When I first moved to Melbourne one of the first shows I went to was the traditional Andy C show on Australia Day eve. I had a fantastic time, as the HiFi bar was ram packed and Andy C lived up to his name of “the Executioner” as he simply killed it.

This year, I was more than a little surprised to turn up and find the HiFi bar almost deserted. There were maybe 40 people there, grooving away to Keir’s dark and rolling beats. I really like Keir, but I felt the overall vibe of the majority of his set was just a little too moody for 11pm. It didn’t make people want to wander to the dance floor, with most standing like wallflowers, and although it was filling at a steadier pace, this made the room seem sparser than it was. But like any good DJ Keir recognised this, and shifted things up a bit towards the end, playing much more dancefloor orientated stuff which finally got people out onto the floor.

Beatski stepped up next, dropping one of my favourite tunes ever – the Nu:Tone remix of Lenny Fontana’s Spread Love. This got more people up and dancing, and he continued the vibe for a while as the HiFi got more and more packed. I’ve not seen Beatski before, and enjoyed what he played. Safire stepped up after him, and played some wicked tunes, although like Beatski, didn’t play much that I knew. I generally appreciate hearing stuff I don’t know, but this time I felt so out of touch that I’ve decided I need to get out more!

MC Lowqui jumped on the mic for Safire, and really helped hype the crowd. I must admit I’ve not been too keen on Lowqui in the past, but the times I’ve seen him recently, he’s really impressed me. I know there’s a conception that Melbourne people don’t like MCs, but Lowqui knows when to hype and when to chill which is perfect for this city. By the time Safire finished the HiFi was full, but not uncomfortably so.

Then Andy C stepped up, with GQ on the mic. Oh my gosh! Many DJs lay a claim to being the best, but it is my professional opinion that Andy C is better. First of all, he plays dancefloor tracks that get everybody moving. Second of all he plays on 3 decks, superbly mixing 3 records in time, with his now infamous double drops which amplify the intensity of the already frenzied dnb tempo. Thirdly, he plays all vinyl. None of this time coded, played off PC which has been keyed and bpm matched beforehand stuff – just straight up practice, skill, and knowledge of his music.

Andy dropped some amazing tracks, mixing Konflict’s Messiah with Trace’s Babylon, teasing Racing Green under Jenna G’s In Love, and even dropping fresh stuff like the new Pendulum track. GQ would call out for rewinds, and Andy would spin back both records; drop one, then the other, and the crowd would cut sick every time. Andy had just as much fun as the crowd, waving records about, clapping, waving hands and dancing along with everyone.

There is one thing that annoyed me about this night – the fact that more people don’t head out to see someone like Andy C. Everyone is so caught up in their own scene, they rarely go out of their way to see good DJs out of their preferred genre. I’m positive if more people saw Andy C play like he did at HiFi over the last two years the “Top 100 DJ polls” so many websites and magazines run every year, Andy C would be rated much higher. He certainly deserves to be.