Aaah, winter in Melbourne. That feeling of ice against skin as you step on the floor getting out of the bed in the morning. The sensation of walking into a bathroom full of fog and steam after the hot water tap has been on for 4 seconds. That hot coffee becoming ice coffee after 4 sips. What better time to bring back the night festival!

After the last Two Tribes in 2006, the full scale, multi-arena night festival (or “rave party” if you are reading this from the offices of the Herald Sun) has been absent from our calendars, but this year Future Entertainment decided it was time to bring it back. With international headliners representing house, trance, techno and progressive filling seven stages alongside local talent, there was no shortage of variety in sounds. But would the crowd be willing to brave the Melbourne night air to take it all in? Judging from the amount of flesh on display throughout the event, I can positively say yes, yes, yes!

Arriving at the festival, I soon found myself alone inside the Diesel Music Future stage (Rod Laver Arena). It wasn’t even 11:30 but Chardy was not holding back, with Operation Blade being pumped through the speakers followed soon after by Kernkraft 400.

Regaining some composure, I stopped to enjoy local stalwarts Dave Pham and the Rollin Connection laying down some deep beats in their respective stages. As enticing as they were, I couldn’t stay long because some guy from Holland who is apparently pretty popular was going to be taking the stage soon. With a whole arena almost to himself, and that arena almost full already, there’s no denying the pull that Armin van Buuren has wherever he goes. This was reinforced by the huge cheer when he popped his head into the cool ufo/wagon wheel thingy that dominated the stage setup.

With a five hour set I was looking forward to seeing how he would progress through the night and where he would take the crowd but I was fairly disappointed fairly quickly. Within nearly the first thirty minutes we had already heard huge breakdowns with huge build-ups, huge vocal anthems, huge stabbing synths and had seen about seven Jesus poses and the headphones waved around in the air. What happened to building up a vibe? Where’s the set progression? The “journey”? With more than 50 acts on the bill, he was one of only two to get a set of two hours or more and I guess I was hoping to settle in for a long ride, as I know he can provide one. After about an hour I got off the ride though and went to the Renaissance stage, which was the best decision I made in the night.

Walking into the room there was a modest crowd dancing away to In Flagranti playing a live set. I enjoyed the set, particularly the more funky and disco style tunes but it seemed quite loud and harsh and sometimes the live sounds weren’t always in sync. It wasn’t too long before 16-bit Lolitas took over and boy did he take over. Deep throbbing beats, spacey synths, the smoke, the lasers, the visuals on the screens, it was all happening! The crowd swelled up and Aarian had us cruising along in the palm of his hand, until all of a sudden he was like chk-chk-BAM! Sasha’s Xpander, Murder Weapon, as a friend excitedly proclaimed, it was just proper prog and I couldn’t help but think if only Armin could have started off like this. It was an awesome set, this was no half-arsed 8-bit Master System, it was the full on 16-bit MEGA DRIVE. It was my first 16-bit Lolitas experience and I was instantly converted.

James Zabiela was up next, another act I hadn’t seen as I’ve managed to miss him each time he was here. The crowd had grown even larger and the energy and enthusiasm exemplified by Zabiela’s huge, boyish grin was gobbled up by everyone in the room. CDJ’s were not enough for him as he had a laptop, an effects unit and a couple of small handheld units which enabled him to do scratching and add other sounds with his thumb! I thought it was amazing, but despite the quality prog and breaks I had to leave, I wasn’t there to enjoy myself, I was there for you, the reader!

After breaking it down for a while, I headed back to see Armin finish off inside the insanely populated stadium. I knew he was capable of busting out some good tuneage, so entering the arena with Strange World pumping through the speakers was fantastic and I ran straight back down to the floor, fist pumping away as he mixed into Exhale. Awesome. After Armin van Buuren it was time for Tydi van Buuren who kept the trance anthems going while showing us his love for the Whopper with his hands in the air every now and again. Note to self: come up with hands in the air pose to get more gigs.

There was quite a large crowd still hanging around for Tydi, which was a great sign I thought. I also thought the crowd showed how much “the scene” has changed over the years. Compared to my first Two Tribes event in 2002, it was so different. You look around while exploring and think these events are really all about showing off skin and muscles and orange now. It’s so strange.

One thing that has changed for the better though is the production aspect, with each arena I went to having huge screens and lasers and lights. Sitting up in the stands at the end listening to Chris Lake, I was definitely satisfied with the night as a whole. I enjoyed the return of the big night festival, I was having so much fun I even forgot to check out some of the other acts I wanted to see. From the attendance it’s pretty clear that this style of event can still work, and I was able to leave in the morning with a smile on my face. That is until I remembered where I was. Melbourne, in winter. It was going to be a cold walk to the station…