Arguably one of the mainstays of all that can be amazing about South American progressive house, Hernan Cattaneo is a relatively regular visitor to our shores. Seemingly here most calendar years, the fact that he attracts a crowd each and every time he plays is a testament to the quality of his live show. Saturday was no exception, despite the obstacles that the night would present.

Punters had been promised a five hour set, and fans of the progressive genre couldn’t help but smile and utter the ‘j’ word – journey – in anticipation. That smile would be turned upside down late on Saturday however, when without warning Qantas decided to ground all flights. While travellers across the country (and the globe) were left seething at the sudden decision by the airline’s boss, for a while there, it looked like Senor Cattaneo was similarly stranded in Melbourne. A first world problem this may have been, but who cares.

Fortunately, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and when the folk at Chinese Laundry used their collective might (and one can assume that of the Merivale Group) to ensure that the Argentinean did make it to Sydney, all was seemingly right in the world again: a charter jet fetching him from south of the border, to get him to where we all wanted him – behind the decks in the Cave.

The five hour set would no longer happen, but it didn’t seem to matter all that much. By just after midnight, the Cave was absolutely pumping – and packed. All were promised that Hernan was on his way, and in the meantime, Club Junque had well and truly got the party started. With plenty of parties taking place across Sydney during the day, many had arrived and were already in high spirits. Better yet, Junque nailed it – and on a night where his set would be as long as the headliner’s, he surely won many a fan, as well as making the bitter pill of Hernan being late so much easier to swallow.

But the delay was dealt with as best as possible. By 1am, barely thirty minutes after touching down at Bankstown Airport, Hernan entered. A few moments later, he was behind the decks – and was clearly on.

He was straight into it, and while the shame of the night would be that we didn’t get the epic five hour set, Hernan – or Laundry for that matter – lost no fans. Under the circumstances, the way it all unfolded was pretty awesome. And Hernan’s set was fun. No chin-stroking here kids, Hernan just let it rip and enjoyed himself: opening up a bag of goodies that included plenty of rolling melodic techno, smatterings of nice deep bass lines, and towards the end, more than just a few lashings of progressive. Everything in between was almost an amalgam of the three.

It wasn’t the bouncy Cattaneo that we’ve been used to – and I’d perhaps been anticipating – but a more tech-infused sound that he pumped out. Despite a long set in Melbourne the night before, despite the flight delays, despite it being Halloween, there would be no horror stories here. He kept the locals and the oft-rowdy Argentinians happy, and in an often jam-packed and sweaty Cave, that was no mean feat.

As the lights came on to end a rather eventful night, there were loads of people still wanting more. Alas, that was the end – and while some may have felt a touch short-changed, given the circumstances, that would be unfair. All up, it was one of those nights that musically, was good without being great, fun without being mind-blowing, but massive kudos must go to all that made it happen: that will definitely not be forgotten.