How were Optimo? Um, I’m not sure, to be honest. Yes, I was there. For all five hours of it, give or take a toilet break or two. And yet, I can’t tell if it was magnificent or mediocre. Most likely, it was somewhere in between.

Optimo is not one, but two DJs hailing from the grimy clubbing mecca that is Glasgow, Scotland. The name refers to the Sunday night party at the Sub Club club where residents JD Twitch and JG Wilkes have enthralled end-of-weekend hedonists since 1997. Residing comfortably in the upper echelons of cool, Optimo have gained a cult following over the years – well-known and loved amongst those in the know, without ever approaching the blight that is overexposure. Their club’s guest list reads like a who’s who lifted straight from the pages of Dazed and Confused – Hot Chip, Chicks on Speed, Richie Hawtin, Grace Jones, Ashley Beedle – even our very own Presets have made an appearance.

No surprises then, that when Optimo come to Melbourne, they play at none other than the trendiest spot in town, the Toff. After playing host of late to some of DFA’s finest exports including Tim Sweeney and Holy Ghost!, everyone’s talking about the Toff right now, and of Andee Frost’s ability to throw a damn good party. Toff regulars were already a shoo-in, but a quick sniff around online would have confirmed the uninitiated’s suspicions that Optimo were an act worthy of checking out. Tickets sold like proverbial hotcakes, and the place was accordingly crowded, but not crammed.

Optimo themselves take eclectic to a whole other level. The night was a mish-mash of eras, genres, sounds and moods, not so much seamlessly mixed as chopped with a blunt knife and hurtled into a bubbling pot. The result? A set that I’d describe as neither smooth nor directionless, but seemingly very spur of the moment, aided with an artist’s ear for pastiche. We traversed from Pump Up the Jam and other 90s ‘techno’ of the same ilk to 70s funk and current Toff favourite, Louis Austen’s Heaven’s in the Backseat of My Cadillac. The Lovin Spoonful’s soulful Summer in the City got an airing, followed somewhat incongruously by another old faithful, Frankie Knuckles’ spine-tingling Your Love.

More modern-minded attendees were thrilled when Audion’s Mouth to Mouth coursed out of the speakers, alongside some deeper, techier fare. But the ride was far from over, as Twitch and Wilkes dropped everything from Boney M’s Rasputin (ick, sorry), to Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain to a glitzy version of the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams. Farley Jackmaster Funk’s Love Can’t Turn Around got us back into the disco groove, only to be capulted back to sobriety with The Doors’ People are Strange. One of the last tracks of the night was The Beatles’ Come Together, and yet I’m still dubious as to whether the set ever came close to a similar kind of cohesion. There were flashes of brilliance throughout, no doubt, and most seemed happy enough dancing the night away. I just never quite felt that I was on the same wavelength as Optimo.

There was a notable international presence on the night – I met a few fellow Scots, some Irish, and even a Dutchman, perhaps testament to Optimo’s loyal underground following in Europe. Most had seen the pair before, and were delighted to have the opportunity to check them out in Australia. I suspect that the eponymous Glasgow club might be tricky to get into on a Sunday night. Presales at least make it a bit easier for wee backpackers keen to catch a glimpse of their uber-cool compatriots.

A final parting note – a visit to the Optimo website reveals the following words of wisdom straight from the horses’ mouths: “before judging, passing comment or trying to fit Optimo in with anything else that is happening anywhere else, we feel you have to have been at least two or three times before you can even begin to understand it”. I feel better now. Next time I plan on visiting Optimo on their famed home turf to re-gauge the experience in the most authentic manner possible.