Michael Angelo @ Bank (18-4-2008)

[DIONYSOS]

[align=justify]The scene is not just about big organizers and big DJ names; it's also about the ambitious underdog and undiscovered talent - this was precisely what this event was all about.

Amplifying Studio had already achieved success online via the internet radio show Plasmatic Sessions hosting some of the biggest names in Trance music today, and the occasional Middle East In The Mix on ah.fm where the leading Arab DJs are summoned to deliver consecutive guestmixes. Now it was time for Amplifying Studio to move their efforts to the club scene, and time for us to test their metal.

I made it a point to make a very early arrival in order to check out my man A-Cube's opening set. From 10 till 11:30, A-Cube lived up to my expectations with a tasteful cross-genre alteration of House music, mostly on the Progressive end of the spectrum, but blending other House subgenres as well. A-Cube's track selection was one of high caliber with such tunes as Can You Handle It and Pjanoo to name a few, and can easily shake a full room if given the main spot. Mixing was spot on most of the time, with a few occasional bumps here and there, but nothing worth mentioning given the smooth flow of the set. All in all a job well done by a very promising House DJ, surely deserving more opportunities for exposure!

Undertaker was up next for the warmup, and I was wondering what he would play since his show is mostly focused on Uplifting Trance. But to my surprise, to my sweet surprised, Undertaker ended up delivering a Progressive Trance/House set to die for! Blending the bouncy darkness of Progressive House with the trippy melodies of Progressive Trance, and jumping from year to year with a mixed selection of both new and old tracks, Undertaker set the right mood in a club that was gradually filling up, with dustless DJing techniques too. Some tracks off the top of my mind are Songless, Rapture, Summer Calling (a personal favorite classic of mine), Stonecold, and a few tracks off his promising debut album set to be released shortly. An excellent warmup by and excellent DJ indeed!

Michael Angelo took over at 1AM after he was announced, and the main set began. I had no idea what to expect since I had never heard any of his sets, only his productions, so the element of surprise played a nice role there. For the next two hours, Michael Angelo played an A-class Trance set that can easily be labeled "Best Of 2007/2008". He went through all the major Trance hits (no pun intended) of the last year and this year, gracing us with solid selection skills in terms of fitting tracks together, and building up the momentum of his set skillfully to peak in just half an hour. Alternating between Uplifting Trance and Tech Trance, Michael Angelo succeeded at keeping an overpacked Bank crowd at its feet, getting them to rave over some techy sounds then trip over some uplifting melodies, with flawless transitions too. Sadly I had to leave early sometime around 3AM, but I was able to jot down the entire tracklist up till that point with the help of fellow music nerd Icepick, so here it goes:

Intro
Jose Amnesia - Invincible (Sied van Riel remix)
Perpetuous Dreamer - Sound Of Goodbye (Simon & Shaker remix)
Oceanlab - Sirens Of The Sea (Cosmic Gate remix)
Rank1 & Jochen Miller - And Then
Carl B - Chasing Leaves
Midway - Monkey Forest (Danilo Ercole remix)
Danjo - As The Tables Turn
Markus Schulz - Fly To Colors (Genix remix)
Paul van Dyk - Let Go
Cosmic Gate - Body Of Conflict
Ernesto & Bastian - Thrill
Vincent De Moor - Fly Away (Cosmic Gate remix)
Above & Beyond - Home (Stoneface & Terminal remix)
Tiesto - Lethal Industry (Richard Durand remix)
Rex Mundi vs Ronski Speed - The Perspective Space
Bedrock - Heaven Scent (Greg Downey remix)

This is where I left so I guess Icepick will continue the rest of the tracklist later.

Overall, I can say that Amplifying Studio did a very good job with their first live event! They got a talented DJ to deliver a killer set, ensured a decent opening/warmup lineup, filled a relatively big club, and carried on the night with no noticeable organizational flaws. One issue I have always strongly argued for on TH is the need for lesser known DJs who are able to deliver sets as good as any of the big names that we all see, and it seems that this is the market that Amplifying Studio is targeting. Good job boys![/align]

[Raneem]

Thanks for the Review Salimov!
Good Job Amplifying Studio!
It's really great to see new Trance djs in Lebanon (thanks to the boys), and also amazing seeing Bank Night Club supporting the Trance scene!
To the next one!

[TranceFusion]

I wish that i could come blame the teacher for scheduling a midterm on a saturday! :@
I've never heard Perspective in a club... anyway looking forward to more A.S. parties lesser known DJs are as good as the big names.

