Well I never thought I’d see the day, but here is my first post on the “god of trance” himself: Tiesto. As I’ve said before I don’t like to hate on other music, but in the past I never found a reason to go looking for his stuff. Not sure why. The one thing that seemed to be unanimous about the guy was that his live shows are among nothing else. I missed Tiesto at Coachella ’10 because 2 Many DJ’s were set to rock at the same time and I wasn’t about to miss my boys. My friends said Tiesto’s light show was SO good that they blacked out and don’t remember it. Bit of a hype up huh? I never wanted to go out of my way to see him, but when your openers are Porter Robinson, Dada Life, and Diplo; and your tickets are for $40 after fees; and you’re breaking the record for highest attendance for any single DJ; I’d be a fool to not attend. It was a undoubtedly a damn, memorable night.
The day started with my friends and me being anxiously nervous about whether or not they were going to be strict on assigned seating; and if so, how to get on the floor. A cut-in-half floor wristband and a piece of gum later, we had MacGyver’d our way onto the floor. First up was none other than the young gun Porter Robinson. Here’s one of the few things about the show that bummed me out. Porter got called to tour with Tiesto, he should be playing right before him. Regardless of how big Diplo or Dada Life are. Despite opening for a quarter of the expected crowd, Porter didn’t let up. It was so cool to see how he’s matured through the release of his most recent EP. He threw down “Spitfire,” Knife Part’s remix of “Unison,” and even “Say My Name.” He was going absolutely mental the whole time, and had the crowd participation to match.
Porter Robinson – Unison (Knife Party Remix)
The men of champagne and bananas made there way onto the decks promptly after Porter. After spinning twice at EDC and not having released much since then, their set was a bit more tired than usual. There’s no denying how much energy their set had though! Everyone was going nuts, and with their fat tracks, it’s hard not to. “Unleash the F****ing Dada,” “Dynasty Remix,” “Fight Club Is Closed,” “Satisfaction Remix.” All the good stuff. It was funny, for “Happy Violence” they were pillow fighting and playing around. I couldn’t decide between laughing or dancing. They’re always such a riot. As pissed as I was that Diplo ended up going befor Tiesto, I couldn’t help but be excited. And for good reason. He gave us all our grimy moombah and filthy “brostep” fix. I don’t give a f*ck to say it! Some of my favorite stuff to hear through giant speakers. He brought the heat and definitely made his mark in the momentous night.
Dada Life – Just Bleep Me (Satisfaction)
The stage set up was fairly large scaled. It was tall as any main stage I’ve seen, bordered with all sorts of lights. Three huge light panels laid on both sides of the stage. None of those lights were used throughout the show. They were being saved for the main event. The Dutch bastard cued up and greeted the record breaking audience. “ARE WE READY TO MAKE HISTORY??!” The crowd roared as his set began. We were about to embark on this acclaimed journey with Tiesto as our captain. For his set, I had my expectations set more towards the uplifting, “take me away,” “we are all one” tracks instead of the hard, grimy, dirty tracks. Little did I know that he was keen to it all. Some of the beats encompassed the same cringing effects as songs from Jack Beats or even Dada Life. I wasn’t expecting that sort of stuff from him at all! He had some of his bigger songs like “Feel It In My Bones,” and even “Elements of Life,” “Traffic” and “The Silence.” And yes…he ended with “Maximal Crazy.” I’ve got to say that “Feel It In My Bones” has forever changed how I feel about Tiesto. Such a melodically solid track that had me singing even though it was my first time hearing it.
The last thing that bummed me out about the show was the crowd. Here I am, thinking I’m a lone Tiesto noob, in a sea of people who were aware of this guy’s massive performances. Most of the crowd seemed to be new as well! I assume he was playing one of his bigger songs when it happened. He would drop the volume expecting to hear its tune being chanted, only to find a crowd that seemed lost in a scene of what’s currently popular. After a couple more trial-and-errors, the crowd started getting the picture and sang along. That’s the thing though. He was able to bring 25000+ fans together, under the same roof…well in this case, moon. And what a beautiful moon it was! Today, I’m thankful for being alive for that show. To breaking records! Hoo-Rah!
Tiesto ft. Tegan and Sara – Feel It In My Bones
Not my video! But here’s the live version of “Feel It In My Bones.” I feel this one was way more on point, but I still like the mp3.
