Festival-lovers around Australia rejoiced earlier this year upon hearing the announcement of the international Creamfields festival making its way to our shores for the first time ever! Furthermore, the line-up had something to cater to all tastes; Trance lovers were especially excited at the news that due to family reasons Steve Angello had to withdraw from the festival, paving the way for a huge 2 hour set by Ferry Corsten! Of course, most people were there to see The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, among others, with many fans having missed out on a spot in the mediocre-sized tent where they performed at Stereosonic back in November last year. Thankfully, the Italian Stallions didnt make us wait too long for the much anticipated return, and were deservedly headlining the main stage.

The day began with a plethora of local talent opening the stages. Zelimir got things moving in the right direction on the main stage, Maxwell and Mel B got the Jim Webster Pavilion bouncing to their infectious tunes and the Limelite stage attracted a steady stream of punters throughout the day who were content to avoid the crush of the mainstage.

The early afternoon came and went quickly, and it was soon time to head into the Robinson Pavillion to catch Dirty South doing his thing on the main stage. Having seen him earlier this year at Club Paradiso, I was left feeling a little unfulfilled with his set not as explosive as I remember last time. The crowd was enthusiastic however and swelled towards the end of his set in anticipation of LMFAO hitting the stage. They brought a hip-hop edge to the festival, combining their tight rhymes with electro-house beats that was both refreshing and entertaining. The crowd went nuts, as expected, when they dropped Im in Miami Bitch midway through their set, complete with a dancing gold robot on stage!

MSTRKRFT were next up on the mainstage and while the crowd dwindled a little from LMFAO, they were definitely one of the highlights of my day. The crowd that disappeared at the beginning of their set, returned to the dance floor just as quickly when big tracks such as Bounce, Heartbreaker and VuVuVu dropped. A very high energy set that set the stage perfectly for the rest of the night!

Glow sticks were being cracked left, right and centre, which was sure to mean only one thing; trance legend Ferry Corsten was about to take his place on stage. Surrounded by a wall of foldback speakers either side of him, it was clear that Ferry is a man who lives for his music and his fans. His energy was infectious, as were his tunes. A definite sight to be seen from the side of the stage was the crowds reactions to the AJW remix of Coldplays Fix You. The lights illuminated the crowd, hands and lighters high in the air, as they sung along word for word to the beautiful introduction, then simultaneously erupted as one as the rest of the song dropped. Unfortunately his set was cut about 15 minutes short due to a sound problem, however that only built the anticipation even more for The Bloody Beetroots set.

The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 hit the stage about 10 minutes late and the crowd went nuts! Speaking to people during the day, many were unsure how their music would convert to a live band environment; however those doubts were put to bed quickly. Even today, reminiscing on the events of the night before, I am at a loss for words to describe how amazing the BBDC77 were! They provided a musical treat merging electro, punk and hardcore into their own unique sound. I have never seen Warp have quite such a profound effect on a crowd, with the thousands of people in the room simultaneously jumping to the air as one! Unfortunately, due to the high energy of their set, it only lasted 60 minutes which came and went all too soon.

Too many times of late I have been disappointed by the festivals headline acts, however I can safely say that this was not one of those cases. BBDC77 took Creamfields 2010 and made it their own. Overall the day was great. Apart from the odd sound hiccups, it was well organized and run. Also it was the first time I have seen bouncers enforcing the shirts on policy at a festival which was better for it. Bar lines were good, toilets adequate and the crowd well behaved. However, the music was what we came for, and the acts certainly delivered! Mark it down in your diaries for next year, because Creamfields should be here to stay!