Saturday March 7th saw thousands of punters descend on Doomben Racecourse for the festival of frivolities that is the Future Music Festival (or FMF for short). Only in its third year of its existence – for Queensland at least – FMF has quickly grown to become Australia’s leading dance music festival tour, building its reputation for providing massive line-ups headlined by a long list of international superstars, all covering a broad cross-section of the dance music community.

The broad appeal of artists was on full display for FMF 2009, and it saw heavyweight live-acts (Basement Jaxx and N*E*R*D), seasoned superstars (Paul Oakenfold and Grandmaster Flash), festival favourites (Joachim Garruad), future superstars (Super 8 & Tab and Stephan Bodzin) and Ministry of Sound chart-toppers (Tocadisco and Ian Carey Project). Not to be outdone, we also had genre topping artists in trance (Markus Schulz and Christopher Lawrence), house (Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso), progressive (Sander Kleinenberg) and minimal techno (Richie Hawtin). Throw in about two of Queensland’s best as a supporting cast, and you have one hell of a festival!

Arriving on the stroke of midday we floated through the friendly security and gate staff and onto the lush green acres that make up Doomben. On our way to the venue we drove past the neighbouring Eagle Farm Racecourse, which was hosting a local meet at the time. Talk about polar opposites for day! 31 degrees, blue skies and a playground of lush grassy expanses, FMF and Doomben were shining in all their resplendent glory.

Futuristic!

It’s hard to say that Richie Hawtin’s set was a surprise for the day, given the multitude of pre-event hype surrounding his performance, which stemmed from his FMF performance in Sydney a week earlier. But in saying that, I knew it would be good, but not THIS good. It’s basically unfair to even attempte to explain the energy of Hawtin’s minimal techno sound, and the passion and emotion that the lucky punters present (myself included) were feeling. Deep, dark, chugging, rolling, minimal techno with mind-blowing basslines and eargasmic build-ups were the order of the day. His set was so good that I gave up an hour of Schulz and Lawrence, which – as a trance-addict – speaks volumes for how damn good Hawtin was.

What a Future…

For those trancer’s really in the know, Super 8 & Tab were one of the most anticipated acts of the day…. and they did not disappoint! Getting an unheard of 3 hour set at the festival, Super 8 & Tab put on a clinic for the trance faithful who were present earlier in the day, serving up a journey through progressive and uplifting trance. Easily one of the best sets for the day.

Trance is well and truly back, baby, and courtesy of Markus Schulz, Christopher Lawrence and Super 8 & Tab we know why. Unfortunately for the trance fans Schulz and Lawrence played at the same time today, and Lawrence – one of the worlds top 5 DJs for a few years running – was subjected to play in the tiny Godskitchen room. Never the less, all three acts showed why the halcyon days of trance are about to return.

No Future for you!

Paul Oakenfold was one of the acts at the top of my ‘must see’ list, having been personally transfixed in the late 90s by his seminal sets. Oakie was, effectively, the man responsible for my passion in dance music. Unfortunately the heavenly days for Oakie are long gone, and what was represented today was a washed up DJ who seemed disinterested in even being there. Disappointing to say the least.

Where is the Future?

Once again, Sander Kleinenberg managed to fail to show in Brisbane. As a progressive house lover and massive fan of Sander K, I, along with hundreds of other fans, were utterly disappointed. It must be noted that his set time was filled in by Angello & Ingrosso and half the audience didn’t even realise he wasn’t playing! Joachim Garraud also popped in late in the piece with his keytar for some sublime fun. Still a disappointment.

Second-hand Future

Of course it was impossible to see all acts on the day, but two acts stood out through the second-hand reports post-festival. Swedish house superstars Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso were said to have destroyed the mainstage, before filling in for an equally satisfying set replacing the absent Sander K. Second on the list was a name I wasn’t personally familiar with pre-event, but I certainly am now. Stephan Bodzin apparently tore the Lick It stage a new one, thrashing out a damaging 1.5 hour set filled with white gloves, a Lemur controller, confidence, exuberance, and a packed room with an adoring fans. I’m sorry I missed it!

Queensland’s Future

It certainly looks healthy! Awe inspiring sets from a long list of Queensland DJs were on display today, but for yours truly the standouts were Nick Galea and Pete Smith on The Met stage, Syke in Godskitchen, Aniki on Ten Pound Crew, and inthemix’s own DJ comp winners Hey Now, who’s debut festival set peaked with a monster remix of the seminal Faithless single Insomnia.

Future organising

Future Entertainment once again put on a near perfect festival, proving why they are Australia’s leading promoter. Resorting back to cash bars was a major win for punters, and the different aesthetics of each stage broke the day up brilliantly. The only blight that I could find was The Met stage sound-system blowing up midway through Joachim Garraud’s set, with the music needing to be turned off for 15-20 minutes. On a positive note, once the system was back up and running there were no further problems, and the system got an absolute flogging courtesy of Richie Hawtin!

In summation, FMF was a 9.5/10 for me personally, and I know I’m not alone when. Future Music Festival has become my favourite on the year, bring on 2010!