Live Review: Future Music Festival

They always claim that “Future Music Festival goes ahead rain, hail or shine”, and that adage is proved to be a truism as while there might not be much hail about – and there's definitely no shine – the rain has come in droves, turning the site into something of a quagmire and keeping many of the less intrepid punters from coming to enjoy the festivities. Those who did manage to come and get amongst it seemed to have a good time against the odds, even with many of the day's activities having to be cancelled or curtailed.

Belgian duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike are clearly commercial crowd-pleasers – and, credit where credit's due, they're good at it. Their mixes are largely seamless and they punctuate their electro and house grooves with sufficient pop breaks. Still, their selection of tunes – a mix of dated rock remixes (Linkin Park) and crossover singles (Justice's Never B Alone) – leave something to be desired. 

Given how much attention has been paid to their looks, Australian twin sisters Nervo's set is something of a revelation. Their technique is excellent and their selection, while frequently nodding towards the commercial (see: a remix of Timbaland/OneRepublic's Apologize), is original enough to keep chinstrokers and ravers alike interested. Their performance is actually probably one of the best of the festival.  

The first artist permitted to brave the Warrior Dance Arena after flooding temporarily closes off half the venue site, legendary BBC DJ Zane Lowe seems determined to rescue the festival from its already sodden vibe. His set is kinetic to the point of exhaustion and punctuated with so many high-energy exhortations, it's hard not to feel excited. Flux Pavilion's I Can't Stop ends a dynamite set.

Clutching a mic that sits atop a gold-chain stand while wearing big golden crucifixes and golden bug-eyed shades, Rita Ora looks a picture for a brighter day. She shows off her vocal range to a swimming crowd that is eager for a bit of pop to liven up their day. Hits How We Do (Party) and RIP get a massive reaction and seem to go quite the distance for the gushing fans in attendance.

Jake Stanczak – aka Kill the Noise – is barely visible as he commands his show from behind a horizontal screen mid-stage. The audio-visual onslaught is rather impressive for such an early slot in the day, and the people flood in to find shelter from the rain and medicate themselves with a hefty dose of dubstep. Material from his latest Black Magic EP comes off well, however, the real highlight comes by way of his remix of Nero's Must Be The Feeling.

Jon Gooch's Feed Me With Teeth set-up is elaborate. Between power-outages and stage cancellations, there was some doubt it would go ahead. When it finally does, it's spectacular – a visually stunning (if somewhat Daft Punk/Deadmau5 derivative) light show of spectacular proportions. It's unfortunate, then, that Gooch's substandard electro/bassline house just sounds pedestrian next to such sophisticated machinery.

After her DJ spins a bit of MJ and Missy Elliot, Azealia Banks finally takes the stage and spits some fierce verses over The Prodigy's Out Of Space. Rocking a one-piece bodysuit and a white contact lens on her right eye, she projects the image of a brooding supervillain, however, her between song pleasantries, blissful demeanour, and near flawless vocal delivery cast her as more the superhero type. Van Vogue, Jumanji, and Liquorice come off every bit as strong as their studio counterparts, but of course it's closer 212 that steals the show – even if it is truncated halfway through to pay one last tribute to the masters with a brief cover of Firestarter.    

Viral megastar PSY is the novelty booking of the day and of course the punters pile in on mass to hear that one song. It's hard to give a damn when surrounded by a line-up of so much quality music, but then again there are few things as funny as witnessing thousands of people trying to do Gangnam Style in foot-deep muddy slosh.

There's something quite surreal about seeing DJ tyDi play on a tiny stage to a small crowd of followers in the rain. One of Brisbane's most successful dance music exports, tyDi's massive international following was in short supply today. Pity. He's come a long way from his early Family residencies and today's set is immaculate and classy – bridging his standard trance work with flavours from house and techno with style.

