Uplifting trance fans in Sydney were delighted at the prospect of the mighty spectacle that is Gatecrasher returning to the Mecca of Sydney trance, Sublime. Since it’s creation in 1993, Gatecrasher rapidly became the UK’s most outstanding & influential dance brand, changing the face of club culture globally. The night featured some huge names including Ronald van Geldren, Matt Hardwick and Dave Lee. The event was also surrounded by a bit of controversy with news of headliner Gareth Emery’s cancellation hitting local forums several days before the event, and unfortunately the man also known as GTR was unable to play on the night. Support from locals included Patrik Carrera, Miss Savage, Kemuri, Losty and many more.

Firstly a bit about the DJs. Matt Hardwick is a long-standing name in the trance scene with a strong association with the global Gatecrasher phenomenon, featuring in countless sets, mix CDs, remixes and productions. Ronald van Geldren originates from the home of uplifting trance, Holland, and is another huge name that has played at the biggest events, produced some bomb tracks and worked together with names like Tiesto. Dave Lee also adds some weight to this lineup, and having managed UK super club Slinky for the past decade, he now heads up the Gatecrasher brand.

Before long we were standing outside the iconic Home nightclub, yet again ready to continue the evening’s festivities. We got in just after midnight to see the last half of hour of Patrik Carrera, who was at the tail end of a smooth opening set jammed full of quality tunes. Patrik build up the vibe perfectly for Matt Hardwick to continue on from the driving sound he finished with. By this stage the main room was full but comfortable, and the dance floor was brimming with excitement. The room was decked out nicely with Gatecrasher-themed props and logos hanging from the ceiling.

As Matt Hardwick stepped up to the decks, he proceeded to lay down two hours of pure trance goodness. His killer set built up nicely from driving progressive trance, slowly working into some huge uplifting and euphoric tracks and even the odd vocal tune thrown in for good measure. Some of the tunes he dropped included the amazing new track Gareth Emery More Than Anything (Stoneface and Terminal Remix), Denise Rivera Body of Conflict and Tranquillity Base Oceanic (Sean Tyas Remix). Throughout the set he also played a huge amount of awesome unknown tunes, which the crowd just lapped up.

Before long Hardwick finished his set and Ronald van Geldren got straight into it, kicking off the vibe with the tech stomper Ronan Klinkenberg Till You Drop. His set was a bangin’ blend of rolling tech trance that bought a darker vibe than Hardwick’s set. For the entire performance Geldren punched out some absolutely huge tunes, with the occasional classic tune getting a huge response from the crowd. He smashed through a number of crazy tracks including Oceanlab Satellites remix, Sander van Doorn King of My Castle, Marcel Woods State of Mind and Vincent de Moor Fly Away (Cosmic Gate Remix) to name a few. As Geldren was finishing up we decided it was time to hiit the road, but what we heard of Dave Lee’s set made it very difficult to get out the door indeed.

Overall, the production on the night was amazing with crisp, dense sound throughout the venue, with the props and decorations playing off the lighting in the main room extremely well. The nearly-completed renovations are all working really well for these big events. The visuals and lasers definitely added to the vibe, and above the DJ booth they had some awesome visuals screens. The night turned out to be way above my expectations, especially considering the real drawcard for me initially would have been seeing Gareth Emery. However, all the DJs delivered stomping sets packed full of great uplifting trance and driving tech tunes. After several years of quality I look forward to what next years event will bring. See you at the next one!