Normally reserved for noble pursuits like sporting excellence, once a year the Australian Institute of Sport plays host to a day of debauchery that would sicken and shock they of healthy body and minimal indulgence: Warehouse.

Every Easter weekend since 2008, Canberra’s athletes have retreated and let the more effervescent of our nation’s youth take centre stage; as the team at Kicks Entertainment cater to the aural tastes of dance-music fans from Canberra and beyond. This year, Warehouse returned boasting a line-up full of big names in dance, including Deadmau5, Skrillex and Martin Solveig – and while the festival may not have sold out, those who did attend made up in spirit for those absent in number.

Juiced up on a breakfast of goon and Red Bear and impervious to the cold, thousands rocked up in their festival best – most attendees being sure to avoid covering up those pesky, once-private body parts of bum cheeks, nipples and midriff. Together, they created a visually wondrous sea of tan-in-a-can, rat’s tails and cellulite that will be burned into my retinas for, no doubt, years to come. Oh, how one could devote a whole thesis to the fashions of Warehouse! Playful jibes aside, attendees were clearly in good spirits, and a positive attitude abounded – everyone was clearly in a mood for making/making out with new friends.

Starting at the terrace stage, an outdoor area providing sweet reprieve from the dungeony dim of the main arena stage, local DJs Peking Duk cut it up, and inside another local, Jared de Veer, just as devotedly warmed up the crowd, proving himself as well worthy of his spot in the line-up.

Come mid-afternoon, most of the audience was situated permanently at the arena stage, where US import Wynter Gordon delighted hundreds of shrieking girls with her (only) hit Dirty Talk, and Bag Raiders also took to the stage, though disappointingly playing only a DJ set instead of the full live-spectacular. But even those who weren’t that into the music enjoyed themselves – in a statement capturing the sentiment of youth today, one crowd member stated “dance music I don’t really like, drunk I do like”. Touché.

Returning to the all-important music, things really took off when the sun went down as Martin Solveig took to the stage. Climbing about on stage equipment and interacting with the crowd, Solveig gave an energised performance that conquered the crowd’s attention – and remixes of songs like M.I.A’s Paper Planes and his own hit Hello had the bulging mosh clearly delighted. Bellowing “Are you guys ready to party?”, the crowd was obviously one step ahead.

Next up, Skrillex was clearly one of the most anticipated acts of the day – the American producer rallying the patriotism of the audience with an “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!” chant before descending into a medley of hits, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites proving especially popular.

But all the over-intoxicated and under-dressed energy of the day culminated when the festival-wide object of adoration Deadmau5 took over – puppeteering the writhing tentacles of the audience in a 90-minute set that peaked with Raise Your Weapon, a track that had girls weeping, guys fist-pumping and all audience members drenched in each other’s sweat.

As hungover young men and ladies gradually arouse on Wednesday morning – taking double the recommended dose of Nurofen, rushing to the bathroom for a rejuvenating morning vom, pulling mascara-glued eyelashes apart and wondering what the fuck happened last night? – attendees can rest assured: Warehouse 2011 was damn good fun.