Every now and again an event comes along with the potential to change your life. For a lucky few, they happen every weekend. But for the true techno devotees of Melbourne, nights like Luciano & Robert Babicz, presented by none other than Soma Corp and The Likes of You, unfold but once in a blue moon. To have over a thousand crazy kids under the same roof in the name of what was essentially a techno club night is something that has arguably happened only a few times in Australia – and the roof came off accordingly. Techno. Lasers. Sweat on the walls. Good times.

My ears are still ringing – in the best possible way. Not in the piercing-significant-frequency-loss-irreparable damage way, but more in the my-god-I-can’t-get-that-damn-acid-techno-out-of-my-head-and-I’m-not-sure-I-want-to way. However, the evening was a little slow to kick off. Wanting to beat the inevitable rush, I arrived just before midnight to find the joint considerably empty. Little concerned, I took ample advantage of the nonexistent bar queue and proceeded to partake of the comfortable bounce wafting up to the mezzanine from the concluding minutes of Virgina Le’s set down below.

The crew did a great job priming the downstairs set up to suit the latin/tribal tune that Luciano was to provide, even placing a tree on the edge of the floor. Unfortunately the sound downstairs was a little patchy – perfect in some spots but lacking fullness elsewhere. Though his prowess as an artist is not to be denied, I found Luciano’s set to be much of the same – flashes of utter brilliance only to be chopped and changed amongst periodic mediocrity. His technique was infallible but seemed to be lacking the ‘X’ factor desired to set a dancefloor alight, providing a perfect soundtrack for a mellow cocktail but little of depth to dive into. Nonetheless the crowd in the downstairs and mezzanine levels seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, making optimum use of the dance space created by the mass exodus as soon as upstairs opened. I may be minutely biased as a Babicz, fan but I scooted upstairs as soon as the clock struck 2am to scope out the situation before the start of his set.

Upon reaching the top of those stairs, I was more than pleasantly surprised. I hadn’t been to Brown Alley since the recent renovations, and seeing the roof ripped off the former upstairs side room was a sight to behold. The fresh air and cinematic offerings of the projector screen provided a welcome recuperation space over the course of the night, especially as upstairs began to heave at the seams while the outcome of Luciano vs. Babicz became clear. Moreover, the main stage had been plastered, wall-to-wall, with plasma screens large enough to make a grown man drool, and was crowned by the piercing scan of a split colour changing laser. Another marathon 6 hour visual extravaganza flowed from the fingers of VJ Netzair, without doubt this towns contemporary standard setter for optical stimulation. In continuing the theme of showcasing local excellence Lance Harrison was blasting chunky depth onto the floor, and I was suitably impressed by a haphazardly melodic jazz overlay he dropped towards the end of his set. Then the man-who-can we Melburnians lovingly call Dave Pham took the reigns. Babicz had been delayed half an hour and the burgeoning crowd was undoubtedly hankering for the start of his set, but the anticipation was dispelled with ease by the Pham. Dave gave local talent a tangible definition, showcasing just how good we can get: bass, bump, kick, snare, lose your shit, repeat.

And Babicz? Ah, Babicz. The German wizard assumed control of the sensory abilities of every person on the floor from the moment the first note hit, and proceeded to play musical puppet master from the helm of his 100 per cent live set up for the following two and half hours. Every track that could have been asked for was signed, sealed, delivered, and received with exponential gratitude. Dark Flower, Purple Dance, The River, Spaceman, New World, Sin, Ping Pong in Moonlight, and a relentless torrent of others coalesced to proverbially shit all over the expectations of even a die-hard fan. Quintessentially mind-blowing. The inclusion of A Night In Melbourne was icing on the cake. With not one sound glitch, one mistake, Robert flowed seamlessly through reinterpretations of his own hit singles to off the cuff live interludes and breakdowns, giving us a peek at a side of himself little projected through his studio productions. The man let it all show. Don’t forget the seeming descent into a history of acid techno as all the tricks of the old school were pulled out, juiced up, and left for the floor to bask in. 303s, 808s and bass, oh my.

After the conclusion of Babicz, increasing splashes of daylight creeping in through the roof of the smoking deck were my call to hit the hay, though reports as to the brilliance of Christian Vance and Simon Sleiker’s closing sets are multitudinous. Thank you Soma Corp, the Likes of You, and Melbourne – a night never to be forgotten, and often reflected upon. Once again, we came up with the goods.