The tranquil surrounds of the Nepean National Park Quarantine Station, formally a used as an Army Barracks, made for the perfect venue for 2010’s installment of The Hot Barbeque. With the sun shining, a slight sea breeze and picturesque views, the excitement of the unknown was growing.

I was lucky enough to experience what a festival looks like before the revelers begin to arrive, and I must say it is quite impressive to see all the work that goes into the setup and pack up of such an event, the crew and organisers deserve a round of applause.

With stage names like, Lamb Chop, Mixed Grill, Coleslaw and Fried Onion offering a tantalising spread of genre’s including Hip Hop, Indie Pop, Commercial House, Electro, Rap, Rock, Tech / House and Drum and Bass this years Hot BBQ was bound to get any music lovers taste buds tingling.
The day kicked off with commercial house DJ Andee Frost opening the Mixed Grill (main) stage. As the crowd began to fill out the venue I couldn’t help but notice the blend of individual characters and trademark festival goers in their cut off denim shorts, white shoes and muscle shirts. It was evident that the young and old had come to see the first major festival to be held along the Peninsula.

2pm rocked around brining with it one of my favourite duo’s Acid Jacks, famous for getting parties started, to the Coleslaw stage. After having seen them live a few times I have come to know their sound; dirty electro / house with a mix of bass. Dropping tracks such as The Huslers Get loose, The Eurythmics Sweet Dreams and MGMT’s Kids Acid Jacks finally got people moving, making it clear the day was going to be something special.

After skipping over to the Fried Onion stage to catch the end of Hoops’s set, where he was playing tracks from Deadmau5 and Empire of the Sun to a small crowd, I hit the main stage to see indie-pop artist Bertie Blackman – just in time to hear DJ Prequel warm up the crowd with his own scratch remix of John Lennon’s _ Imagine_. Entering to a cheering crowd Bertie Blackman entertained the appreciative crowd with her original and very raw sound.

The sun was still shining bright when scratching icon Grandmaster Flash took to the stage. While I knew that he was popular I was still shocked by sound that went up as he came out – it was simply amazing. Making his presence known by shouting “Melbourne put your fu&%$ng hands in the air” Grandmaster Flash drew in the crowd with hits like David Bowie’s Lets Dance, The Jackson 5’s ABC and Jimmy Hendrix Walk my way. The Master also paid tribute to Michael Jackson, asking the crowd to “Put your hands in the air if you miss Michael” then throwing Jacko’s best tunes at us, finally finishing with Nirvana’s Smells like Teen Spirit.

After catching a bit of Jet’s set I hit the Lamb Chop stage to check out Hip Hop duo Diafrix who entertained a small crowd with their bouncing hip-hop sound before moving into the realm Drum & Bass towards the end of their set.
Next up was European sensation Aeroplane at the Coleslaw stage; after the duo graced our shores in November it was good to see them back for a second round so soon. Their indie/pop sound was smooth and sharp. They played Doves Brazil, Another Likely Story and Baby I Just Can’t Stop to which the crowd went nuts.

It was now time for Sneaky Sound System; I haven’t seen them play live before and had pretty high expectations. Their stage presence is like no other, they produced energy and excitement for the eagre crowd. Opening with I Love It sent the crowd nuts. As people sang along the group also played Just Don’t Wanna Be Love, Kansas City, 16 and a remix of Mylo’s Drop the Pressure. Needless to say, my expectations were met!

The sun was going down over the ocean, the music was thumping and drinks were flowing as aussie sensation The Presets took to the stage. The duo’s production and light show was impressive and suited the excitement of the event. There was a massive rush as they opened with Talk Like That, and, despite my reservations that their sound was more suited to an enclosed space, the electro sound that they produced was absolutely stellar. Playing all their crowd pleasers to adoring fans, cheering, wolf whistlers and “I love you’s” The Presets wrapped up the night with My People, a perfect tune to a perfect day.

Well done to Future on organising another fabulous event. I didn’t have to line up all day, the crowd was fantastic and the views were spectacular. There was some cross over in sound at time, only due to the wind. All in all a fantastic day, I can’t wait to see what 2011 will bring!