Never, in my entire life, have I been completely awe-struck after an event. I’ve been attempting to write this review for several hours, yet articulating my spine-tingling feelings about Defqon.1 into words is proving to be an enormous challenge. On the 19th of September 2009, Holland’s strongest harder-styled corporation Q-dance showcased their infamous festival on our Australian shores, and they completely mesmerized our ears, eyes and minds with impressive intensity. Over 10,000 people ventured into Sydney’s western suburbs to be greeted with a venue that was ideal for Defqon. In Holland, Defqon.1 is traditionally on a beach; however the Sydney Regatta Centre was the perfect canvas to replicate its Dutch predecessor. A clear blue sky with a bright, warm sun shone down as revellers from across the country hiked along the path that led onto the pseudo-island.

Admirably, Q-dance involved the Penrith community and NSW police with their plans in order to create a harmonious, safe environment. As we approached the entrance to Defqon, several police officers with sniffer dogs scanned through the crowds, as we eventually met with full security gates that involved body pat-downs and bag inspections. Once through, there was another set of security doing further investigations, and some patrons were taken to one-on-one booths for a strip search. Whilst some felt it was invasive, I believed that it was incredibly smart and precautious. The negativity of irresponsible drug use within the dance music scene is affecting entire cities, so it was comforting to know that the big corporations are doing something pro-active in order keep our music alive. As I mentally applauded their security efforts, we all raced forward into the venue only to be left speechless.

The first stage you walked into was the Grey stage which focussed on early rave and old school. A couple of the artists such as Neophyte, Public Domain – one member is Mark Sherry – and The Viper played here whilst they also played sets on either the Black or Orange stages. A small covered booth hosted the DJ’s while they played, however a massive 30ft wooden Trojan horse looked down upon them. The loud, clear system projected bouncy kicks and synths which typified the early rave era onto a wide asphalt dancefloor. It was refreshing to hear some of the foundation tracks from dance music’s history, and a lot of the newer people in the dance music scene got to experience the sounds and styles from the ‘90s, including the popular Hocus Pocus track Here’s Johnny and Scott Brown Vs DJ Rab S’s Now Is The Time.
As many hurried through the grey stage and chillout areas, I stopped to admire Q-dance’s attention to detail along the way. At the rear of the grey stage were sculptures of dilapidated cars with giant metal spiders crawling over them; on the right of the rear was a home-made, competition winning Defqon.1 statue that comprised of small speakers, television screens and a Playstation console. We’d only seen two stages yet so much effort had been dedicated to them…But nothing could have prepared us for the red stage. Prior to entering the red stage were merchandise stands and token booths, both of which were congested with people. Their token system was easily the best system I’d ever used at a festival because it made buying drinks, food or merchandise fast and hassle free. Already, it was the most organised event I’d ever attended, and I’d only seen 1/6th of it!

As we walked closer to the red stage, I was shocked by the immense audio clarity even from afar. The back of the red stage was so incredibly loud and clear that it didn’t matter if you weren’t close to the front. This was a foreign experience to most of us, and it will remain a strong factor that has set a high standard for future events. However, if you were brave enough to venture up to the front barrier, you felt the strength of the sound system within your body; the bassy air punched through the speaker cones, and physically shook you during each beat. The centrepiece logo was unbelievably astounding, as it stood approximately 50ft into the air. Cleverly placed onto the monument were red boats, umbrellas, tyres, buoys, and rafts encased within a border of lights. The red stage is the main stage which focuses on nustyle and hardstyle, and when I arrived Italy’s Davide Sonar was on the decks playing his own track Dedication, and Tatanka’s remix of Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl. The red stage’s consistently expanded, however many chose to sit down due to the heat. At 4PM, Max Enforcer & The Beholder took the reigns from Brennan Heart, only to open with the 2008 Decibel anthem Bleeding for the Harder Styles. Their mixing was awkward and loose, however they managed to grab our attention with Beholder & Zany’s track Midnight, The Beholder & Zany’s remix of Bulldozer Project’s Arise and Ride With Uz by D-Block & S-te-fan (Max Enforcer Remix). Due next were the popular Dutch act, the Noisecontrollers who entertained an adoring crowd with some of their productions like their remix of One Blade by Brennan Heart, Attack Again and Communicate. Their set concluded at 6:30PM as night began to fall, and within an eye-blink the entire dancefloor was flooded by Donkey Rollers fans.

