Warmer weather in Brisbane continues to heat up with the first of a new series of events by the Logic crew. Comfortably consistent in their nights at Bar Soma, a recent move towards the Logic:Live concept has brought out Mathew Johnson to headline with his eclectic and acclaimed body of work signaling a new direction for Logic events in 2009. With a long weekend ahead and the temperature on the rise, Bar Soma opens doors to a mix of party people and live act chinstrokers keen to catch the prolific producer of such anthems as 2004’s Decompression do it all the way live.

A busy night is by no means a rarity for the mezzanines and courtyards of Bar Soma, being well established as a safehouse for the underground house and tech inspired nights. With BPM opening with a typically smooth flow the cocktail lists get a pre-emptive workout before Mike Redfern takes to the relocated stage amid requests for a preview of his upcoming releases with studio partner Matt Engelbrecht. With the sheer size of the headliner’s live rig dominating the stage, the DJs for the night take refuge on the dancefloor itself, perched at eye level behind a makeshift booth and surrounded by an incredibly expanded PA system that has as much to do with the quickly filling floor as Redfern’s veteran flow into Fergus Alexander’s set. Purveyors of the deeper sounds, from jacking to tech and all stops between, the Logic crew set the scenster’s weekly Beatport shopping lists as the rest cycle between the floor, the bar, and excursions into the courtyard to sit and cool off.

Despite the persistent heat and cocktails, which sees more than a couple of sets of high heels and All Stars alike slip on the mezzanine stairs throughout the night, a busy floor cheers as Mathew Jonson takes the stage. Obscured behind a staggering mixing console, Jonson leaps into a heady mix that moves without hesitation between house, techno and a free beat vibe that sidesteps the need for obsessive genre name checking. Comfortably casual with a vintage Roland TR-909 drum machine snapping into a rush of hi-hats and shuffling snares, Jonson works a full 24-channels of audio on the fly, with slowly mutating beats and grooves flying past in a seemingly busy blur of activity and a persistent heavy bass.

Rattling the dance floor and clearly heard across the courtyard, Jonson picks up the pace before taking a bow to an extended applause and handing over the Elliot Clarke and Fuzion. The local pair power through an engaging set of techno that keeps the purists on the floor as the rest peel off for the cooler ends of the venue. As the crowd thins out and steps back into the busy Valley morning hordes, some forgotten studio geeks are still huddled in far corners and whisper persistently about drum machines and filter sweeps in between furious strokes of their chins. As the high heels, horn-rimmed glasses and worn-tread trainers suggest, there’s a great mix of enthusiasm for this change of direction for the Logic crew. If only to get the geeks out of the studios for once, the first Logic:Live winds through the last of a warm night that sees another crew joining the push to showcase the diverse sounds of the producers and acts that continue to create the soundtrack of the underground.