After a wicked debut last year featuring such legends as Erick Morillo and Fatboy Slim I couldn’t wait to get my groove on again at this year’s Electric Gardens festival in Sydney’s Centennial Parklands. Being a house and high energy dance music lover from way back when, it was so fitting when this year’s line up was announced with more dance and techno music icons like Swedish headliner Eric Prydz and the UK’s Basement Jaxx. You just can’t beat a day like this in Sydney; the sun, the 30 degree heat and killer tunes. It’s time for dancing, sweating and dealing with those damn shin splints later!
The great thing about Electric Gardens, apart from the music is also the festival layout. Plenty of space in the ‘Hangout’ to just hang as well as all the space to sit and chill. You have the funky Bondi Beach Radio area and the welcome assortment of food and beverages. Then there’s the lovely VIP Garden Party area which this year included some more luscious complimentary mini meals to keep the energy levels up and Toni and Guy hair styling stations. A charming utopia and not to forget the wonderful VIP bathrooms and as I heard one lady remark over the stall to her friend, “These are the best festival bathrooms I have ever been in!” Yes they were! And worth the extra $ for the Garden Party ticket. Hardly a queue, which is always a treat for us ladies as we always seem to draw the short stick in regards to the whole bathroom situation. The day just seemed to flow oh so much more effortlessly!
This 9 hour dance extravaganza was jam packed featuring numerous DJ’s/Producer’s like Anna, Welsh’s own Sasha, ANDHIM, Hernan Cattaneo and &ME among others spinning tunes and keeping the crowds pumped and entertained. There was glitter and costumes and shenanigans from the moment we entered the gates. The standard festival behaviour, plenty of glistening flesh, amorous exchanges but with a great mix of ages thrown in. I’m always ecstatic to see us older folk bopping around, enjoying the electro and getting those more mature muscles working overtime. It is worth getting those babysitters locked in as us old-time groovers can sure put those youngins to shame! What a cracking Mark Knight set as the night started to progress. I needed my last caffeine hit to kick in so I could make it through the final 1.5 hr Eric Prydz dance marathon… nearly there… the sun’s going down and it’s just stunning. Multi colours in the sky, a slight breeze, lasers and 15,000 people dancing, jumping and pumping fists. The epitome of everything that makes summer iconic in Sydney. This is one of my favourite festival moments and I’m very sure I’m not the only one, judging by all the thousands of happy faces around me. A cranking Prydz set to send us all home after an epic day.
So it’s thank you and adieu until next year Electric Gardens. My shin splints and aching calves would have recovered quite well by then.
© MARINA KNEZEVIC 2017 All Rights Reserved
