Photo: Jérôme Suard // Nightlife

Not easy to make choices when everything’s so good. That was the feeling hanging over Parc Jean-Drapeau last Sunday, and it resulted in a lot of walking back and forth between stages to try and catch the best of everything.

To begin with, there was the exceptionally executed score unfolding over at the STM stage, where the hands of the introspective Des Cailloux et du Carbone were laying down a set of potent old-school minimalism, a veritable candy jar for connoisseurs. They were followed up by Basement Maxxx, another duo known for their eclecticism on the decks. Beginning with Johnny Cash and Lou Reed, and finishing off somewhere closer to hypnotic dubstep, these guys managed to string a world of music together, right up to the last beat, without a single errant seam.

And that says nothing of the temptation resonating from the main stage, where Vincent Gauvin set the day’s table with a judiciously impeccable set. It was a subtle collage that alternated between different strains of dance, ably setting up the audience for the contagious energy of X-Cube, who were on next. Accompanied by saxophonist John Juster, X-Cube had no trouble riling up the rowdier elements of the crowd, and by the time they were through, they were handing over on a silver platter an eager audience begging for more. And the venerable house veteran Josh Wink was ready to take it and fly.

Hitting the stage right at the moment when The Calder and the city skyline are both engulfed in the glowing tones of the sunset, this old and reliable friend of the Piknic family took his sweet time building up the crescendo that would catapult his 4-hour set into the magnificent journey we’d all come to expect. Perhaps that build-up was even a bit too long for some folks who just wanted to keep the vibe peaking, but a quality DJ never tips his hand too early when he knows what’s in store. And those diehards who waited were amply rewarded when the needle finally dropped on the jacking 4/4 and the floor erupted with motion. By that point, even the moon had decided to make an appearance through an otherwise bleak and cold day, and for a time we all forgot that summer was ending and we danced like it was June again.