Live Review: Breakfest

Not going to lie, it'd been a fair 'break' between 'fest drinks for this scribe. And given the declining vibes and numbers at other festivals, it had been long enough to almost forget what makes Breakfest so special – an extraordinary amount of vibe. The cool weather further helped set the forecast for top times and for being in control of our own sweat production. Hello: dancing.

Was great to see some more diverse locals being repped, including Lo & Behold, an early must see. Janette Slack oozed charisma, her sassy ways proving just the right medicine to really get the day kicking. In the Amphitheatre bowl, Mafia Kiss threw often hard-hitting electro-infused pashes out, but some average mixes (cross fades, really) and clichéd song choices let his party-rocking ways down.

The growing excitement for LTJ Bukem was palpable, the Amphitheatre containing an abundance of fans that likely listened to LTJ's Logical Progression compilations more times over a decade ago than they've listened to any album in the last year. Stepping out with a higher tempo than expected, the Good Looking don rolled out a smooth set from then on, though it lacked tempo and vocal diversity, Xsessiv at least providing some much needed rhymed extras, filling the void of usual sidekick MC Conrad.

Meanwhile the Challenger Ready tent was heaving to fave Boomtick relative Meat Katie, hitting hard with tech-driven breaks, the lights reflecting off his age-weary noggin. Despite his – and many of the acts on the bill – years accumulated, the intensity was just as it was ten years ago. The bathroom was turned into many people's favourite venue of the day, the infamous Tiny Club seeing Manimal's house-driven set providing the perfect excuse to hang in the female lavatory space without looking creepy. Well, not quite as creepy as usual anyway.

Speaking of local-driven highlights, the Beach Party zone saw fun slipped, slopped and slapped on in abundance, the Inhibit and Metalheadz shirt-donning Gracie & Sistym a real highlight of the day. They went from encouraging a frenzied circle pit with harder-edged tunes to causing people to hug each other while bathing in more mellow, soulful numbers. Ace work, especially in comparison to Dom & Roland's closing set later in the eve, which, although predictably expertly mixed, lacked diversity and imagination. Still, he had the harder heads banging ferociously.

Back at the Amphitheatre, Featurecast was proving a party hit machine, deftly scratching and cutting his way through everything from breaks remixes of Thrift Shop, Superstition and Fatboy Slim to slatherings of hands-in-the-air hip hop, and even drum'n'bass courtesy of Aphrodite. Well 'cast, sir. With the Amphi now jumping, Plump DJs started their back-catalogue slaying with System Addict from Headthrash, and from there the energy didn't let up. Fave dancefloor moments came from originals Electric Disco and Rocket Soul, and their working in of their Underworld bootleg remix was magic. Hot damn, their set perfectly encapsulated their long history of creating good times.

Another duo most adept at creating plump dancefloor moments are Stanton Warriors. Straight into Get Up (ft Hollywood Holt and Ruby Goe), there wasn't a person in the zone who wasn't up and partying at full throttle. Mixing tunes at a blistering pace (sometimes too quick to fully appreciate particular tracks), Inner City's Good Life, OutKast's Hey Ya!, Technotronic's Pump Up The Jam, Breach's Jack, Azzido Da Bass' Doom's Night and Julio Bashmore's Au Seve were all given the Stanton treatment. The crowd responded by doing their best to make the Amphitheatre shake, and most left also shaking their heads in disbelief at how this smaller festival somehow still seems to produce one of the best festival vibes WA's ever seen.