Live Review: Future Music Festival

10 March 2014 | 1:37 pm | Deborah Jackson

Next on our list was Macklemore & Ryan Lewis who delivered an impressive set (although disappointingly there was no impromptu appearance by Queen Latifah officiating any mass weddings).

The sun was shining and the sweat was dripping as thousands of scantily clad ladies and shirtless beefcake guys made their way into the Randwick Racecourse for one of the most enviable line-up's Future Music Festival has brought us to date. On entry we decided to make a beeline for the Body Rock ride, which sufficiently shook us up, leaving us battered and bruised but pumped for the epic day that was to come. Then with the sounds of Dannic pumping from the Future Sound System stage beside us, we quickly mapped out a game plan and off we went!

We decided to stop in to the Jack Daniel's White Rabbit Saloon for a quick drink, where we were greeted with some chilled-out beats from Aussie DJ Thomas Jack and some delightful eye candy working behind the bar.

Wanting to be in prime position for Pharrell Williams, we made our way to the main stage where R3hab followed by Dada Life delivered killer sets. As the front rows were showered with streamers, moods were high and the entire crowd was dancing like nobody was watching, with girls ripping of their shirts, revealing skimpy bikini tops and guys hoisting them up on to their shoulders in anticipation of Williams' performance.

Williams did not disappoint, bringing with him his now trademark hat and crowd-pleasing tracks, most notably the happiest song in the world, Happy, which had everybody swinging their hips and dancing like lunatics. This was followed by his Daft Punk and Robin Thicke collaborations Get Lucky and Blurred Lines, with Williams offering a refreshing balance of live vocals in the otherwise heavily electro-dance music day out. Although his timeslot seemed unusually early (and short) considering the amount of hype that was built up around his last-minute addition to the line-up, the international superstar lived up to the hype and had everybody gagging for more.

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

Next on our list was Macklemore & Ryan Lewis who delivered an impressive set (although disappointingly there was no impromptu appearance by Queen Latifah officiating any mass weddings). Dropping some of their biggest hits straight off the bat with Same Love and Thrift Shop, you wouldn't have wanted to arrive to the stage late, but with their commanding stage presence and thoughtful messages of empowerment, they had the entire crowd in the palms of their hands. Another fun inclusion on the day was The Foamarama Stage, which saw punters dancing knee deep in white foam that was being sprayed down on them from above.

Arguably one of the biggest crowd-pleasers of the day was Rudimental who produced a ridiculously elaborate lighting set, this nine-piece UK group owning the stage and working the crowd to perfection. It was an enormous set of hits, with tracks such as Right Here, Not Giving In and Free encouraging mass singalongs with the jam-packed audience. Infectious stage presence teamed with some incredible vocals saw a plethora of half-naked girls hoisted high on boys shoulders as they brought it home just as strong with Waiting All Night, Powerless and Feel The Love. The crowd of thousands was going hard and showed no signs of slowing down just yet.

Next up on the Safari Stage was Cut Copy, but the allure of Eric Prydz followed by Hardwell and Deadmau5 was too strong so we hauled arse back over the Future Music Stage. It was disappointing to have to choose between Deadmau5, Phoenix, Gesaffelstein, Chase & Status and Paul van Dyk, who were all competing for the headlining spot, and from the sounds of it, the Safari Stage was the place to be, with all recounts saying that Phoenix delivered a show-stopping performance to close the night. 

Deadmau5 delivered a set that did not hold back, with blinding lights and a blasting smoke machine, although the performance from the helmet-clad rodent was just a little lacklustre in comparison to all of the trimmings, so we decided to again head back to the Future Sound System Stage to try and catch the end of Paul van Dyk. This was to be our best decision of the day, with the German DJ lifting our spirits back up. The energy was palpable as the entire crowd danced to the beats, feeding off the energy van Dyk was providing.

As the night came to a close and the realisation set in that Future Music was over for another year, the crowd disappeared into the night and onto their next adventure… the trek home.