In a frustrating move, Ricardo Villalobos (along with the rest of the Cocoon Heroes stage) has been relocated to the racecourse grandstand after flooding locked-out his original venue. In a way, it's excellent seeing the microhouse legend in such intimate (and dry) surroundings. A lack of communication on behalf of the organisers means he simply performs to a much smaller crowd than deserved.

It's difficult to know what to expect when encountering A-Trak Presents A on the bill, but it seems it's meant to be taken very literally. The gifted DJ plays from behind a desk which forms the cross stroke of a giant wooden 'A'. Rigged with detailed lighting, the giant structure plays a primary role in the visual presentation of a set that skilly incorporates blends of hip hop and dance side by side. Having won the DMC World Championship title when he was 15 you just know A-Trak could do a lot more showing off than he does, but it's rewarding to see that he rather puts the focus on delivering a fully-formed show.

Richie Hawtin fights the same fate as the rest of the Cocoon Heroes inside the Racecourse Grandstand. Still, Hawtin would be hard-pressed to deliver a bum set even if he was missing a limb. Betraying none of the nostalgia the recent Plastikman revivals have suggested, the legendary techno don's set is progressive, contemporary and, from a technical standpoint, jaw-dropping.

From atop a giant Terminator-esque skull with glowing red eyes, Boys Noize drops a wondrous set of frightening intensity. The Warrior's Dance arena provides the perfect setting – the tent seems to hold in all the energy and encourage a more immerse experience as it's transformed into a dark wonderland that is saturated with audio-visual stimuli. Each of his tracks hit with a menacing impact and really go some way towards proving that he's really progressed since his fairly derivative beginnings. As if this set didn't already have it all, a remix of The Chemical Brothers' Swoon and the Terminator skull singing the lines of XTC pushes it to all new heights.

Almost every year Dizzee Rascal pays one of our festival stages a visit, and it's really becoming quite the privilege because each time his show seems to grow bigger and bolder. He commands quite the stage presence as he bounces around the big space spraying out a wild fire of machine gun raps. His startling rhythmical flow becomes infectious and really shines bright throughout a varied set that sees the contrast of oldies such as Fix Up, Look Sharp complement newer material like Bonkers and Bassline Junky

Much to the delight of many of the more mature punters, The Stone Roses make their second appearance in Brisbane this weekend. Ian Brown plays off the Britpop legacy of egomania with a little bit of tongue-in-cheek absurdism by sporting a black shirt that features a big image of his own face on it. The entire band are in fine form throughout and seem even stronger still when they veer out of strict song structure; such as when they extend the end of Fools Gold into a little jam that holds moments of sheer psychedelic bliss. By the time the fitting I Am The Resurrection brings their set to a close there is likely few in attendance that haven't been won over by this long anticipated reunion.

Sven Vath was one of the highlights of last year's festival and, cloistered into the tiny grandstand stage, he follows up that performance with grace. It remains mindblowing that Vath can coax such finessed sound from classic vinyl after thirty years in the game. However, as always, it's his old-school sense of pulsing, unyielding dynamics that really triumph.

Given their venue has been partially submerged all day, it's hard to know if The Prodigy can deliver their standard firebomb intensity. Opener Voodoo People dispels all doubt. If anything, the disaster zone ambience of the festival seems perfect for the techno-punk legends. The classics (Breathe, Spitfire, Poison) are all exemplary and more recent fare stands up well. In a much-appreciated surprise, Howlett and co. even return for a killer encore.   

Suffering the standard 'rock kids at a dance gig' malaise, Bloc Party perform to a decent but ultimately underwhelming following – The Prodigy stealing most of their crowds. To their credit, they proceed unfazed. Drummer Matt Tong remains a marvel and polarising recent album Four makes sense in a livelier environment. Still, there's something missing in their set. There remains something ersatz about their work post-reunion and they haven't quite hit their stride again yet.   

So a day that could have been a debacle ends up a complete (albeit a soggy) triumph. Well done to the organisers and artists for going ahead with festivities despite the adversity, and massive kudos to everyone who braved the elements as a punter to make it such a memorable experience!