“It has gone from potential event of the year to just another night out.”

Those were my words upon hearing the HYPE-shattering news that AudioLove had been moved from that megalith of dance party history, the Hordern Pavilion, to the far less atmospheric (not to mention less spacious) Nox Nightclub in Liverpool. My first thoughts involved a voodoo doll representing Powerhouse Productions, but, upon reflection, the blame seems to fall squarely on the Sydney dance community. How is that a party involving – let me get this straight – Randy ‘king of tribal tech trance’ Katana, Alex ‘Mixmag Future Hero’ Kidd, and three of the world’s best hardstyle DJs – Luna, Tatanka and Pavo – fails to entice 5,000 (ie, Hordern capacity) ticket buyers?! And let us not forget the allure of the Hordern, scene of many legendary old skool raves, as well as the welcome 18+ ruling. Does Powerhouse have that bad a reputation? Has Sydney totally succumbed to the wave of elektro-haus commerciality? Is the scene really that jaded? Sydney hard dance fans, you should be ashamed!

Determined not to let such negativity undermine the evening, we piled into several cars for the long haul to Liverpool. Despite my bitching, Nox is not a bad venue. Yes, it pales into comparison next to the Hordern, but let us be fair. It is sizeable for a club, fitting 1,000 party people (although whether this takes into consideration stomping space, I have my doubts). It is new and, as such, hasn’t yet cultivated the entrenched smell of booze and sweat. The sound system is excellent and there are enough flashing lights to scare even the most hardened photoaugliaphobic. Outside, the queue was non-existent… inside, the crowd minimal. We claimed some comfy seats, erected imaginary crime scene tape around a section of the dance floor, and prepared to rave…

Let’s get the bad news out of the way. Katana didn’t play. We’d heard the rumour days before, but nothing was confirmed… until the night. Ear infection. A terrible malady to strike any DJ (trust me, mixing without your hearing is impossible, despite what It’s All Gone Pete Tong might have characterised). So, Sydney hardstyle stalwart DJ Spank filled the void; a sensitive choice seeing as he’d kindly postponed his Nox residency opening night to make way for AudioLove. Also gracing the decks early were the likes of Matrix and Yoshi, international DJ Tom, and Masif maestro Steve Hill. And then the clock struck midnight and the Wild Things came out to play.

If you think mashing up hard dance, hard house, Schranz, hardstyle and hard techno is an unachievable task, let me introduce you to Alex Kidd. Named after an iconic Sega game character, this hard dance Don isn’t daunted by such a musical concoction. Named Mixmag Future Hero for a reason, Kidd expertly juggled 80s House of Pain Jump Around samples with eminent electronica in the form of Prodigy Outta Space. Hardstyle fans got a taste of what was to come with Showtek FTS and Headhunterz Rock Civilisation. A slice of the awesomeness that is Schranz got air time with Dark By Design Schranz and Tings (a remake of Marco V’s remix of a Jens original). But tune of the set went to DK8 Murder Was The Bass, a blistering techno track from 2005 that never fails to excite. And all of this was flawlessly mixed by a smiling Kidd. Impressed? You betcha.

DJ Luna, a man who’s been DJing far longer than I’ve known about raving, was not to be outdone. He had been billed to play hard techno, an unusual yet exciting departure from his traditional sound. I was personally hoping for a mix of hard techno, Schranz and techstyle (him being an ex-Straight On artist after all), but it was not to be. Instead he played 100% hardstyle but, given we were treated to the likes of Tuneboy Housensation (DJ Isaac Rmx), Showtek ft MC DV8 Shout Out, and DJ Isaac Waiting For, one was not going to complain. Perfect mixing characterised this set (these DJs aren’t world famous for nothing you know), and we also go to hear the new Live Remix of Southstylers Pwoap.

Dear Tatanka, you were worth the wait. The End. You want more details? Well, you should have come then… You missed spot-on deck skills and 60 minutes of pounding Italian hardstyle including Tatanka Mess Up Vs Mash Up, the amusing vocals of Wild Motherfuckers Fother Mucker, and hot new release Tat & Zat Gold Medley With Strange. My personal picks, amongst a set that had no bad tunes, was closing track Zanza Labs Control The Mind and the astounding yet to be released Tatanka tune, Let’s Rock. That one is going straight into the pantheon of hardstyle classics.

They say you leave the best till last… It was neck and neck until Pavo unleashed some jaw-dropping tracks that I’d never heard (and this rare in the hardstyle field). Tunes that made me go “I want that song in my life”. One of them may have been G-Town Madness vs The Viper Here Comes The Remix (D-Block & S-te-Fan Remix), but I’d offload my kidneys for a recording of this set just to find out (as well as Tatanka’s – he and Pavo were my two favourites for the night). We also got to stomp madly to Tuneboy WackyJackie and Pavo & Blutonium Boy Floorkilla 2 (Jump Rmx), as well as marvel at his scratching abilities. By the time Nothing Else Matters hit the air waves, I realised I’d been grinning like an idiot for hours and was having the time of my life. Hardstyle: first, last, always.

I like to be proven wrong. And I was. AudioLove wasn’t just “another night out”. It was, along with the Donkey Rollers / Zany combo at Transmission: Magic City, the best night of hard dance music of 2007. Yes, I’m calling it… and let that be a wake-up call to all the haters who, for all the wrong reasons, boycotted this event.