Within the depths of the battered, scattered and shattered jigsaw puzzle of my long-term memory, Dave Seaman features quite prominently. I have very fond memories from a balmy autumn evening a few years ago, of a particularly enjoyable set from the man himself at Sydney clubbing institution Sounds on Sunday. A little further back we have his classic early Renaissance and Global Underground mixes, which I still spin regularly and which I think represent some of the finest examples of timeless dance music. Even further back in 1994, I remember hearing Kylie Minogue’s Confide In Me on the radio and thinking, “Wow, what a fine tune, who could be responsible for that?”, and to this day the track remains, in my humble opinion, her finest moment. It also helped to re-ignite my schoolboy crush on Kylie – but that’s a story for another time.

However, my music collection doesn’t hold as much in the way of Jody Wisternoff. In light of Wisternoff’s gig alongside Seaman, that’s something of a shame.

This was my first visit to Roxanne Parlour, which quickly made a favourable first impression – the audience seemed totally engaged with the music, and it was good to encounter a more ‘mature’ clubbing crowd. I guess Dave Seaman’s status as something of an elder statesman of dance music inspires some to dust off their dancing shoes.

Wisternoff appeared at around midnight, bringing probably the best warm-up set I’ve ever witnessed. The crowd was treated to two hours of sensuous deep vibes, spacey prog, techy house, and some subtle funky rhythms, all weaved together into a magical musical experience. I was particularly enamoured with the liberal sprinkling of vocal cuts that Jody incorporated into the set, always at just the right moment. The packed dance floor and great atmosphere spoke of the wonders he was working, and the broad grin he wore all night, together with his movement behind the decks, reflected a reciprocal display of admiration, respect and engagement with the crowd. One of the set’s many highlights had to be when he dropped the vocal hook from Corona’s Rhythm of the Night within a lush house mix. Nice.

A bearded and bespectacled Dave Seaman strolled on to the decks at around 2am, bringing with him a solid three-hour set that kept everyone on their feet. I think it took a while for him to get the groove locked, and my mind wandered a little with some of the nondescript electro that cropped up on a few occasions. At times, things got slightly too techy for me, and I felt that parts of the set lacked the melodic subtleties and nuances that have characterised some of Dave’s best mixes. That having said, the final half of the set contained some rolling progressive grooves and glistening melodies that really hit the spot, and I was hooked back in right until the very end. Dave’s balance of some lighter and funkier electro with some darker and moodier prog captured perfectly that hazy, seedy, amorphous state of mind that often develops at that point of the night.

Any musical shortcomings aside, you can’t fault the way Dave presents himself behind the decks. There’s a fine line between being an animated DJ and bouncing around so much you look like a tool, but Seaman has struck the balance perfectly – engaging with the music and the crowd without resorting to overblown gestures and poses. However, I’m not sure there was any need for the techno remix of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep as a set closer. In fact, this felt a bit like he was playing the cheap and easy ‘popular’ card.

All up, the gig proved an enjoyable evening with some great DJs, some great music and a great crowd. My vote for performance of the night goes to Jody Wisternoff, with a collection of tunes that seemed to encapsulate everything that a warm-up set should be about – solid grooves that established a fantastic vibe, all wrapped up in an uplifting sense of positivity. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some Jody Wisternoff exploring to do.