In the middle of what is without doubt a pretty hectic Big Day Out tour, two pretty big names in the world of EDM found the time to give Sydney her own little sideshow. And for this, to Simian Mobile Disco and Groove Armada, I say thank you. On Australia Day eve, with most smiling that little bit more with a public holiday to wake up to, people had come expecting quite a show. Luckily for all involved, the performers had the exact same thinking in mind. And so put on a show they did.

The Midnight Juggernauts had the crowd nice and amped, and by the time SMD – performing as Simian Mobile DJs – got behind the decks, the crowd was ready to blow. Literally. And as the lads opened up with O Superman from Laurie Anderson, it appeared to be the calm before a soon to be storm of absolute frenzy. And it would be exactly that. Moving from electro, to electro-clash, to techno and all with an undercurrent of proggy goodness, this was lots and lots of fun, this writer quite happy to admit his shit being lost when they dropped On/Off by Cirez D.

Such was the sheer unbridled energy of the SMD set, that by the time their 45 minutes was up, I could have almost left a completely satisfied man. I decided against it, because if anything, the short, sharp and action packed 45 mins of power had juiced me up enough to leave me wanting more.

And Groove Armada would provide it, in their own funky house, party starting kind of way, armed with a solid support act and with new vocalist SaintSaviour front and centre, and dressed like something resembling the Scissor Sisters, GA were not to be outdone. The initial roar that welcomed them would only be outdone by the one moments later announcing that the show was in fact going to be recorded to a live DVD. Whoa. Shit just got real. And the crowd was more than happy to come to the party.

The Armada unleashed 90 minutes of dance floor madness that never got boring. The classics My Friend, Easy, as well as a few new tracks providing us a sneak peek into their new album: the performance had it all. It was happy faces everywhere, and among a sea of slightly more mature punters – both features very much reckoned – all were there to have a good clean fun time.

Despite that, there was more to come. And it did. They returned for an encore and when they finally launched into an extended version of Superstylin, MC Madd back on vocals belting out his ‘enter in the dance, plug it in and we begin’, the crowd, which had threatened to all night…exploded. With the bass thumping so hard that my partner in crime commented that her nostrils were shaking, this was old school EDM partying at it’s most fun, and not far from it’s most fine. Whether you were there with a loved one or with mates keen to have a bit of a fun ol’ night, the energy was addictive, and was a show to remember.

As we departed, the happy faces all round confirmed it. In a world where jaded punters seemingly reminisce about it not being like the good ol’ days, it is a show like this that restores the faith that the no frills, fun, frivolous and fantastic nights do very much still exist.