Cairns: Beautiful one day, perfect the next. This motto has been a strong selling point for the Tropical North Queensland town and when the world’s number one DJ, Paul van Dyk, is in the area you can only imagine the aura radiating around such an already beautiful place. With the sun penetrating the earth’s atmosphere at over 30 degrees, Cairns’ inaugural Generationext Festival was warming up to be an exciting event. Add to the lineup UK electro-house sensation Bodyrox and Australia’s own TV Rock and tyDi, and you have a lineup ready to rival Australia’s major dance music festivals.

Most punters chose the comfort of the shaded grandstand, local artist room or various umbrella set-ups throughout the earlier part of the day as the belting sun left many hesitant to venture to the main stage. This left Dr Willis, Scott Alert and Gleave playing to the luscious grass field of Barlow Park, as the sun and laid back attitude of Cairns residents overshadowed the early hours. Those that braved the sun were seen throwing frisbees, using skipping ropes and squirting each other with water pistols.

The sound setup at the main stage was amazing. As far as festival sound planning goes this stage was among the crispest and cleanest sound ever constructed. Council regulations required the stage to face away from the grandstand which was a downer, but those that braved the front row were blessed with ringing ears and a pounding brain, in a good way of course.

Bodyrox took the stage shortly after 3pm, brandishing their choice of music which has made them a household name in dance music at the moment. Dropping a remix of the classic trance tune, CRW – I feel love, drew a good reaction from the growing crowd. Deadmau5 track Faxing Berlin was an unexpected addition to their set and Run DMC’s classic It’s Like That mashed with their signature tune Yeah Yeah had the dancefloor double in size. The Bodyrox continued to smash out track after track for their final half hour and closed their well constructed set with a remix of the Red Hot Chili Peppers classic By The Way.

No set times were posted for the side room and entrance stage which was a shame as some of the minimal and electro tunes coming from the indoor’s stage were sublime. Cairns’ dance music scene is continuing to grow and with skilled local underground DJs having an impact, the possibilities are endless. It’s a shame to not be able to give credit to certain artists when it’s due.

Making the smooth transition at the main stage from 4:30pm was TV Rock. With a string of crowd pleasing productions under their belt the crowd size once again grew as the sun began to set over the luscious mountains of Cairns, providing a beautiful atmosphere for what was shaping up as a smashing evening. Dropping a Potbellez track followed by a remix of Daft Punk’s epic tune Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, had the crowd in a frenzy. The melody to Meet Her at the Love Parade was followed by TV Rock’s signature remix of The Others. By now the crowd was dancing away to the housey tunes on offer, and the classic anthems were being dropped like there was no tomorrow. Fredreicho Franchi’s Cream came with a loud scream as did the lyrics “What’s that coming over the hill, is it a monster?” TV Rock was dropping crowd pleasers left, right and centre, and closing out with Zombie Nation had the crowd wanting more. To the educated ears this set was full of cheese, but the DJs job is to play to the crowd and TV Rock fulfilled this perfectly.

Brisbane superstar and ITM50 #4 DJ in Australia, tyDi, took the stage for his 2nd warmup set for Paul van Dyk in 3 days. With a little sunlight coming from behind the mountains it was interesting to see what this talented young DJ would pull out of the CD wallet. After a cranking opener of a track followed by the progressive remix of Nic Chagall’s What You Need, it seemed like tyDi was programming a slower than expected set. A remix of Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger made yet another appearance and Cassandra Fox’s Touch me was also a nice addition to the set. tyDi’s own production, Mind Games was thrown into the mix as well. The Breakfast remix of Richard Durand’s_melodic tune Sunhump blessed the dance floor, followed by Tiesto’s unreleased remix of Imogen Heap – Hide and Seek, a tune set to take progressive music by storm. Markus Schulz’s emotional track Without You Near was a surprise selection and vocal trance tune of the moment, John O’Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallagher – Big Sky (Agnelli & Nelson Remix), rounded out a very well programmed warm-up. And by 7pm the sun had set, the temperature had dropped to a comfortable level and the crowd had grown in anticipation for the world’s best DJ.

Paul van Dyk took to the stage with a setup similar to that of a live electronic act and a 3 hour time slot to work his magic. Opening with the SvD remix of Direct Dizko had the crowd moving from the first beat. Following it with Pascal Feliz’s Inside the Speaker (Part 1) and then two remixes of his own track New York City had the crowd jumping in aural bliss. Trance took a back seat for the first half hour as PvD jammed Cairns with driving tech. Activa & Mekk’s tech-trance stormer Twisted had the crowd tearing up the grass field whilst four dancing angel’s took to the stage to provide entertainment.

PvD moved into a trance groove for the majority of the set and surprised the crowd on numerous occasions with Oasis’ Wonderwall and Underworld’s _Born Slippy’ (both of which also made an appearance at his Brisbane show 2 days earlier). Without You Near made another appearance and the Wippenberg remix of Super8 & Tab’s Needs to Feel ripped the sound system to shreds. Promoting his new album In Between saw PvD drop tracks featuring off it including White Lies, Let Go and Another Sunday. The classic breakdown of For an Angel barely drew a reaction from the crowd as the maestro played it live on one of his two keyboards. Filo & Peri’s Anthem had the crowd reaching for the lasers closely followed by another of his signatory tunes, Time of Our Lives. Closing his set with one of his most euphoric tracks, Nothing But You, left the crowd wanting more, and he delivered an encore featuring the White Stripes’ track Seven Nation Army played live followed by his own production, Another Sunday. Paul van Dyk had drenched Cairns in the purest trance possible, and with a blend of tech and electro thrown in for good measure, there’s not a lot more which could have made this set any better.

Generationext had come to a close. The moon was shining brightly, the 2,500 odd crowd slowly wallowed out and the workers began dismantling the setup. The DJs came and delivered, the setup was admirable for a first time effort and the friendly crowd will continue to grow each year. The sound and lighting setup was equal to, if not better than most festivals around the country and despite a few regulation constraints, the organisation was flawless. Cairns can look forward to a prospering dance music scene and after the offerings of Paul van Dyk, there is no doubt next years festival will be bigger and better.