Clear blue skies, sunshine and plenty of Melbourne punters were making their way to the Sidney Myer Music Bowel, ready to party for the next 10 hours. What more could you want for an Australia Day festival? I can answer that one, how about 140 of Australia’s finest DJs pumping out their best beats! As a Kiss My Grass virgin I was unsure of what to expect. I’ve been to many Future Entertainment events, and as yet haven’t left disappointed, so I was hopeful today would tickle all the right spots.

Walking through the Botanical Gardens following the rest of the crowd it was obvious of what was to come, there were plenty of Roman sandals, mini skirts, muscle shirts, canvas shoes and short shorts. Overall it was a very down to earth crowd and everyone was there to have fun and shake what their mamas gave them enjoying the long weekend. I had been majorly pumped all week especially to see Acid Jacks, Dirty Laundry and Christian Vance, so I was geared up to see what Aussie’s best could bring.

After having our bags checked and getting our wristbands we made our way to the cloak room so I could put my hoodie away (I learnt from Summadayze). Walking through the crowd the GRL Mobile DJ van had the tunes pumping with some commercial house, including Hook N Sling ‘The Best Thing’ and Mobin Master ‘Show Me Love’. We decided to do a lap and survey the setup. On the mainstage they had the decks positioned towards the back with a dancefloor in front so you had a great view of the artists at work.

We’d done a few laps and caught up with some other inthemixers when we made our way to find a seat and check out Funkoars. Not familiar with their work, I’m happy to say I’m not a huge fan as they put on a great show, with ‘Black Sally’, ‘Certified’ and ‘Kidney Shifters’ all standouts. Soon after we moved on to see Christian Vance at the Blow Kiss stage. He turned out a set of the stuff he’s famous for; magical minimal tech that always manages to keep you floating on the dancefloor. Unfortunately for him the crowd wasn’t there to support, but that gave us even more room to boogie.

It was around 4:30 when we headed back to the main stage to see Digital Primate play a live set of pumping techno tunes, including his hit ‘I Aint Wid It’ which definitely got the crowd excited! We hung around and had a bit of a boogie before The Majik Show featuring Papa Smurf took the stage. I’m not a fan of trance by any means, but on the day Papa well and truly turned me. It’s hard to describe the feeling the set had, but it was like the energy from the crowd was infectious and helped to lift you up. I don’t know how anyone could just sit there rather than belting out your finest dance moves! Today Papa Smurf had everyone moving and wanting more, and he gave the crowd a workout and made them feel like they were part of it all.

We left the main stage to go for a pit stop and refuel. I was thankful for the short lines and for not having to wait 20 minutes to get a drink! After we’d grabbed something to eat and had a bevvie we were off to the Dirty Kiss stage to see Eric Powell smash out some of his techno sounds. He had a pretty big crowd gathered, and people were really into it as he worked the music and the crowd. I was hot, tired, sunburnt and had very very sore feet, however I still managed too dance away to his tunes for 20 minutes or so. Then it was time for a Red Bull sugar hit as I was going to need some energy for Acid Jacks!

Making our way back to the top of the hill to find a good spot I noticed how great the crowd looked. The sun was still shining and there was an awesome vibe around. Soon enough 7pm rocked up and Acid Jacks came on stage with their intense acid sound in tow. They played the all famous ‘We Are All Prostitutes’ and ‘Mookie’ and we danced up a storm. We also decided to stick around for Dirty Laundry and hear them slam out their mainstage house tunes. I had only heard a little bit of Dirty Laundry but they definitely impressed!

By 9pm I was tired, (still) sunburnt, and sore all over. I’d had a ball and danced up a storm, so I was covered in dirt and certainly didn’t smell like a rose. I don’t think that matters, though, at least not when you’ve had a day of fun in the sun celebrating our awesome country! There were a couple of sound issues through the day, which can be a common occurrence at the Bowl. The issues was mainly with the Pioneer Pro DJ stage, as it kept getting muddled with the main stage, making it a little hard to enjoy. I went along to Kiss My Grass with high hopes, especially as I had been to Summadayze only 3 weeks prior, but it proved to be a fun day. There was a great crowd and great music. Hopefully now that he lives in Australia we can see Carl Cox join the line up in year’s to come!