I won’t lie, I entered Future Music Festival this year with some reservations. 12 months on from the 2008 edition and I still hadn’t been able to shake memories of fake tan and fluoro melting in the 40 degree heat. So it was with little expectations (other than to seduce Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D) that I ventured to the Garden of Unearthly Delights on Monday.

Once I’d finally navigated my way into the venue, which since last year has doubled in size, I took my self straight to the Future stage to catch the first big act of the day, CSS. Sick and tired of being sexy Lovefoxxx was wearing her usual outrageous attire, sporting a hideous floral jumpsuit/cape combo. The Brazilian electroclash band got the crowd shuffling, receiving a strong reaction to their more popular songs including Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above and Left Behind.

Following a bit of setting up, the stage was taken over Swedish House Mafia members Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. Did the duo’s set sound like a mash up of Ministry of Sound Annual albums from the past decade? Yes. Did the crowd care? No way! As the Swede’s played floor filler after floor filler the crowd went wild for their on stage antics and uplifting and suspenseful build ups. Highlight? A very ‘satisfying’ transition from Show Me Love 2008 into Benny Benassi’s 2002 hit Satisfaction, proving that house music is indeed alive and kicking (no matter how old or overplayed the track).

Trekking to other side of the festival (which, compared to other states, was not far at all!), I found myself at the considerably smaller Eclipse stage where French DJ, producer and remix master Mr Oizo (pronounced Monsieur Wah-zoh) was doing his thing. Most striking about my new surroundings, nestled amongst the trees of Rymill Park, was how different the crowd was from those sweating it out to Steve and Sebastian. Not only was the dancing more sporadic, but the singlets were looser, the skin less orange, arms less buff, hair less gelled and inhibitions non-existent. The crowd stamped and thrashed it out to the sketchy electro beats of Oizo, who was hidden behind a wall of blue lights and lasers. A suitable minimalist set up for the man who recently described fellow performer Etienne De Crecy’s heavy visual live show as “too serious and too ridiculous.”

Returning back to the Future main stage I was struck by an air of anticipation building as the growing crowd flocked to see N.E.R.D. When Pharrell finally appeared on stage girls went as wild as grannies at a Tom Jones concert. Hysteria further intensified when Williams invited all the beautiful ladies in the audience to crowd surf up to the front and join him on stage. Within moments girls were flooding over the barrier like a tsunami, forcing the army of yellow vested security guards to reinforce the fencing to stop a stampede of girls. Side stepping love struck fans, Pharrell and his crew whipped the crowd into such a frenzy that Angello and Ingross were forced to take to the stage and cool the crowd down with a bottle of champagne – who said DJ’s aren’t rockstars?

Now there’s been a lot of talk about The Cube. Having heard it compared to Daft Punk’s Pyramid, I was adamant about witnessing Etienne De Crecy’s set up for myself, however I was disappointed to discover that he clashed with UK legends Basement Jaxx. Fancy putting two of the day’s most anticipated acts on at the same time! None the less, I dragged myself from the main stage and was faced with a three story high pulsing, shifting, convulsing tower of sound. De Crecy pumped out a string of powerful tracks to the suspiciously passionate yet rather sparse crowd, and while the set up was impressive, unfortunately it takes a little more then scaffolding, lasers and deep bass to drag people away from an iconic outfit like Basement Jaxx.

I’ve had the good luck of seeing Basement Jaxx live a number of times over the past few years, and Oh My Gosh, I can confidently say they never fail to impress. Boasting a full live line up, Buxton and Ratcliffe were joined on stage by their band and those unforgettable, larger than life singers. The crowd were only to happy to Jump And Shout through the lengthy set, which involved countless costume changes and saw the Jaxx play all their biggest hits. Red Alert, Plug It In, Where’s Your Head At? and an acoustic version of Romeo. Having not released an album since 2006 the boys kept things fresh by slipping in samples from Fake Blood and even Kings of Leon, wrapping things up with an energetic encore of Bingo Bango (NB – puns intentional!)

Am I glad I went to Future Music Festival 2009? You betcha! Despite much of the music of the day coming from the past rather then the future, the overall vibe was positive and mother nature was kind. Most importantly, people seem to have gotten the memo that fluoro is over. See you all next year.