I’ve never gone along one to an organized event on New Years Eve before in Sydney. The thought of being either stuck in a club with a thousand munted punters and not seeing the fireworks, or being at the foreshore with a million other people (half of whom are English backpackers with a gut full of beer) does not appeal to me at all. The essential elements to a great new years is a good supply of readily available alcohol, my friends close by and of course, the fireworks. This year though Harbour Party caught my eye – awesome party music, perfect spot close to the fireworks, well stocked bars and room for all my friends… Could this possibly be the solution to my predicament?

Joachim Garraud, Sister Bliss and Sneaky Sound System were headlining this event so the ‘cheese’ factor was high, but what does one really expect on New Years Eve? Its not a night to chinstroke and think about whether or not the DJ mixed in the next mega minimal hit or used the effects unit in the right way. It’s a night for happiness, celebrating and even a bit of a sing-along.

Ben Vallis and the Funktrust DJs managed to set the scene in the first sets of the night in the Crystal Palace – many well known 80s and 90s hits from the likes of Madonna and Cindy Lauper were banged out in a perfectly executed remix-electro-mashup style set. And the kids loved it. Singing, silly dances, hugs a plenty. The Crystal Palace room was incredible by the way – 2 sides of the room are framed by floor to ceiling windows that look out over Sydney Harbour and the Bridge so there was a special place to be for the night. It’s a room that should be used more for dance music events – lazers flicking around, plur hugs and its got a perfect mezzanine level for those who need some chillout space.

Next act on the bill in the Crystal Palace was one half of M.A.N.D.Y. showing off his dj skills. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t notice a considerable change in the pace when he came on which is a bit of a shame. M.A.N.D.Y were great at the Gaelic Club a month or so back, but this time there was definitely a missing element.

At the same time Cut Copy were performing in the Big Top which I felt was a step in the wrong direction. Don’t get me wrong here, I am a big fan of Cut Copy, but the pace was all wrong. They seem tired and bored and the vibe was flat. Maybe it’s because the Crystal Palace was DJ focused and the Big Top performers (with the exception of Sneaky Sound System) were all live acts. Unfortunately we didn’t make it back into the Big Top – the room got closed off because of too many punters in there half way through Pnau but from reports inside, the vibe didn’t get any better and a lot of people ended up moving their way over to the Crystal Palace.

After ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over the awesome fireworks at midnight on the boardwalk, Joachim Garraud graced the stage with his presence. This man is someone who is very aware of himself and very happy to show everyone how amazing he is. No, really. Not since the likes of egomaniac hard dance DJ Yoji Biomohenica has one man had such a presence on stage. He was loving it! Hands in the air, yelling, a video constantly playing pics of himself or other people with his signature space invader icon – yes, he has his own icon. Musically it was good – layers of cheese intertwined with some killer hits and absolute classics but each time you started getting into a track he’d cut and mash it into something else which after a while got very annoying and difficult to dance to. I can see why he has a reputation of a party DJ – he is very good at what he does, but let the track play for more than 60 seconds! I think what was most impressive about Joachim is his use of other instruments during the set like a keyboard and someone mentioned he even used a xylophone. He is very talented and I can see why he is one of the biggest and most popular DJ’s in the world.

Sister Bliss was the final act in the Crystal Palace, taking us all the way through to close. She is one part of Faithless but a really great DJ in her own right. The music was party music also, some classics, some very smooth sounds and all up she really brought the music to a great ending.

New Years Eve was a pretty successful night all up, although no one would go on any of the free rides with me Bastards. Looking past my terrible friends though, the music was fun, the bars were well stocked and very fast and the space wasn’t crammed with loads of people. It is definitely something I will consider for NYE 2009 – even if it is a year away!!