It’s that time of year again – when the New Years haze starts to clear, only to be met by the prospect of the Sydney Festival and the glut of amazing shows it always brings. This year is no different, and following a sold-out Sharon Jones gig the night before, it was time for everyone’s favourite tea-obsessed DJ/producer, Mr Scruff, to bring the funk to the Becks Bar at Hyde Park.

I arrived just in time to catch the beginning of Katalyst’s set. While I’ve always liked his records, I’ve never really seen a Katalyst set that excited me and unfortunately this one was no different. Next up, Melbourne beat smith and DJ, Thief, was joined by Kathrin deBoer of Belleruche. The pair were squished into a little cabana type thing out in the courtyard, and it seemed that most of the crowd were unaware that it was a live performance. Thief’s beats were interesting, but deBoer was perhaps a touch too quiet. It was a difficult set up though for them however, and they certainly earned the head-nodding approval of those close enough to be able to appreciate what they were doing. Their version of Anything You Want (Not That) from Belleruche’s new album in particular had me wishing that they’d been given the freedom of a larger performance space.

It was Mr Scruff that everyone was here to see, however, and he most certainly didn’t disappoint. Playing a three hour set (although relatively short by Mr Scruff standards) meant that he had time to let tracks breathe. It was awesome to hear all seven-odd minutes of Fat Freddys Drop’s Roady, for example, as well as a sprawling jazzy number featuring a sublime double bass bassline that went for about ten minutes.

The charm of Scruff sets is increased greatly by his somewhat eccentric self drawn visuals, offering dancing advice (“wobble those legs”, “lift those knees”), warnings (“warning!” “bassline!”), shouts to various suburbs of Sydney and even instructions on how to make the perfect cup of tea (a subject very close to the man’s heart). His simple cartoon style of drawing works perfectly – noboby is going to take things to seriously when there’s a dancing potato on the screen!

Another aspect of his set that I appreciated was his willingness to play his own music. Too many DJ/producers seem scared to play their own productions – Freddie Cruger is one example that springs most readily to mind. I’m not particularly familiar with his new album Ninja Tuna, but I recognised Music Takes Me Up (featuring Alice Russell) and Test the Sound, while Get a Move On (mixed into the Moondog’s original) was an absolute highlight, with the whole crowd yelling “You better keep moving boy!”

Scruff credits 2Tone ska for getting him into music, so it was great to hear him drop some ska, both of the 2Tone variety and of the Skatalites kind. He closed his set out with some nice afrobeat, playing to a happy crowd of punters still dancing at 1.20 on a Tuesday morning. This is why people love Mr Scruff, and this is why people love the Becks Bar. Mr Scruff, I raise my tea cup to you, sir!