The final Saturday of a Sydney summer to remember, and with the sun blazing and the beers cold, all that was required was some good music. With a line-up that featured Gui Boratto and Henry Saiz making sure that box was also ticked, there were few places one would rather have been on Saturday than in the middle of the Laundry courtyard, for the second of this summer’s ‘garden’ parties.

While some of the warm-up acts may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, Sydney’s favourite bearded DJ and erstwhile frontrunner of Shrug, Dave Stuart, was one that delivered without a fuss. He managed to bring the beats back to where they really needed to be at such a time, and truth be told, at such a location.

As numbers in the Courtyard swelled, so did everyone’s excitement, although those people waiting in bar lines were getting increasingly frustrated. Mad dashes were being made to bars all around the venue in an attempt to source the quickest drink. As the clock struck six, and Boratto stepped up to show us what he had, the crowd looked like it was straight out of a Pavlov-induced experiment: everyone salivating at the sound of the first chord.

And Boratto did not let us down, dishing up what must have been the tastiest form of ‘Chum’ you’ve ever tried, feeding the hungry hordes with aplomb. While he had just under two hours to play with, he made the most of it. He got a barking throng into the groove, dropping his Arquipelago early. You could tell we were in for something special. His Haute Couture was one of many highlights, and given the once again odd location of the DJ booth (creating an obstructed view for many) we dared to venture a bit closer to the front to see the man in action.

Well, to say it was chaotic was an understatement. Arms, legs and heads were all being thrown about in no particular fashion, which was more reminiscent of a mosh-pit than anything else. While it was without a doubt messier than the Sasha party back in November, we did get a small glimpse of the Brazilian at work.

And boy was he loving it. He played to the weather – if that is possible – and what the crowd came for. If there were two things that defined the latter, they were the little cheeky smile as he dropped into No Turning Back (knowing that the crowd would erupt a micro-second later), and the constant teasing of the infamous Beautiful Life throughout his entire set, before finally finishing with it.

We retreated towards the back to see if Saiz could possibly top it. The Spaniard started well, and appeared busy. With an amazing list of productions and remixes to choose from, we were all hoping for something as special as what Boratto had offered up earlier. His Madre Noche drew the biggest response, a few Way Out West remixes had a few people grinning, as did his cheeky, “where the fuck did that come from?” remix of Xpander.

But for all the big tunes, it was rolling prog that just, well, rolled along – and in some ways dampened what had previously been a pretty enthused crowd. While it seemed like all hands up and euphoria for Boratto’s set, for Saiz, it was just heads down, bopping away. Sure it was fun, but a more subdued kind of fun.

All up, when it comes to satisfactory ways of spending a Saturday afternoon and evening, consider a beer in hand, your friends by your side and some great tunes being belted out by some talented DJs. Well, I reckon you could do much worse and I’m looking forward to what the next garden party holds.