Saturday’s inaugural Global Gathering event in Melbourne went up against the odds, battling dismal weather conditions, lackluster attendance and a cancellation from one of its headline acts. However, these were mere obstacles for the thousands of punters committed to embracing the Australian debut of what’s arguably the world’s most seminal dance event. Rugged up in ponchos and jumpers, they took the day for everything that it was worth. Check out the country’s first photos here on inthemix!

GLOBAL GATHERING PHOTOS:

> Melbourne
> Perth

With the temperature in Melbourne dropping to single digits on Saturday, typical summer festival attire of shorts and sunnies were replaced by gumboots and parkas. For the thousands who braved the freezing temperatures, rain and even hail at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, there was a final crushing disappointment to end the day. Godfathers of electronic music Kraftwerk were one of the most anticipated acts on the bill, but the German four-piece ended up missing their headline set to due a serious illness.

Global Gathering was far from down for the count though, and the punters enjoyed live performances from ‘Versions’ man Mark Ronson and Gorillaz Sound System. Germany’s ATB pranced and postured with a DJ set that was lapped up by the crowd, while UK legend Sasha received a mixed response. Touring off the back of his acclaimed Involv2er album, some praising his deep progressive/minimal selections while others claimed it failed to hold their attention.

It seems the act that generated the most excitement amongst ITMers (check out the forums) were UK trance icons Above & Beyond. The Anjunabeats leaders delivered a three-hour performance brimming with the kind of dance theatrics that saw Jonathan Grant and Tony McGuinness standing at the front of stage in the rain, pouring champagne over the crowd and jumping down to hug audience members. Plenty of massive tunes with some ‘big’ moments to enjoy.

The Global Gathering tour has only just begun. Keep your eyes peeled to ITM over the next week and for all the latest on the tour, head to ITM’s festival page – inthemix.com.au/globalgathering.