Arriving at Transit on Sunday, the excitement of the crowd was at once omnipresent. The cold didn’t appear to be affecting those sitting outside; the broad smiles and laughter greeting all new arrivals. Once inside, I was a little surprised at the sparse amount of people there. While it was still 6.30pm, the doors had been open since 2pm and it wasn’t at all clear when the main act James Zabiela was set to play. I reasoned that more people would surely arrive soon, incapable of resisting the temptation that Transit on this night had to offer. Zabiela was touring Australia on the back of releasing part two of Renaissance: The Master Series entitled Life.

Upon payment of $25 for entry, every punter received a copy – just on five hours of music in total. I think the lower than expected turnout was possibly due to the combination of ticket price and venue. People don’t expect to pay at Transit so suddenly any price above $10, regardless of the fact that something pretty incredible is going on. The positive side for those there however, was that everyone was present because they wanted to be there. They were excited about what they were about to witness. People were happy about becoming and this mood could be felt all across the venue.

Tom Budden also from the UK, was supporting Zabiela. Budden, an established DJ and producer in his own right, played for about an hour and a half. His set was tight, consisting heavily of prog and some deep house. He was a slave to the clock however, the crowd only drawing close as time clicked over and the main act’s arrival was imminent.

James Zabiela took to the stage and his superiority was immediately obvious. Maybe he just turned the volume up, but the moment the man touched the decks, people started jumping. It was loud, clear and spot on. His set traversed genres: techno- and prog- inspired but also reaching into breaks and jungle beats. Playing Gyromancer by PMT early on, other tracks across the set came from the likes of the XX (which didn’t seem to get the desired response from the beat hungry punters), Depeche Mode and the Prodigy.

My personal favourite for the night was his mix of Claude VonStroke’s Who’s Afraid of Detroit. Initially calming things down a little, Zabiela stretched this track right out, anaesthetising the crowd before doing something I just didn’t think could be done. Galvanizing the crowd from slumber, he slammed a heavy drum and bass beat over the top of the track, getting the bums bouncing once again. Finally, proving there probably isn’t anything he couldn’t do, the man scratched superbly. His rhythm and choice moments for scratching were impeccable.

The highlight of the night though was James Zabiela himself. Animated throughout the entire set, it seemed the smile was permanently attached to his face. Moving easily through his music, there weren’t really many secrets or surprises throughout the gig, because moments before it happened he’d look up and flash a cheeky smile the audience’s way. Instantly likable, Zabiela was a hit.

The night finished in sudden manner. He finished after an encore of Underworld’s latest release Scribble – though I might have been hoping for his remix of Radiohead’s Recknor. The lights came up and it was time to go. For those that missed out – be sad. It was a sensational day and night.