seemed to be a more crowded Adventjah than last December, as we moved towards the hard house/NRG pavilion entry. The sound of a siren as we moved in added to the excitement. I thought it must have been pumping out of a speaker somewhere, just to add a little bit more atmosphere.

Once inside the pavilion I saw that a huge crowd was going off to the sounds of Lisa Lashes. The room was as full as I have ever seen and clearly everyone was enjoying her set. Thinking back, the pavilion was probably the most full at this time, proving that many punters were not put off by the early timing of her set. I personally would have preferred to hear her a few hours later, but those down at Gatecrasher in Sydney were to have this privilege.

For me however, this was a bit too early to go this hard. As I left the pavilion, the sight of a kitted-out fireman, combined with that siren sound was now a bit disturbing. Imagine trying to evacuate this pavilion, I thought. Any problems with this pavilion would not go down very well with the Brisbane crowd. Fortunately for everyone, that was the last I heard of it.

So I went outside and did what many people at Adventjah end up doing – people watching! There is simply no better time to see Brisbane’s most colourful people all in the one place. Be it the tribal/feral types, the old-school ravers muttering excitedly about hardcore, the dazed &/or confused, the stunning bodies or the average punters – it’s always great viewing. It also goes to show just how diverse and accommodating the festival is.

After a drink or two, we ventured back to see the final minutes of Lisa Lashes set and to grab a friend, so that we could go to see The Orb. As it turned out, many others had a similar idea in mind.

Getting into The Orb – what a hassle! By the time we had made into the actual pavilion it was clear that dancing was going to be a real problem. The crowd was getting bigger by the minute and dancing with comfort was almost impossible. This wasn’t worth it I thought and in any case this was a bit too down-tempo for me. Good thing that Adventjah offers many options at a time like this.

Then the gem that was Luke Slater emerged. Playing in the House and Techno pavilion, he delivered some energetic techno to an appreciative crowd. The pavilion may have been only 60-70% full most of the time, but at least this provided ample dancing room. Although I have since heard complaints about the sound in this room, it didn’t worry me at the time.

Being a person with a growing appetite for techno, I couldn’t stop thinking how unlucky most punters at Adventjah were in missing Slater’s set. I’m sure those who were in there would also agree. There was plenty of knob-twiddling action going on up on stage, but for me the highlight was when Slater dropped Manalive by Devilfish – it’s been a personal favourite of mine since the BDO. After finishing his set, Slater’s smile was at least as big as mine and that was pretty damn big. Nice one!

At this stage I joined back up with friends and they reported that Max Alien had rocked back in the NRG/Hardhouse pavilion. By the sounds of things, Captain Tinrib was also going strong as we headed back in to catch some more of the harder styles on offer.

Whilst this pavilion was certainly one of two (the other being the Trance/Progressive pavilion) to prove favourites this year, it certainly lacked some of the atmosphere that I thought had been present last December. It was still good, just perhaps a notch or two lower than I expected.

Was it the missing rainbow laser that was present in the pavilion last December? (drools) Was it that the huge stage had placed too much space between crowd and DJ? Perhaps it was even the fire twirlers and dancers that everyone slowed down to watch. In the end it is probably a combination of many of these things.

I ventured out at times to see LTJ Bukem and then Hybrid a little later on. I like LTJ Bukem’s sound, having heard his Progression Sessions, but DnB is more an ‘at home’ thing for me. MC Conrad proved hard to spot, but I eventually found him almost hiding in a location that was behind the small stage that LTJ Bukem was on top of.

Despite more concerns about the sound in this room, the reports emerging from others were still very positive. Clearly the crowd was getting into it, but I had other things on my mind. I still kick myself for leaving that room, but with friends to catch up with, I headed back to the NRG/hard house pavilion once again.

Thief’s charging set of NRG was getting a great reaction from the crowd, but didn’t provide any real surprises for me. The pavilion at this time, and for most of the night, was an absolute sauna, but the crowd didn’t seem to care. Still, I pity anyone who wore a jumpsuit in that environment and unfortunately there were a few in attendance. These people were certainly not winning any points for style or functionality. Given the weather (and new festival fashion options), it amazed me why anyone would be stupid enough to even consider it.

When I ventured out the second time to catch a glimpse of Hybrid the thing that disappointed was the lack of a capacity crowd and therefore the lack of that elusive vibe. I stayed for a short while however ventured back to the NRG/Hardhouse room once again.

I know that Hybrid was a highlight for many, but yes, I missed most of it. However, if you want to see someone’s comments on the set then you can check out the Brisbane forum for some comments by Cosmo Cater.

Back in the NRG/Hardhouse pavilion, Thief was followed by Dave Lea, who closed the show in the increasingly bright and confronting daylight. For me this was probably a good thing as his set, whilst danceable, was nothing spectacular. Looking back, the best tunes I heard in this room would have been from Lisa Lashes, but I just wasn’t ready to go that hard at the time. Damn!

For many, the end of Dave Lea’s set would be only a minor setback, but for me this proved to be the end of my dancing shoes. I would like to think that the heat sapped most of my energy, but age may be playing a part as well. After sitting outside and flaking out for a few hours, I eventually called it quits and headed for home.

Overall it was a great night, but perhaps not as great as I thought it should have been. This I think was partly my fault as I made some dodgy choices, but I think that the overall production and scheduling played a part as well.

Luke Slater was certainly the highlight, as was the energy that was present in the NRG/Hardhouse pavilion (despite the fact that the tunes didn’t stand out for me). In the end I went to the rooms where I perceived the vibe to be best.

I’m sure many others would have had a different Adventjah experience to mine, so check out the Brisbane forum for other reports.