With the new electro kids rolling into the neighbourhood over the past week, we had a chance to meet older brother Global Gathering last Sunday but this time round, it was all about the little sister, Stereosonic. Walking into the showgrounds, it was nice to be greeted by Sunset Event’s trademark Southbound hippy village, with some funky market stalls, chill out couch zones and a wider selection of edibles giving the festival a unique edge over others.

Kicking off things at the main stage, TV Rock dropped crowd pleasing electro beats for the aimless wanderers to accumulate to. Teasing the audience with hints of The Prodigy (who will be gracing the showgrounds early next year) and building up the set’s intensity as the crowd thickened, TV Rock provided conventional safe mixing but was certainly a solid opener to get the day started.

Next up, Bodyrocker’s Kaz James and his live band slumped onto the main stage churning out songs like their hearts weren’t in it. Several times James apologetically told the audience how tired they were after doing three shows in 24 hours with the Melbourne / Adelaide festival double stint the day before. It wasn’t until Canadian emcee Stu Stone jumped on board the slow train (performing songs such as Subwoofers and Breathe) that things started to get rolling and both the band and crowd began to really get into it.

Starting half an hour late in the mysteriously dark clothed, One Love tent, the Spank Rock DJs aka Delvin & Darko, were both truly worth the wait. Busting out with intense hip hop / electronica mashups with subtle scratch movements and proficient deck skills, this was certainly an early highlight of the day that got the crowd moving and shaking.

Skipping back to the main stage to catch Midnight Juggernauts felt like a wasted effort as their set seemed lack lustre and muffled like you were really removed from the performance. Whether it’s the day time slot that’s uninspiring for the Juggernauts or just the simple fact that their music doesn’t translate well live, it just didn’t feel like the sound was at all there today. The band’s hits, Tombstone and Road to Recovery seemed to pick up the performance a little; however, all in all, it wasn’t one of their most inspiring performances to date.

Carl Cox delivered a strong, powerful set in which everything felt calculated, purposeful and was dynamic to watch. Cox certainly hasn’t got his reputation over night by doing nothing and his hard work is made evident by the skill in which he mixes. Churning out hot electro beats with complete control to take wherever he may choose, Cox certainly had the masses dancing to his own tune. Towards the end of the set, it started to feel a little drawn out, especially with the prospects of another DJ to fill in the time as PNAU set up their live show, but having said that, it was still a solid DJ set from start to finish.

DJ Maxwell served as a good buffer with strong bouncing mixes to tide the crowd over after the Cox machine, but it was PNAU who really got everyone into a fierce riot. Renowned for their exciting live stage shows, armed with costumed strawberries and an abundance of balloons, it became a bit of a disappointment to discover these weren’t going to play a feature this time round. Having said that, PNAU, is certainly a lot more than colourful gimmicks, with vocalist Nick Littlemore, an Iggy (electro)Pop in the making, falling around on stage with amusing wild careless antics as he flung, kicked, pushed and swung at percussion tables, microphones and mic stands for the crew to run around cleaning up after him. His long eccentric poses and refreshingly peculiar dancing all create this fabulous character which defines PNAU and the success of their live shows. Then add the dynamic visual elements of musical partner, Peter Mayes, and the band’s drummer all manically waltzing around on stage to their catchy tunes and you have all the ingredients for a PNAU stellar live performance. Their set explored a range of new and old songs, allowing a lot of extended synth improvisation on Mayer’s behalf. PNAU played all their hits including Wild Strawberries and a few tracks off their less well known 2003 LP, Again, including the exciting opener, We Love the Fresh Kills. This was certainly one of the highlights of the day for many people.

Recovering from a bruising or two at the PNAU gig, the Limelite stage was certainly an ideal refuge with its smaller (hopefully friendlier) capacity. Walking in on some of Mowgli’s set; the smaller crowd was going off with happy head bopping to Mowgli’s tight electro mixes.

Meanwhile, over in the Hardware tent, DJ Hell had the bass crunching to a new dimension with his blend of heavy Electro, Techno and New Wave. You could literally inhale the bass as it assaulted your nose; this was the dance of the devil.

PDMA past winners in Hardcore and Trance DJ Rousa & Simon Barwood certainly looked chuffed to take out the top DJ filler slot of the night as the Infected Mushroom stage show assembled. They played an uplifting mix of commercially accessible trance including a remix of a Linkin Park song which got everyone hyped up for the Hardware tent headliners. The moment many had been waiting for, Infected Mushroom, burst out with blazing guitar solos, thumping beats, and lots of confidence, which seems perfectly fitting considering the band have graced our shores three times over in a little more than a year and a half now. Their electrifying stage show blends psychedelic trance, strong beats and heavy metal guitar riffs with some haunting Eastern influences that are defined from their Israeli background. The group performed a strong intense set including songs such as Cities of the Future, which had the whole crowd flapping and bouncing their arms on, singer, Duvdev’s command.

Retreating back, once again, to the open aired main stage, the Aria Award Winning Sneaky Sound System had begun strutting all over like they owned the place. It’s very - œwhat you see is what you get’ with Sneaky Sound System. They performed a solid, crowd pleasing set full of all the favorites, including an interesting extended version of Pictures, but that’s about the extent of the band really. Whilst their performances are tight and enjoyable to watch, it sometimes feels, just a little too polished and processed. Most importantly though, the headlining slot was missing the certain X factor other recent electronic festival headliners such as Goldfrapp and Kraftwerk have had which send those precious shivers and tingles down your spine.

Stereosonic was all in all an enjoyable day, and well worth the cheap $85 tickets. It’s definitely not yet a dance festival heavyweight contender, missing that little extra something last week’s Global Gathering seemed to have, but was certainly a good debut which will have taken a lot of punters home happy.