T’was the nightmare before Christmas… Pharmacy Black vs Hard Kandy, which saw two of Melbourne’s hard dance promoters teaming up to deliver a festive gig even the Grinch would have appreciated. Giving ourselves an early present, three mates and I trundled down to Melbourne to experience first-hand this marriage of Melbourne’s dark knights. And we will be back.

Billboard gets the thumbs up for being a spacious, comfy, well located venue. The crowd was friendly (especial hello to the GHF crew!) with far less fleuro and fluffy than Sydney. And we got to see some shuffling (although the current Melbourne Shuffle is very similar to the Sydney Shuffle – Sydney people just have less concept of space). The local DJs did not disappoint and I was particularly impressed with the last hour of tunes – all home grown productions! The drawcard though was, as always, the international lineup: Walt, Showtek, Organ Donors and a surprise international guest.

Walt played a very similar set to both his Kryal and Transmission gigs. We were, naturally, played his latest release WaltStreet, as well as popular productions Let The Music Play, Silver Machine and Ctrl Walt Dlt. Fans were holding out for Expansion, but it was not to be. Instead, TOCS2 (from the master of hard trance, Scot Project) and Joey V Chopperchunk (Mark Sherry’s 2007 Outburst Mix) were given air time.

Showtek were billed to play live but, thanks to airline incompetence, we had to settle for a DJ set. I empathise with the guys. My bag was left in Sydney (though fortunately couriered to my motel by COB). To be honest, after seeing them play live at Transmission, I was keen to experience a DJ set. And they certainly did not let missing equipment dampen their performance. Opening with Revival X (Showtek remix of course), Wouter & Sjoerd cranked out an energetic set jammed with many of their well-known tracks (_Early Soundz_, Green Stuff, FTS, Colours of the Harder Styles). Playing a DJ set meant they could integrate non-Showtek tunes into the set. Southstylers Pounding Senses (Deeper Inside Remix) and Builder Her Voice (Supa Bass Mix) were excellent choices in this regard. There were two highlights of the set: The Santa – an amusing Christmas take on Shout Out, and a brilliant Derb / Tricky Tricky /E-town / Killing Scum mashup.

I have heard Organ Donors ought to be given a honourary Melbourne citizenship, they’re in town so much. For me, this was only the second time I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them. I am a fan of scratching, sfx tricks, sampling, and general turntable trickery. The Harris brothers do not disappoint. Decknician skills perfectly gift wrapped uber new tune 1980 from Citizen, and enabled the guys to layer Coole Sau with a Don’t Do Drugs accapella. We were also treated to the love it / hate it Techtris track from Fabio Stein.

The (not so) surprise international guests were Melbourne regulars Pila & The Scientist. Not that I am complaining. This set was littered with wicked songs. They bookended their set with ASYS collab Sound Expander and Luna v Thilo Bring That Shit Back / Existence (mash-up). Other stomp-worthy tunes were Scope DJ Lockdown, Clive King And Xzellar Evolution Leaps FWD and Pila & The Scientist My Bitch. I was also interested to hear Pila & The Scientists’ take on the freely available new D-Block & S-te-Fan track Ride With Uz.

The Christmas hard dance love is not over in Melbourne. If you’re bored and/or game enough to dog the parentals on Christmas Day, head down to Billboard to catch Pila & The Scientist cranking out a classic set, as well as TyDi, the usual locals, and a side room courtesy of the Smile Police.