Pics?

[A-Cube]

Kudos for yet another great review Dion ...it was indeed a successful night with good music and organization...Michael Angelo delivered a quality trance set and Undertaker's warm-up was indeed top-notch and took us back to the old days of trance...

As for me I recognize the couple of errors that occurred in my set(even though the power turned off right before those errors emerged which disrupted the set's flow)...but apart from this it was nice playing for Saleem and the other 6 people that were at Bank at that time ...

For a look at the tracklist that I played:
http://www.trancehits.com/viewtopic.php?p=180453#180453

All in all great work by Amplifying Studio for their first gig with an international name...

Until the next one!

[Qulture]

great review as always saleem .. !!

tracklist looks very , very good ... big room beats !! i am sure the people went nuts ...

i still get shivers when i listent to chasing leaves !!! beautiful track ...

[Trancelvania]

Great to hear that!
Good job A.S!

I really wanted to come yesterday but I ended up sleeping very early because I was very tired (had a week full of exams and no sleep)

[Icepick]

Thank you a lot Saleem for the kind words!
We try as much as possible to support locals especially the unexposed and the talented.
I was worried honestly about the turnout of the event but at 11:30 my worries were gone when the club got packed and people flowed in!
I'm glad that this was a good first, and definitely not the last, more suprises on the way with hopefully nothing but quality!

Rest of the tracklist :
- ID ( Quality Uplifter)
- Armin Van Buuren - If You Should Go
- Martin Roth and Alex Bartlet - Off the World ( Super8 & Dj Tab Remix)
- Super8 And Dj Tab - Helsinki Scortchin ( Micheal Cassette Remix)
- Super8 And Dj Tab Vs Dirthy South - To Feel The End (Markus Schulz Remix)
- Michael Angelo and Jim - Daylight ( Haris C Remix)


Funny moment of the night, one goes up to the DJ booth while im talking to Michael and asks Michael if he is going to play arabic music! Actually for me it was very embarrassing i didnt know what to say to Michael !

Hope those who attended enjoyed their night!
Thanks A Lot Saleem again! and thanks to those who attended!

And Nice meeting you Cubey and Omar!

[UnFoRgivEr]

no words more , nor less !!!
saleem i always want to think wut do i want to write in the reviews after u , but u always deliver it in a perfect way that no other person can do it like u ......
so a little bit words abt yesterday .... since " bank " is my second home , and always beeing there , there's no other than this club that can do the job for hosting international/local Dj's .... (im not advertising lol)
i arrived at 10:15 or something , went up to "mint lounge" above bank, where i met saleem and after bumped into undertaker and his wife and JOEEEE , had some drinks and went down.... sure u can notice there was few ppl , but batroun on fridays is always like that, way different than saturdays ..... A-cube , was my first time listening to his taste of music since i have never met this person , but it was clearly a top notch track selection to play on an opening set , awesome music , but few ppl arround , sure if he was on the main spot he would have shaked the club ..... undertaker's set was incredable as always , this guy know wut to play to keep on the vibe , crossed between new and old tracks , trance and house ...... since i've never heard of angelo and dont even know wut he looks like , he even walked beside me and didnt know that this is him lol , plus i was looking forward to see wut uplifting/tech he's going to play , but honestly i was having some doubts abt him .... but he shoked me in everything, playing the best trance music that any1 can listen to , this guy has alot of skills and techniques that amazed me , specially when he played pvd - let go and did an awsome transition with cosmic gate - body of conflict / plus more other .... in general , the club was packed and full house , all the ppl was stunned of that unknown Dj for lebanese scene ..... as for me it was an incredable night , had alot of fun , met new ppl , old ppl , smoked alot me and saleem , hahaha ..... A-cube , it was nice meeting u at last , as well for amr and icepick ..... a big respect for the organisers , did a perfect job , and hopefully expecting another trance event in batroun with another talented Dj ......
respect !
peace...
p.s: raneem , ya ret ken mawjoud :s ... hehe , plus sallamtelak 3al angelo .... LMAO !!!

[TranceFusion]

[A.H. DeeJay]

[@mr]

[@mr]

[align=center]Michael Angelo @ Bank (18-4-2008)[/align]
[align=center]Photos by Samer Maroun[/align]

Sorry im late, enjoy, more pics soon!

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[crow]

@mr, damn it you look so Egyptian in that picture

[TranceFusion]

^