On Sundays the majority of Adelaide youths are recovering from their Saturday night antics, but on the 18th of October 600 hand picked guests arrived at Hotel Richmond to celebrate Electric Circus’ fifth birthday and party with the legend that is Steve Aoki.

Guests with rooms arrived first and it was clear that many had gotten the party started early, a joyfully ominous sign of the carnage that was to take place as the night went on. Excited (and drunken) shouts could be heard echoing through the corridors as people entered their rooms and found T-shirts, posters and complimentary tickets to Electric Circus’ next big party; Arcade Fright Night. The noise also indicated why the promoters had to hire out the entire hotel, if you attended expecting to get sleep, you would have been sorely disappointed.

The Hotel bar began to fill early as there was a nine thirty pm lockout imposed in order to keep the dance floor packed, as the event was relatively small. The party was in the lower bar, and on the floor above was a quite, less crowded VIP area for an escape from the noise and the crowd. The party being “Strictly Invite Only” was slightly controversial, but although it was disappointing for those who missed out, it was about Electric Circus celebrating its 5th birthday with its most loyal and devoted patrons. It worked well because of the positive attitude of the crowd.

Aoki took the reins from Ajax to the audible delight of the crowd. The amount of pictures on Facebook of grinning fans posing with the long haired DJ-producer-*Dim Mak* label boss indicate the level love felt by the decidedly messy crowd, who were not to be disappointed by his performance. Aoki’s own tracks such as I’m In The House with Zuper Blahq [will.i.am*] and his remix of Gifted by N.A.S.A were effectively mixed with everything from electro to punk rock; basically the entire set was a blur of intense sound.

People danced on tables shirtless, soaked in champagne from the enthusiastic main attraction and promoters literally had to hold onto the decks to keep them from being pulled over by rabid fans. The icing on the cake came when Aoki decided it would be a good idea to front flip into the crowd and hang ten on a people wave. Such disregard for his personal safety combined with impeccable crowd reading, amazing mixing and a million other things make Steve Aoki the king of party DJs.

It’s my job to write a summary on this event, but I find it hard to sum up in words just how good it was. The only negative was being woken up by the sound of workmen using a jackhammer at 10.00 am, a painful end to a brilliant night that truly encompassed the Electric Circus spirit and celebrated their fifth birthday right.