Friday night started with excitement and anticipation at the thought of the epic line of what Melbourne Label No Nonsense was to bring us. With a stellar UK lineup of Tom Budden and Clive Henry and of course James Zabiela, the Sunny and Darkbeat brain child had fans by the balls. After the amazing party they pulled off with Hernan Cattaneo last month, you could tell that people were keen to see if this one would match up.

We arrived to hear the last hour of Clive Henry. Having started his career in Peace Division, Clive is more recently known for his CircoLoco appearances at Ibiza nightclub DC10, playing his minimal-tech chunky grooves to a full dance floor. With smooth buildups and flawless mixing, people were smiling as they listened to this distinctive and rolling sound. He played a few familiar tunes that seemed to envelope the crowd into a daze of musical bliss.

As Brown Alley started to fill up and 2am neared, the excitement could be smelt in the air. James Zabiela took to the decks. Having released some amazing compilations for some awesome labels including Renaissance and Ministry of Sound, James has proven he is not a one genre DJ. Spanning from techno to progressive to tech house to breaks, he will always keep you guessing. Starting with techno – not your typical “Detroit” or “German” techno – but his own brand of techno nonetheless, he slowly moved towards two step, breaks with drum n bass melodic goodness. I wasn’t familiar with a lot of his tunes apart from Rotary by Ellen Alien and the remix of a Depeche Mode tune.

All in all, it was a great night. Though the crowd seemed a bit pushy and drink prices were ridiculous, the sound in the main room more than made up for this; clear and consuming the entire venue. This was a definite success for the No Nonsense crowd, as an intimate event that had people roaming their own worlds.