Above & Beyond @ Forum De Beyrouth (4-4-2008)

[DIONYSOS]

Regarding the "dead girl" rumor:

I personally contacted the organizers and the story is not true. You can call the Red Cross and ask for yourselves if you need further evidence. Subsequently I edited off all posts related to this rumor, and please do not bother bringing the subject back up as the crew will remove any off-topic replies.

Thanks!

[Johnny]

Amazing review Dio!!! It truly made me re-live the event one again! you put me right back there! keep it up

as for the event itself I'd like to say that it was a major success for Bacardi B-Live and NRJ as their first big scale event together and i'm sure there will be many more to come with ground-breaking innovative setups and massive attendance just like yesterday.
Forum de Beirut was packed with fun loving trance thirsty people who enjoyed their time to the max and who didn't move until the very last second of Above and Beyond's set.
As for the people who missed it i'd like to quote Tony and Jono on the mic before their very last song "Good for me":

"A lot of DJs might be afraid to come to Lebanon but the one thing we are afraid of is that we might not be able to come back one day."

This sentence drove the crowd totally nuts and proved how much the guys Love Lebanon and how eager they are to come back once again to play for a bigger crowd. On the way to the airport they've told me they cannot believe time has passed so quickly and they have to leave "this beautiful country" so fast. The gig was stuck in their heads and they rated it as second best after new year's eve 2008 if not THE BEST that they have ever played. Amongst all the places they have been to in the whole world and the masses of crowds they have played for, they Love Lebanon (the people, the hospitality, the food, the whole deal!!) and can't wait to come to Beirut again.
They were amazed of the production of the event and the originality, especially the LED screens in front and behind them. The dancing stage and the LED square hung above everyone. They have loved it all and they described the gig as unforgettable.

Bacardi B-Live and NRJ have made it thanks to the solid team work and the perseverance on making this event flawless. The Journey is long and it has just begun, still to come: Danny Howells, Dave Seaman, Sander Kleinenberg, the rest of Sleepless Fridays and much much more! What more could we ask with such organization and massive turnout?

see you all for another one very very soon!!

by the way lebanese_raver and Tarantula if you don't like trance then why did you come to the event in the first place and why did you choose this forum to express your dislike for trance? Above and Beyond obviously play TRANCE and this is TRANCEhits.com if I remember well. Thank you for reminding us how much you hate trance again but please... we got it from the first time! Next time please try to skip such events and spare us the bashing! Hope you enjoy the multitude of house events coming up!

[Raneem]

I would like to mention one thing for all people who are bashing Trance music.
(And I honestly do not care about getting a warning, or about getting my post deleted..i really have to say this).

Dear Trance Bashers freaks,
I am really tired of reading comments such as "no more Trance events for me", "too Many commercials and tech trance"..

My first comment is addressed to my friend lebanese_raver (who I really respect), to be specific. Dude, It's not the first time I read this from you. You always post "no more trance events for me"; However, I always realize that you still attend most of trance gigs. If you really think Trance events are that bad, then simply, JUST DON'T GO! It makes all tranceheads more comfortable, including me, for not reading such comments again from you.
And what I really don't understand... How come can you bash an event by only listening to 30 mins of the main set?
My friend...I really respect your taste in music, but we already knew that you hate the modern Trance music from previous replies of yours; There's just no need to repeat that again and again.

My second comment goes to Tarantula...With all my respects to you dude..But can you define "Commercial" for us?
And let's consider the DJs are really playing some commercials, why do you really object as long as it's QUALITY? It seems TRANCE as a genre is all commercial for you.
I don't really want to argue about the "Tech-Trance" issue, but all I can say is that EVERY music genre evolves with time and technology. Tech-Trance is a very energetic subgenre, and very club oriented. Uplifting/Melodic Trance is very "ears" oriented. Now, I Guess you went to the Forum to do BOTH, and that's what the DJs take into consideration, so they play both styles, and some others.

Your comments were definitely offensive, disrespectful and racist, in my opinion. IF you really dislike modern Trance music, just don't attend the events.

[lebanese_raver]

Oh yeah of course we will enjoy the multitude of house events! can't wait ... as for this gig i only listened to 40min... 40min = 5-6tracks? more than enough me.

Well i attended this gig for two main reasons:

1st because i promised Diabolix to go with him[since we attend mostly all gigs 2gether], but i made it clear to him 2day that i will not attend any selective house oriented gigs anymore.

