Everyone loves a Sunday afternoon BBQ. Techno met Cook Out with a cross between gypsy fare and gastronome cuisine. A free gourmet spread of sausages, bread, patties and a wicked rocket, walnut, parmesan and apple salad lined the stomach as people arrived for a session with The Likes of You.

The Royal Melbourne Hotel is an old bluestone building and large, with a cavernous main room. There remain cells toward the back, left from the days of Melbourne West Police Station, though no one was in the cells once Holden started. With the venue able to hold 2000 and tickets being limited to 500, they were aiming for a good balance. Even so, with everyone in the Atrium or smoking area, it was starting to get a little cosy not long after 7pm. The LCD panel behind the decks with the twinkly lights that changed to a Likes of You banner later on was a great backdrop. The sound levels were fairly good but probably a bit high for my Nanna ears, regardless of position. The purple spot light however, was mad.

Dave Pham played a fantastic 3 hour warm up set. Is there such a thing as uplifting techno? I felt like I could close my eyes and relax into the sound. There were a few interesting transitions between tracks that I felt didn’t really go together but the feel-good techno came through. This was the movie soundtrack of techno; the right balance from this scene favourite. After two hours, people finally started dancing. I hoped the next hour would fill the main. Most were still BBQing until not long before James Holden was due to start and Virginia Le brought a few people into the cells, though the pull was too great towards the main room.

A techno genius disguised as an indie kid, you can see why Holden has recently been acknowledged by legendary indie label! K7, who signed him up to mix the latest compilation in their highly acclaimed DJ Kicks mix series. I find it really hard to remember track names but I really enjoyed all of his set. It was well done, with a good balance of new and familiar and a steady drive.

The atrium is an amazing space for a gig and in contrast to some of the public opinion; I didn’t think this gig was oversold. I had enough space to have a dance for the most part, and obviously when you plan a night, you don’t expect that every single person will be crammed into one area. I’ve been going to more and more techno gigs lately and this has been one of my favourites so far. Even though I felt the start of Holden’s set was a little disjointed, over all it was one of the best I’ve heard all year and I loved having something to do on a Sunday evening.