Saturday night saw the return of Godskitchen to Sydney to mark a decade of events celebrating the trance phenomenon. With a milestone that conveniently marks a time where trance is as thriving and robust as it has ever been, the lineup had many of us salivating for months. According to the glossy flyer this was to “surpass anything Future Entertainment and Godskitchen have ever created…the ultimate ANGEL IN WHITE party experience, featuring amazing production and a huge cast of special guest performers and dancers that will leave you spellbound.” With a claim like that Future Entertainment, after what was experienced I’m afraid you’re asking for it, and I hope you’ll listen to the discontented hordes who have been posting on forums and social networking sites in the days since the event.

I arrived as the sounds of local hero Scott Richardson’s rework of Kane’s Rain Down on Me were reverberating off the back wall. Absolutely gutted to miss the bulk of the set after two false starts on the way to Homebush, I was reliably informed that Scotty held his own, despite being unable to resist the temptation of banging out the last few tracks – but hey, it was the gig of a lifetime. Or at least, it should have been. Having been moved from the Dome to a side arena at the last minute, it was immediately apparent that the room had been thrown together overnight. With approximately 2000 people in the venue at its apex and a noticeable proportion leaving in protest midway through the night, the atmosphere was like a quasi funeral toward the fringes. Deciding to grab a drink and crack on, we joined the 300 troops flustering the 6 staff at the single bar but soon gave up on the prospect of waiting over an hour for a beverage.

Burrowing into the middle of the dancefloor gave the illusion of numbers, but the sound was low and bassy at best. Rising star Jon O’Bir had the misfortune of experiencing a blown circuit breaker which left him on the sparsely furnished stage in awkward silence for five minutes as the crowd voiced their frustration. After the power was rerouted, he pieced together a melodic but fairly flat set that peaked predictably with his epic signature tune Ways and Means and an interesting minimal edit of Delerium’s Silence. The towering Menno de Jong took over, stanchly redirecting the sound to a techier state, climbing onto the decks during a mashup of Veracocha’s classic Carte Blanche and the Cosmic Gate rework. Terrifying the front rowers from his lofty pose, Menno pumped his arms, frantically beseeching the crowd to pump up valiantly. Mixing crowd-pleasers from Simon Patterson and Cygnus X with a pinch of his own material, Menno gave a good account of himself before handing over to fellow Dutchman Sander Van Doorn.

From the get go, Sander changed the atmosphere, as those of us left were immediately blasted with the unique sounds of this niche jock. From his own efforts The Girl You Lost To Cocaine and Apologize to the Bart B More remix of Micha Moor’s Prodigy sampling Space, Sander made us forget the slap in the face we’d received from the production crew. The destructive Riff drew the biggest cheer of the night before new blood John O’Callaghan stepped up. Wondering collectively whether he could adjust to the atmosphere and time slot, JOC absolutely nailed it, rounding off four of the best hours of trance and tech that anyone could ask for. From his own remix of Timmy & Tommy’s wonky Full Tiltin to the definitive Big Sky, O’Callaghan balanced melodic and tech with ease, programming the ideal 4am set and maintaining the numbers that Sander had entranced. Playing an atypically anthemic set, he read the crowd well and had us in rapture with the Cosmic Gate remix of Oceanlab’s Sirens of The Sea alongside his own tracks Exactly and his rework of Underworld’s Cowgirl. Ending masterfully with the unlikely pairing of Filo & Peri’s Anthem and appropriately PVD’s For An Angel, the Irishman put to bed suggestions of programming issues.

Having seen the photos from Melbourne, the lackadaisical production was an insult to Sydney’s faithful that had bought tickets and turned out in white. It is understandable that disappointing ticket sales led to a smaller budget, but at the end of the day, if you can’t get the sound right, then you are simply taking the piss. The lighting and lasers that kicked in during the last hour were well overdue, and the pyrotechnics a bit half-arsed. Props to the crowd who stuck it out despite being disillusioned, they were determined to make the most of it and kept the grins and PLUR alive.

A bit of a sad night for trance in Sydney, this event was badly planned and executed under false promises; however the one thing that Future cracked was the lineup. The music was top-notch all night so fair play on that guys, but please understand that the 2000 who turned up were Sydney’s trance hardcore. We trekked to Homebush, paid over the odds, and were left feeling unappreciated. The sad thing is a lot of us would do it all again next year even if we knew it’d play out the same. Perhaps that is the problem…..See you next year – and please get it right next time FFS.