It was that time of year again, but this time around the conference had twice the amount of events on. The week before UMF8 was Global Gathering, a new event which tried to implement diversity in the music played. This only succeeded in dividing the entire crowd into two. One half listening to dance music, and the other half listening to heavy metal. This shows how difficult it these days to provide a more diverse line-up which everybody will like, something which is a huge task for anybody. The team at UMF8 had to really pull out all the stops to make this event not only the best event of this years conference, but also their best UMF to date.

This year the event had been moved to Bicentennial Park which I thought was a better area to accommodate all of the arenas which were there. But what I thought was a big problem was the size of the entrance, which was quite small. Although I had no problems getting into the event, the shear size of the queues was huge. As other events have learnt, two entrances at different areas reduce the queues dramatically and maybe this is something to look into in the future.

The line-up for this event was very impressive, the same usual big dj line-up as well as the bands which were to play. This is where I think Ultra got it right. The entire line-up appealed to everybody, not just to a certain crowd.

When I finally met up with my friends after their long wait in the queue, it was time to venture around and see what was going on. There were lots more facilities than the previous year, such as food stalls and merchandise stalls with plenty to offer. After catching a quick burger, I proceeded to the main stage to catch the last 15 min of Infected mushroom who were very impressive. After they finished it was time to have a real wander round the area, check out all the arenas. First stop was the Carl Cox & friends arena, which was one of the largest arenas in the festival. I listened to Josh wink briefly. The crowd was awesome, but the music being played wasn't exactly my cup of tea as I'm a bit biased when it comes to music policy (TRANCE). I was impressed with all the arenas, stages that were on offer. But what impressed me the most was the crowd, which makes the event that bit more special.

Once I'd been around, it was time for me to decide who I was going to listen to. With so much to choose from it was tough deciding throughout the festival that I was going to see. No matter what combination of djs and acts people went to see, you were sure to guarantee that everybody would walk out of the festival and say it was brilliant. Since bands were playing, I thought I had to see at least one so we decided on Hard-Fi. Coming from Great Britain myself, I knew of the band well so I knew I'd enjoy them. Surprisingly to me not many people were there to listen to them, but for me that made it that bit more intimate and a privilege considering they usually sell-out their gigs on a regular basis. Picture it, sitting on grass verge with only about 100 people there and the sun shining down on you with a cold beer. My idea of heaven!!! Once they finished their gig, we travelled over to the VIP to have a few more drinks and reflect on the gig.

Later on I decided to visit the Techno stage to see Mistress Barbara. The arena was rammed and the quality of techno was as usual, superb. As I was really getting into the rhythm, none other than Paul Oakenfold was about to begin. So I proceed to the nearest bar, stock up on enough drinks to last me throughout his set and make my way forward to the front to chat 'OAKEY, OAKEY' for the next hour and a half. All the promise was there, great atmosphere and a great dj to bang out the tunes. But unfortunately for both ourselves and the ultra promoters, things were about to take a turn for the worse. The sound system decided to not work properly and the sound coming out of the speakers was to say the least, awful. Due to this the set was stopped and the sound guys began to do play their part, which turned out to be a pretty big part of oakeys slot. The line-up should've been billed as 'Paul Oakenfold ft. Sound Guys who don't know what to do'. No offence to the Ultra promoters who endeavour to be the best, but where did they get these people from? Half an hour later, still not working properly. Oakey mixed in Faster kill pussycat, the speakers were getting worse and he was stopped in his tracks, again. The great atmosphere began to waver, especially mine. All seemed good as oakey put Faster kill pussycat on from the beginning, within five minutes he was stopped again. By this point people were very unhappy, especially oakey as he was making obscene gestures regarding the sound guys. But oakey turned his hand to something new, dancing. He strut his stuff and the crowd loved it. If he gets bored of djing in the future, he's got another talent to use. Once the sound guys finally sorted it, there wasn't much time left. But he managed to fit in a couple of banging tunes and the crowd were back to their best.

After we heard oakey it was time for a drink and a sit down back at the VIP. My next decision was to be the hardest of the day, Richie Hawtin, Junkie XL, or The Prodigy. I thought long and hard and decided to see Junkie XL and then catch the last 30 min of the Prodigy. Richie Hawton was to wait another day for my presence, upset I'm sure he was!!

This was my first time to listen to Junkie XL and I'm very glad I made the right choice. I've never seen an artist such as himself with so much enthusiasm and passion. His production skills shone through and he rocked the crowd like no other. I can't name all the tunes apart from one, a remix of Coldplays 'Talk'. A top tune with such a charismatic artist at the helm sent the crowd wild. Once his set was over, it was the usual of going straight to bar. But this time I literally ran to hear the rest of the Prodigy set. I decided to stay near the back of the crowd because by the time I got to the front it would've been over. But it was a very picturesque seen, a crowd of thousands rocking away to one of the best groups in the world. It was a moment I will treasure forever.

Once they finished it was time for another set-up and the main act was to follow. Personally this guy is my favourite all time dj. He in my opinion is the most consistent dj and producer around. He's a dj who will guarantee to rock any crowd anywhere. If you haven't worked it out already its Paul Van Dyk. Once his set began, the infamous sound problem sounded like it was about to come back. But a swift response was made, and the set began. Every tune that was played was superb and the crowd made it known with chanting. This for me made the night and I'm pretty confident most of the people who heard him.

Once he finished his set it was time for the event to close. The masses were tired and ready to go home, but go home extremely happy. For a lot of clubbers the night was not over as the American Airlines arena was hosting yet again the 'Carry On'. I on the other hand was just looking forward to having a couple more drinks and then retire to bed.

On a whole I think the Ultra crew can give themselves a pat on the back for they pulled off probably the biggest festival around. The only glitch of the day had to be Oakeys technical hitches, but the Ultra crew reacted swiftly and offered people DVD's as a gesture of good will. As if that happened at any other festival in the world you would be basically be greeted with the word 'TOUGH'. This festival will go down as one of the best I've been to and I look forward to being here again next year. It's hard to think how they can surpass the line-up for next year, but I thought exactly the same thoughts the previous year so I can't wait!!

Thank you Ultra for such a good day and we can't wait for next year!!

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