Iqon 2013.
What a day.
A day full of music, drinking, dancing, fence jumpers, "pingers"*, police officers, rain, mud, sound problems and most of all extraordinary fun.
Iqon 2013 marks the launch of a brand new Australian event for Dutch dance organisation Q-dance. With wildly successful events such as Qlimax, Q-Base and Defqon.1 in both the Netherlands and Australia, and a fantastic lineup, expectations for Iqon 2013 were high and I, for one, was not disappointed.
It was a day typical of Sydney in late April; overcast, windy, and cold as hell. But nothing could dampen the spirits of the many festival goers arriving in throngs to the Sydney International Raceway though. Many people were dressed up (and dressed down) in spite of the rain and the cold and Q-dance also provided ponchos to the masses, free of charge, to combat the rainy weather.
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The performances started with a strong set by Swedish producer, Stana, in his first Australian performance. Although the weather was against him, and he was not one of the bigger names on the list, the crowd were more than happy to party with the 23 year old newcomer.
Up next was Aussie hardstyle DJ, Code Black, who has been making waves in the scene since the release of his debut album "Visions". The crowd were basically in a frenzy as they danced to the music, including tracks such as "Brighter Day" and "Can't Hold Me Back" featuring NitrouZ. Code Black actually made two appearances in the day, stepping in later to perform with one of the other DJs.
Following Code Black was the sensational Australian duo, Toneshifterz. They absolutely nailed their set, much to the enjoyment of the crowd. The exuberance of the pair was clearly conveyed to the crowd who danced ecstatically to their favourite Toneshifterz tunes.
Dutch producer, DJ Coone, performed after Toneshifterz and his set went off. The crowd went wild while he performed and the atmosphere was palpable. It was during this set that Q-dance handed out a variety of signs to the crowd which is something that they regularly do at their events. Some of the slogans include "Never Go Home", "Lost For Words (Hence This Sign)" and the theme for this year's Defqon. 1 - "Scrap the System".
DJ Isaac and The Prophet were up consecutively after DJ Coone and rocked their sets, much to the enjoyment of the audience. It was during these performers that a group of young people attempted to sneak into the venue by jumping the fence. While it was a valiant attempt at cheating the system, the fence jumpers were chased through the crowd by police officers before being removed from the venue.
As the sun set, the big name European hardstyle producers came out in force and they were magnificent. Brennan Heart, Headhunterz, Zatox and Noisecontrollers. All four performers are major and regular players in the shows organised by Q-dance. I can say little more than that they were all fantastic performers. They knew exactly what the crowd wanted and they gave it to them. That being said, minor sound problems that had plagued the day became less minor during Headhunterz set. The sound dropped out at least five times, alternating between a few seconds and a couple of minutes at a time. As the sound kept playing up, some members of the crowd became restless but each time they started to grumble Headhunterz managed to get the sound back up and running. Eventually, the sound problems were sorted out and the show finished spectacularly.
My personal opinion is that, even with the sound problems, Q-dance should be proud of Iqon 2013 and the performers that were there. All in all, it was a wonderful event and a great launch of a new festival.
* A "pinger" is somebody who takes takes drugs, predominantly "uppers", particularly at concerts/festivals/raves.
Update - May 21st, 2013
Here is the Q-dance official after movie for Iqon 2013!
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The performances started with a strong set by Swedish producer, Stana, in his first Australian performance. Although the weather was against him, and he was not one of the bigger names on the list, the crowd were more than happy to party with the 23 year old newcomer.
Up next was Aussie hardstyle DJ, Code Black, who has been making waves in the scene since the release of his debut album "Visions". The crowd were basically in a frenzy as they danced to the music, including tracks such as "Brighter Day" and "Can't Hold Me Back" featuring NitrouZ. Code Black actually made two appearances in the day, stepping in later to perform with one of the other DJs.
Following Code Black was the sensational Australian duo, Toneshifterz. They absolutely nailed their set, much to the enjoyment of the crowd. The exuberance of the pair was clearly conveyed to the crowd who danced ecstatically to their favourite Toneshifterz tunes.
Toneshifterz. Photographer: B. Austin
Dutch producer, DJ Coone, performed after Toneshifterz and his set went off. The crowd went wild while he performed and the atmosphere was palpable. It was during this set that Q-dance handed out a variety of signs to the crowd which is something that they regularly do at their events. Some of the slogans include "Never Go Home", "Lost For Words (Hence This Sign)" and the theme for this year's Defqon. 1 - "Scrap the System".
DJ Isaac and The Prophet were up consecutively after DJ Coone and rocked their sets, much to the enjoyment of the audience. It was during these performers that a group of young people attempted to sneak into the venue by jumping the fence. While it was a valiant attempt at cheating the system, the fence jumpers were chased through the crowd by police officers before being removed from the venue.
As the sun set, the big name European hardstyle producers came out in force and they were magnificent. Brennan Heart, Headhunterz, Zatox and Noisecontrollers. All four performers are major and regular players in the shows organised by Q-dance. I can say little more than that they were all fantastic performers. They knew exactly what the crowd wanted and they gave it to them. That being said, minor sound problems that had plagued the day became less minor during Headhunterz set. The sound dropped out at least five times, alternating between a few seconds and a couple of minutes at a time. As the sound kept playing up, some members of the crowd became restless but each time they started to grumble Headhunterz managed to get the sound back up and running. Eventually, the sound problems were sorted out and the show finished spectacularly.
Q-dance official endshow for Iqon 2013.
My personal opinion is that, even with the sound problems, Q-dance should be proud of Iqon 2013 and the performers that were there. All in all, it was a wonderful event and a great launch of a new festival.
* A "pinger" is somebody who takes takes drugs, predominantly "uppers", particularly at concerts/festivals/raves.
Update - May 21st, 2013
Here is the Q-dance official after movie for Iqon 2013!
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