In a nutshell, their live set was so epic that I can’t even begin to use the appropriate adjectives. The trio’s brilliance began with their early classic Motherfuck, and escalated into mind-blowing bliss with Immeasurably, Strike Again, Innocent to name a few. Our host, MC Dv8 asked us to call “OI!” back to him every time we heard that iconic noise from their tune The Sound of the Beast. After a few chants, he asked us to keep Zany afloat as an inflated raft was thrown over the crowd. Zany jumped into the raft, and proceeded to surf over us. Overwhelming feelings of delight and unity came over me during their set as I watched a sea of thousands roar in admiration for the rolling donkeys.
I had planned to see Joop play at the Orange (hard trance) stage but when I arrived Amber Savage was playing and Dr Willis was about to take over. Situated on the base of a grassy hill, it was a nice stage for revellers to sit down and watch from above. The DJ booth was encapsulated by a scaffolded-metal dome covered in orange road cones and orange fabric. At this point, the temperature increased to 29 degrees and it was evident that people were beginning to become weary as they searched for shade and water. Defqon had several free water stations around the venue, as well as free water at the bars. Thumbs up, Q-dance, THUMBS UP! Later I caught Jowan’s set to hear him play his remix of *A*S*Y*S*’ Lost in Acid, Simon Patterson’s Bulldozer and his own brilliant production named Faceplant.

The black stage wasn’t for the feint-hearted, and although the music in there appears to be aggressive, most hardcore fans in Australia are the friendliest people in the scene. The hardcore stage was within a large circus-style tent, and the sound quality was purely incredible. An industrial-styled arch with metal spikes engulfed Brisbane’s DJ Decipher who dominated the black stage. His performance was exciting and mixing was skilful. Unlike the red stage, the punters in the black tent danced maniacally to the fast-paced tracks with passion and enthusiasm. One of the most popular acts in hardcore, Evil Activities from Holland stepped up. The tent was full to the brim with fans who couldn’t stop dancing albeit the heat and humidity. Evil Activities had the crowd eating from his hands instantly with the well-known Masters of Ceremony track Bottoms Up, and therein was a blurred frenzy of people fisting the air and singing along to other tracks like the Weapon X remix of Mike NRG’s Lost in Dreams, The Playah & Evil Activities’ track Cold As Me, Nobody Said It Was Easy and Neophyte vs. The Stunned Guys’ Army of Hardcore. Endymion were next on the lineup and unleashed an adrenalin-filled set that ate us up and spat us out. Their incredible skills and track selection didn’t permit us to stop dancing as we heard their releases like All The Way Up, Act of God, Vengeance and other hardcore stormers. As the majority of us gained our breath back, it was stolen away instantly as Art of Fighters took over to tear the place apart at 180 beats per minute. He treated us to his own tracks Do or Die, Earthquake and the fun collaboration with Endymion Let’s Get it On. Art of Fighters wrapped up the black stage with Mad Dog’s remix of Attack by Unexist, and we hesitantly drifted back towards the red stage for the conclusion of Defqon.1.

Australia’s favourite hardstyle DJ, Zany dropped the anthem for Defqon.1 Maximum Force Readiness, as a spectacular pyrotechnics show erupted from the Defqon logo. Explosions of colourful fireworks shot into the air, when the set reached gargantuan proportions as he played his own track Nothing Else Matters with MC Dv8 singing along to the vocals live. Jets of fire streamed from the front to the back of the crowd when Zany played his new edit of Pounding Senses. To encore he turned the heat up by dropping a hardcore mash of ’98 To Your Mind and Twisted World. It was hard to believe that this phenomenal night was over, and the majority of attendees felt that it was the best festival they had experienced. Defqon was able to achieve success in almost every important aspect within event management. I remain completely blown away by their hard work and coordination to orchestrate such a perfect day. The diverse DJs provided an excellent spectrum of music at a high standard, and it will be difficult to beat such a perfect party. My arms and legs still ache, ears still ring and face still beams when I reminisce about the amazing time I had. Well done, Q-dance, well done.