Second is that i was excited for Nesta and Ronin's set!

Well yeah you guys are right i shouldn't have included the "no more trance events" phrase... i won't edit it... but i take it back.

Well i am glad that Tony And Jono enjoyed the crowd and that trance heads were satisfied.

I come in peace. Hugs and kisses to all.

[Qulture]

lol ... !!

Raneem to be crowned , " Defender of Teh TraNcE Communateeeee "

i really thought this event was next weekend , because i wanted to try my best and attend .... CRAP !!

But non the less, the review is as always , top notch , and i knew this gig would be an important , and ground breaking one for lebanon .... !!!

you guys rock ...

full tracklist anyone ??

[DJ_TRACID]

u can't evaluate the gig by only listening to only 5-6 tracks
define commercial please, do u think that "i can't sleep" is commercial ? then what is left that is NOT commercial ? the IDs ?

[_HaJ_]

Great gig guys ! set up was great , light and sound perfect and a gr8 music selection by A&B . NO COMMERCIAL stuff as some members said .. tracklist ??

[Radima]

lol...yeah stop saying nonesence guys...(house fans the most ) because if you were in a & b's place...and you see the crowd waiting for you too play cant sleep or air for life... you cannot say no...and if you stayed long enough to listen to the whole set you woudlnt say that... im not critisising anyone & i respect househeads opinions...

[mzy]

Diversity is a positive thing ... and everyone is free to express his opinion on this forum even if it is to say negative points about trance ... if we would all talk positive and extraordinary things about trance on this forum it wouldn't be so special .....
And everyone bashing lebanese_raver just ... I forced him to come with me and he promised me the same thing ... and plus we both went especially to hear Nesta's set and Ferraye's set (but i must admit that A&B's set was not bad for me)

I arrived at 10h30 at Forum
Setup/Organization/Lightnings : No need to say more than you guys already said ... It was maybe the best Setup ever seen in Lebanon ... nut the Dj Booth was a bit high ... you couldnt see the DJ's face ! Sound System was wamazing i'd give it a 9/10 , in the VIP section the sound should have been a bit higher , but it's okay ...
Crowd : too many kids too many ! lots of dumb people jumping around as if we were in a Punk Rock concert , lots of E freaks ... im not gonna say more ... but the crowd was a bit better than Warren's crowd !
Ronin & Nesta : I arrived early hearing from outside Forum one of my fav minimal tracks (anthony Collins - Cocorico) and i was very excited about Nesta's set , Nesta was playin mainly minimal/ tech House with some low BPM techno tracks (The Alchemist ahhhhkhhh) ! the venue was mostly empyy at that time and i was enjoying my time movin on the dancefloor on nesta's groovy tracks ! i was loving the set until some cheesy vocal tracks were played (maybe nesta was forced to play some) , anyway there was a part of the set i didnt like but it got better the moment Nesta played Cruiser !! Good job Ronin & Nesta for their first warm up (for a Real DJ this time)
A&B : the first track was great , then they started with Tech Trance , it was one full hour of tech trance , i wanted to leave with my friend lebanese_raver but i said hell no im gonna relax a bit in the vip section cuz i wanted to hear fady's set ! at 3h the music got a bit better , they started with some melodic uplifting tracks , A&B style which I like , and from this time i enjoyed their set , my cheesy highlights of the nights were the moment when they played their own productions and Luminary - Amsterdam ! this track still gives me shivers when i listen to Ashley Tomberlin's magical voice , anyway i had fun durin the second part of A&B's set mainly becoz of the group i was hangin around , singin all together all of A&B's classic ! what i liked about Above & Beyond's set is that they know how to handle the crowd by diversin their set ! i dont think anyone can beat A&B when they play , they have the finest track selection (for me) ! BRAVO A&B ...
my worst moment of the night was when they played NEW YORK CITY and the cheesy meaningless vocals ...
Fady Ferraye : AHHHHHHHH , it was the first time i hear Ferraye live and my god i was expecting something huuuuge and i got something huuuuuuuuuuuge !! Ferraye is by far the best Lebanese DJ (along with Gunther & Stamina) !! TECHNO TECHNO it was all about dark techno , you could feel the music goin deeper and deeper into you (dont wory guys im not an E consumer) !! HAts down Mr Ferraye for deliverin an extraordinary techno set !!
so overall it was a good night for me ...

[Radima]

[Gotcha]

[Raneem]

[Radima]

[Raneem]

[Radima]