Even before Saturday night, I was a fan of the man known as J00F. Compared to some of the punters that have loved his music for years, my appreciation for his music is a relatively new one, having only been introduced to it some 15 months ago. I enjoyed it upon first listen, and it’s been a steep upward trajectory since then. As a result, to say that I was looking forward to Saturday night’s gig would be but an understatement. And like many of the punters that turned up dripping with anticipation and are even bigger fans than this humble reviewer, this was one gig that we’d all been champing at the bit over for months. And finally, it had arrived.

If that wasn’t enough to get the proverbial juices flowing, the fact that J00F himself had been openly boasting on Facebook that this was the Australian gig that he’d been looking forward to the most was merely an anticipatory cherry on top. Given his style of music, the appropriateness of the Cave as a venue was not lost on many. In a perfect illustration of what Fleming was seeking to do with this J00F Editions club tour; it was going to be dark, driving, and dirty. And boy oh boy, was it ever.

With war- up duties carried out with aplomb and just what the big man needed, the moment had arrived, and as he stepped up to the decks, a packed Cave roared as one, excited at what the next four hours would deliver. Like his epic 2010 Essential Mix, he opened with the almost haunting sample of Daniel Diamond off the Peace Division tune Club Therapy; telling us that it wasn’t about the ‘fire that’s coming out of the walls’, ‘the VIP area’, the “fancy champagne’, “it was ‘all about the music”. And for the next four hours that is exactly how it would be.

His first hour was deep and proggy, as everyone found their collective groove, or rather, in a very packed Cave (maybe a bit too much) found their square foot in which to try and dance. Yes, it was packed, but for many, the packed room just added to the intimacy. Even if you didn’t necessarily want to be, you suddenly found yourself dancing with the person next to you. Heads down, fists clenched. Boom. Boom. Boom.

And the tunes, oh the tunes. Whether it was the glitchy stuff like Rainsong from Digital Blonde, or the amazing driving melodies of Trina and Melatron – tunes that many had longed to hear being banged out – or just hands in the air awesomeness with The Legacy by Push, it was all sorts of amazing. It just got better and better. And when he would decide it crank it up and go from melodies into out and out psy, Sea Song from [artist.aa:Wizzy Noise] one of many leading the charge, many in the room lost their minds.

The progression was spot on, and in a four hour set, even this seasoned campaigner was reluctant to take a break. All up, I can proudly say that I left the Cave for no longer than a 10-15 minute interval, and many arguably did the same. We were witnessing something truly special and didn’t want to miss a beat. And rightly so.

Most Cave crowds thin out after a while, as people get frustrated with the packed surrounds. While a few punters took the easy option, most stayed, and even in the last hour, the dance floor was not surprisingly still packed. As he burst into tunes like Down n’ Out from Sub 6 and the Burn In Noise remix of Imaginarium from Allaby, we heard them way they should be – belted out – and with the Cave’s sound system more than keeping up its part of the bargain, this was musical bliss. There were too many highlights to list one by one, but when you have strangers looking at each other and nodding in acknowledgement, we knew that we were experiencing something truly special.

This was trance in its most raw, with absolutely no frills, and the focus was on the music and nothing else. Like all good things however, it would come to an end. He probably could’ve played for hours, though, such was the fun that we were all having. Closing the night out with tunes like Chandra from E-Clip and Goold Old Days 2010 from X-Noise, we all seemingly wanted just one more thing… more. Hell, Fleming himself mused later on Facebook that he was having that much fun that even he didn’t realise the end was nigh; neither did we John, neither did we.

To the fans that are reading this that weren’t lucky enough to be there on Saturday night, you’ll probably be reading these track names and shaking your head as you begin to understand what it was that you missed. If you are not familiar with track names, then acquaint yourself with them. Only then, might you begin to understand what you missed. It was truly something special. I heard someone utter, “It’s just like his EM”. Indeed; amazing like his EM.

In the years that I’ve been in Sydney, it is fair to say that I’ve seen more than just a few sets in the Cave. Some of them have been amazing. This however, was the best of the lot. And if he was playing this Saturday again, same venue, same music, I’d go do it all again. And as he shared at the opening, I’d just be going for the music.