Live Review: Summadayze

With the vibe thick in the air, Summadayze was definitely the place to be on the first day of 2013, just like every other year.

No time was wasted in procuring an alcoholic weapon of choice, made easier with practically no bar queues. And so the fun began, wading through the seas of fluoro and what could only be described as… ahh... muscle. First up, dancing to one of the brightest talents within the trance genre, Eddie Halliwell. Despite being a former resident DJ for BBC Radio 1 and trekking this globe for what seems like forever, he continues to astound with his technical abilities. Clever remixes like a fresh Justice vs Simian's We Are Your Friends kept the crowd longing for more. A reminder that Melbourne's trance scene is one of the healthiest in the world.       

Stumbling upon the Foamdayze stage - the name does it no justice, was really and truly how I remember my own bath days as a child - except with the hot topless next door neighbour scrubbing me down.

Hometown hero Andy Murphy, an in-demand Melbournian is hot off the runway after Melbourne Fashion Festival. But what can this man do behind a set of decks? Well, his sound was reminiscent of a James Bond Soundtrack gone electro.

Moving back to the main stage Fedde le Grand had a crowd starting to resemble a scene from The Walking Dead at his mercy, throwing big remixes down like the White Stripes, Chilli Peppers, Depeche Mode and finishing with none other than our own Gotye. This was the surprise set of the day. He was the sole survivor of a zombie apocalypse and the crowd were drooling with mouths wide open in screams of pure lust for more of his sweet musical flesh.

After headlining Summadayze last year with Pendulum, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen were back to prove that despite the band winding up, that distinctive brutal Pendulum electronic sound is evolving into something that it can only be described as having come back in time from the future, in the form of a robot-alien hybrid centipede armed with death lazers. The boys have proved Knife Party is a serious project and today showed why. Relentless with their sound scape, track after track was received as if it was all anyone had been listening to throughout 2012.

M.I.A. brought the hip and soulful summer sounds and a beach party attitude like no other. A punter was overheard describing her dancers as “those red crabs from that Attenborough doco” which made so much sense with all the side to side movements, using the stage to its full capacity.

The sun had set and the changeover was underway for a DJ set that had been the talk of the town since announced. THE legendary Chemical Brothers shook the Music bowl to its foundations. Generating nothing less than the full-on, frenzied chaos of a hardcore 90's rave, it was easy to forget this was a 21st century festival. For two straight hours The Brothers proved are still one of the leading dance music pioneers of this generation.

Summadayze left us pondering a musical epiphany about why it's hosted on January 1st. The festival was less of a celebration of 2012's music, but more of a showcase for what we can expect in the coming year. Bring it on.