The signs were somewhat ominous before we’d even arrived. At Southern Cross station a girl let loose into the bin on the platform, much to the mortification of her unsympathetic friends. En route to the showgrounds I surveyed the carriage and felt both old and somewhat overdressed amidst the sea of bodies. As it was still relatively early, I could only hope that the fashionably late would arrive in time to balance out the style stakes.

We made a beeline for the Yellow stage upon entry, where DFA hipsters Yacht played the sort of upbeat indie pop that would have probably been better suited to the Good Vibes bill. The crowd was more of a scattering of people, but opening number Summer Song got feet moving and complemented the actual sunshine that had peeked out from behind the clouds. The main stage played host to the one and only Grandmaster Flash , and while he may not be the best, he certainly is the original, and knows how to throw down an old-fashioned party mix like no other. “Does Melbourne know hip hop?” he hollered. “Does Melbourne love hip-hop? Well let me see you put those hands up!” he coaxed, before launching into some Notorious B.I.G, his own seminal The Message , mixing it up with the Jackson Five’s I Want You back , KRS-One’s Sound Of Da Police and Aerosmith’s Walk This Way. A string of old school and newer hits followed in what was an eminently danceable, good-time set. Towards the end it threatened to become mere jukebox fodder, with overdone tunes including Ice Ice Baby and Timbaland’s The Way I Are surfacing, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. Loads of fun.

Next was the man I’d been waiting near two years to see, Lifelike. He dropped a few popular tracks like his techier remix of Chromeo’s Needy Girl and the bouncy L.O.V.E Is What You Need, but I didn’t hear some of my all-time faves including So Electric and Discopolis. I had to make a quick dash to meet some of the ITM crew halfway through his set, so it’s possible he decided to throw down my most adored in the few minutes I was gone, but in any case it seemed to me a rather life-less set, as Blue Monday and Music Sounds Better With You were far from inspired inclusions. The Frenchie seemed rather bored up there, and I imagined that a dark club filled with fashionable Parisians and strobe lights would’ve suited his cosmic tunes more than the grassy knoll in front of him.

Disheartened, I made my way to the Likes of You stage where the formidable Stephan Bodzin had drawn a sizeable crowd with his brand of bleepy, droning techno. Minimal fans appeared to be enjoyed themselves as Bodzin emitted sounds akin to a dulled chainsaw at half-pace, grinding its way to a stuttering, driving crescendo. A change of pace came in the form of Swedish House Mafiosi Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso, who were working the main stage into a lather. Amidst some embarrassing attempts at crowd-surfing and a few thousand screaming, sweaty fans, Angello and Ingrosso closed out with a refined remix of Coldplay’s Viva la Vida , which drew rapturous applause, before throwing in Show Me Love vs Be and finishing up with Benny Benassi’s Satisfaction. Refreshingly devoid of the ego that seems to go hand in hand with most DJs of their stature, the Swedes looked to be having a genuinely good time, dancing along with the crowd and injecting the set with the trademark exuberance and light for which they’ve become known.

Pharrell and co were doing their thing on the main stage immediately afterwards so we stuck around to see the boys deliver old favourites like Lapdance, She Wants To Move and Rockstar, along with some fresher, softer stuff off the new Seeing Sounds album. I’d heard reports that their Hisense Arena show on Thursday was a bit of a non-event, with a near-empty stadium and correspondingly lacklustre show. Whilst I wouldn’t describe their Future performance as mind-blowing, it wasn’t bad either, and the crowd seemed happy enough with what was on offer.

Next it was back to The Likes of You for the tail end of Sander Kleinenberg. I was peeved I hadn’t seen more of it. Here was ballsy, loud and proud electro without any of the cheesiness that seems to have melted over the genre of late. His stomping, pulsing beats brought sexy back to the dancefloor in full swing, pleasing both boys and girls alike. Some girls were so pleased, in fact, that Sander invited them up on stage for some deckside dancing. The two were there, somewhat idiotically, for the entire 2 hour set I’m told, but when he finished they followed him backstage to errr, get better acquainted, I guess! The Dutchman’s last number was an absolute corker; his new one, he told us. I don’t know the name of it but I sure as hell intend to find out. Solid stuff.

Richie Hawtin followed with the kind of intellectual techno we’ve come to expect from the Canadian. Waving the flag for the Detroit house movement, his atmospheric, stripped-back sound is a journey for the senses, endlessly fascinating and never predictable. I’d have liked to stick around for the entirety of Hawtin’s set but had to head back to Yellow where CSS were about to turn up the fun factor with that Brazilian sunshine-y bubblegum sound that we’ve come to know and love. In a similar vein to Yacht, the five-piece brought bounds of energy to the stage, with Lovefoxx regaling the crowd with admissions of her need to pee. Opening with 2006’s hit Meeting Paris Hilton, CSS maintained a shiny, smiley tone as they played new releases Move and Give Up.

What little I saw of Paul Oakenfold failed to impress. A remix of Kings of Leon’s Use Somebody hit all the wrong notes, and the rest sounded tired and run-of-the-mill. Oakey’s no slouch, as a coveted opening slot for Madonna’s upcoming tour will attest, but I didn’t hear anything that set my ears on fire yesterday. Back at Yellow, Tocadisco was warming up with a seemingly endless teaser of fidget music. After fifteen minutes, we gave up. No doubt Tocadisco would have eventually delivered the goods, but there was much ground to cover and I couldn’t wait around for Streetgirls for the next hour, as much as I’d have like to. Back at Likes of You Etienne de Crecy had taken things up a notch, quite literally. Elevated above the stage in his famed ‘cube’, it was quite a sight. Tunes were dark, techy, more overstated but somewhat lighter than Hawtin’s had been, and a rousing way to end the day at the Likes Of You stage.

Basement Jaxx and live band at the main stage earned their headline spot. Full-bodied soul mammas shook their hips, flashed their ample booties and created a party on stage as Felix and Simon dished up a string of hits including Just One Kiss, Red Alert, Plug It In, an acoustic, chillout version of Romeo and the club clanger Where’s Your Head At? A refreshingly lively, happy way to finish off the festival.

It was not a hot day (though the sun did shine sporadically), yet there was a whole lot of skin on show. Flemington Racecourse, in my opinion, is not the right venue for the event. Massive and sprawling, it takes an eternity to make your way from one stage to another and it wasn’t adequately lit at night. The line for a drink was never too long, but running out of Smirnoff at about 7.30pm was not cool. The portaloos were also pretty gross, as is de rigeur for festivals! A good day, but not a great one.