The line was long when we arrived at Brown Alley just before midnight, fans jiggling with excitement knowing they were about to be treated to lengthy sets from some of their techno and house idols. It was the 3rd Birthday of The Likes Of You, but we were the ones being given the presents. And what great presents they were.

Down the spiral staircase in the main room, Claude VonStroke had the sweaty crowd pulsing from early on, but he really kicked it up a notch from the point he played his new track Beat That Bird (With A Bat). His set was filled with bouncy, funky tech-house and peppered with his own compositions from both last year’s Bird Brain and his 2006 debut album Beware Of The Bird.

Tracks like the playfully sleazy Big n Round, the Bootsy Collins featuring The Greasy Beat and Chimps were all well-received, but it was Vocal Chords that really sent people wild. Dropping the harder-sounding Tom EQ remix of his 2009 hit, VonStroke had the crowd bouncing more than they would for any other track of the night.

The last half hour had quite a bit more variation than the rest of the set, with VonStroke playing a dub track before moving into Marky and S.P.Y’s drum and bass remix of Aundy. It was an interesting end to a great set, but felt a little out of place in the context of the rest of his time at the decks.

Clashes were always going to be a problem during the night and I found myself only able to catch a small part of Theo Parrish’s jazzy, soulful set. Parrish is the kind of artist you want to be able to experience an entire set from, so it was lucky for a lot of fans he was playing at Revolver the next night.

These same timetabling issues made catching Danny Howells difficult as well, but from what I saw of him he had the loft absolutely pumping. As with Parrish, fans of Howells who wanted to watch Josh Wink were safe in the knowledge they could catch him playing a seven hour set later in the weekend.

Despite having to contend with a thinning crowd throughout his three hour set, Josh Wink played a consistently good mix of house and techno, with harder acid tracks rearing their heads every now and again. With his laptop and MIDI controller, Wink was able to generate some especially creative transitions.

His set was just as much fun to dance to as VonStroke’s, but was significantly more varied and interesting. Being at the front of the stage had multiple advantages – a close-up view of this maestro in action and access to the industrial fan helping the crowd survive the swelter.

As Wink finished and we headed out into the bright morning, the smiles were still stretched across our tired faces. The Likes Of You have been treating Melbourne to the highest quality gigs for three years now and their 3rd birthday was no exception. It was not only a celebration of what they have achieved and given us, but also a celebration of what is to come. And for that, I’m very excited.