It was an otherwise calm and ripple-free Wednesday afternoon back in July, when a gig that raised so many questions was first announced. Superstar DJ Ferry Corsten was sweeping into to town, and under the Cream label, was bringing Giuseppe Ottaviani along for support. This had big written all over it. Also however, an air of expectation, linked with uncertainty around it. Expectation and hope that one of the best trance producers of the last ten years would bring his A-game and give us a show to remember, but uncertainty as to how good it could really be. As the big night got closer and closer, the pondering ensued: how long would he play for? What kind of set would be on offer? Was the location going to be changed? Had they sold enough tickets to not cut back on production? Questions. Questions. Questions.

Ultimately, the night proceeded as was originally promised. Hordern Pavilion. Saturday night. Balmy Sydney at its best. And a four hour set from Ferry that would hopefully be one to savour. First things first though, there was a set from the mighty Ottaviani. A live set in fact, and on the back of his fresh new album GO!, the big Italian did not disappoint. Indeed, if it wasn’t for the fact that we were all so keenly anticipating Ferry’s arrival, I think there may have been more murmurings of discontent about the relatively short time allocated to him. Nevertheless, it was an hour of absolute power. His MacBook by his side, and some keyboard action thrown in for good measure, there was an air or maturity to his sound from that heard a year ago at Stereosonic supporting PVD. All up, as good as it was to listen to, his time was up, and as the crowd began to swell like clouds ready to dump a downpour, they were at breaking point, itching to get their taste of Ferry.

Peewee Ferris filled the void for a quarter of an hour, as the final touches to the Ferry production were applied. As he walked on stage to chants of ‘Ferry, Ferry, Ferry’, it mattered little that the Hordern was not packed to the rafters; if anything, it brought an added sense of intimacy to the affair, all in the hope that we were about to experience something quite special.

As he opened up with the tranquil sounds of Visions of Blue, acting as the calm before what would be an absolute firestorm of trance. The crowd stood, perched seemingly on the edge of trance hysteria, and as he switched into the funkier Shelter Me the journey began. For the next four hours, he would take us to trance heaven and back, and everywhere in between. Vocalists would join him on stage and belt out the massive tunes Made of Love and Gabriella’s Sky, and with Corsten’s show named after the album, it was no surprise that we were showered with every track from the album. We also got, as promised, an absolute ‘experience’ to go with it.

While the tracks may be far too many to list, as is typical of a four hour set, it was tune after tune after tune. Just when you thought it couldn’t seemingly get better, like a breath of fresh air, he’d drop another monster. He slowly moved away from a proggy sound, took it up a notch, and having dropped most of the ‘softer’ stuff from his album, like clouds opening from up above, the thunder pounded and he took us into overdrive and we were blown by away by gusts of the Ferry sound that fans have loved for so many years. As one punter pointed out, and as is normally the case on a Saturday night in Sydney, while there were very good parties happening all over the city, and fun would easily have been had, it was this night that was always ‘going to be special’. Touche.

With a lighting and pyrotechnic show that was pretty damn impressive when it hit its straps, a sound setup that was about as spot on as you could get in the Hordern, and a DJ that looked to be having a ball, the night was ticking all the boxes. In between some absolutely seamlessly tight mixing, Corsten took time out to indulge in some air piano, hand signals in time with some fuck-off heavy drops, clapping with the crowd, and even a pseudo-Jesus pose that unlike others, pointed to and was appreciative of the crowd, rather than being all about the DJ.

Highlights? Well honestly, there were a load of them, but tracks like Brainbox and Beautiful swept us all out to into a sea of trance induced hysteria. Similarly, a final hour that was sheer bliss, packed full of tunes like Rock Your Body, Gouryella, Out of the Blue, and Galaxia, like waves lapping at the crowd before him, each one being ridden with more gusto than the last. He then wrapped it all up with an encore that featured none other than Carte Blanche: a stellar end to a stellar night.

As we left the building, the smiles on peoples’ faces said it all, and we had indeed witnessed something pretty bloody special. For a night that promised “the experience” it certainly delivered, and it is unlikely to be forgotten by those that attended. Indeed, it will rank up there with one of the best trance gigs we have witnessed in some time. As one cute little punter uttered on her way out: “I want to do it all again”. God yes.