Morphing the already moist bounds of Brisbane’s Doomben Racecourse into a mud bath, the supposed ‘Sunshine State’ once again offered up some rather unique weather for the 35,000 punters at Future Music Festival.

On paper, the amount of quality on offer seemed too good to be true. Deciding to arrive early to beat the rush and take in the general vibe, my fantastic idea was welcomed with a human wall. Walking into a swam of singlet-ed, bikini-wearing, board-shorted revellers at the gate, I noticed that inside was no different.

Dodging the crowds heading to the Flamingo stage at 1:30pm, it was clear the main stage had yet to be opened. Obviously due to the weather, Future staff frantically hurried to fix any damage before opening the gates.

Waiting it out undercover near the Dusk Till Doorn stage, the now opened Future stage welcomed first cab off the rank Ke$ha. Wearing an outfit straight out of an astronaut brothel, the controversial hit-maker held no fear. Diving straight into Sleazy, the glittery set saw the diva backed with what looked like outcasts from a Motley Crue tribute band. Continuing the racy theme throughout the show, while demanding nudity from the females of the crowd, Ke$ha also found time in-between to outfit swap and belt out chart-toppers Take It Off, Dirty Picture and Your Love Is My Drug.

Leaving the moment Tik Tok started, it was time to hit the Flamingo stage to check out the almighty Mark Ronson. Unsurprisingly drawing a large crowd, the co-founder of Allido Records looked in shock. Just as sexy as the music, Mark’s band The Business International were all styled in slim-fitting blue suits.

Fronted by Phantom Planet’s own Alex Greenwald, a parade of toe-tapping, booty shaking tunes echoed throughout the surroundings. Frequently stopping in-between tracks to remind us how ecstatic he was to “play music people knew”, Ronson and co. dished out favourites Lose It (In The End), Lily Allen cover Oh My God and Ooh Wee early into the set.

Ronson had managed to drag Spank Rock along with him to Australia, and the MC joined Alex Greenwald on vocals for Somebody To Love Me and crowd favourite Bang Bang Bang. After an impromptu Ronson DJ set featuring Depeche Mode and Major Lazer, Alex insisted all of Brisbane helped him sing along to the OC theme, Phantom Planet’s California.

Next on the Flamingo stage was psychedelic rock band MGMT. Wearing capes and strange headpieces, the band tried valiantly to captivate fans with tunes from the most recent album, but predictably received a greater response from Oracular Spectacular singles Kids, Time to Pretend and Electric Feel.

It seemed the whole festival was keen to see the notorious Dizzee Rascal. The man once again pulled out all stops, with bass-friendly renditions of party anthems Dance Wiv Me, Bad Behaviour, Dirty Disco, Bonkers and his hook-up with Florence Welch You’ve Got The Dirtee Love. Sadly, the only thing missing from this performance was another spur-of-the-moment fist fight with a crowd member – Sydney, you know what to do!

Finally, the moment had come. After a brief wait, watching roadies hysterically set up the monstrosity of a stage, we all knew that this would be a true treat. Opening with Galvanize, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons paired their aural onslaught with psychedelic (and sometimes terrifying) visuals on mammoth screens, along with strobes and lasers.

Sure, the show featured an incredible 3D tour of a stone cathedral, exploding paints balls and a family of sadistic clowns, but musically it was awe-inspiring too. Mud-caked ravers drooled to old and new Chems like Star Guitar, Horse Power, Out of Control, Escape Velocity and Block Rockin’ Beats.

While scraping mud off every limb of my body took time, this was still the best way to see out our festival season.