Another weekend, another festival. The second day of summer meant another virgin festival cherry to be popped. Claremont Showgrounds played host to Stereosonic on a stunning Sunday afternoon. Even though ID checks were performed at the gates, the amount of young, young ladies frolicking about in next to nothing probably meant a couple of young’uns slipped through the net. With Bloc Party playing a fairly sizey gig that night also, numbers were certainly up for the downsized arena at the Showgrounds. Four arenas played host to a variety of electronic genres from sizzling fidget electro to minimal melodic and plain cheese pop.

Arriving to the familiar and welcome sounds of Vincent from Midnight Juggeranuts questioning the crowd whether it was an atom bomb or a Tombstone?, Midnight Juggernauts have been a little hit and miss with their sound at previous festivals but today in the sunshine sound crisp and clear. An advantage that they and Cut Copy have over say Presets and Pnau is that they need very little backing track for their sound with multiple musicians onstage to fill out the sound, which satisfies the more pessimistic crowd members. Bringing out many of their classics from their impressive debut from last year including Into the Galaxy, the crowd was loving it and singing along in good voice.

Everywhere man Maxwell had the job of keeping the energy up on the main-stage between sets and he did a good job, throwing down some Deadmau5 trancey-house and some MGMT which would not be the last time the soon-to-be-arriving Brooklyn duo would be heard during the day.

Though there was nothing wrong with his admirable selections, Maxwell was abandoned to check out Berlin electro-disco maestro Headman. Playing the intimate Onelove tent, though Headman is known more for his original productions than his DJing, he threw down a quality set of hot tunes including some Chemical Brothers, the Auto remix of Justice’s Stress, In Flagranti’s cowbell heavy stormer Business Acumen and My Love Sees You by ex-*Riot in Belgium* member Beni. Though the set was upbeat and the mixing good, the crowd seemed fairly nonchalant and it ebbed and flowed for most of the set.

Over at the Limelite tent, Aussie stalwart Sam La More was throwing down for a small but appreciative crowd, enjoying the tunes even if there was a bit of sound bleed from the mainstage. Party electro was the flavour of the day with a highlight of the set his own remix of brother Nick’s Empire of the Sun track We Are The People.

The bleed from the mainstage was coming from one of the world’s favorite DJs and all round loveable character Carl Cox. Once known for being the most well known DJ to use three turntables, the UK mainstay played a perfect festival set with good ebbs and flows and the crowd was pretty much going mental. Huge amounts of hands in the air and the area in front of the stage a writhing mass of sweaty bodies getting down to party anthems including the day’s second remix of Chemical Brothers classic Hey Boy Hey Girl. Flirting in between tech-house, electro and a bit of techno, Cox cemented his reputation as a guaranteed good time for all. Finishing by thanking Perth Stereosound [sic] for a great afternoon, reciprocated by an appropriate cheer from the crowd, it seemed we weren’t the only ones with a festival overload.

The Hardware tent was the big top for the day and the DJ formerly know as Deckz (now Zelimir) was pumping the crowd with his infectious attitude behind the decks and his music selection complimented. Playing some lovely tech house to get the crowd amped for German legends Booka Shade, Zelimir surely won himself a few more fans. As the stage was set up with electronic toys left and right, including a massive bank of synths, samplers and controllers and of course their famous electronic drum kit, Booka Shade chants started early. Pnau had drawn the flouro crowd out of the tent so there was plenty of room to move when the opening intro music started to unwind and the atmosphere was nothing short of electric. Opening with Mandarine Girl and following it up with Dusty Boots from third LP The Sun and The Neon Light, the duo from Berlin were on the money early. Like their German forefathers and recent visitors Kraftwerk, the duo have perfected the art of using minimal sounds to maximum effect, but have chosen a more poppy sound for their most recent album, which was no more evident than on second single Charlotte, a definite crowd favourite with its live vocoder chorus and infectious melody. From there is was almost a greatest hits with the boys pumping out live versions of Night Falls, O Superman, Darko and In White Rooms, which surely sent a few tingles through the crowds collective spine. Finishing with the anthemic Body Language, even the great Carl Cox came to pay his respects, grooving along on the side of the stage. Thanking the crowd for being a part of their last show of their current tour, the Germans reaffirmed their status as one of the premier live dance acts the world has to offer.

Over at the mainstage, trance mega-star and constant top 5 DJ Paul Van Dyk was unleashing a perhaps more commercial trance set than most were used to. Though the younger crowd certainly liked it, a sea of appreciative hands in the air made welcome a remix of The Killers recent schmulz pie Human. Playing upbeat track selections for most of the set, he also threw in some Foo Fighters for good measure before it was time to make way for Australia’s favourite/worst electro-poppers Sneaky Sound System.

The Sneakies have been riding the wave of synth-pop flowing out of Australia of recent times and with a new album out not long ago, they were ready to go. Pumping out all the radio-friendly tracks they are so well know for, Ms Connie and co gave an energetic if predictable set. Having had so many of their singles played to death, the usually reliable I Love It, Pictures and UFO all failed to make any real effect. Newer single Kansas City seemed to spark the crowd a little, but perhaps because of the heat, or their complete over exposure in recent years, one fears the Sneakies have, for better or worse, had their 5 minutes in the sun.

So what’s next? Summadayze? Good Vibes? NeverEverLand? Southbound? Origin? ARGHHH!!!!!