post it here:
Tiësto, the DJ that topped the DJ Mag list for the third time last thursday, presented the follow up of his succesfull concert last year. Tiësto has grown to immense heights in the world of DJ'ing, with gigs everywhere. In the past 5 years he gained a massive amount of fans, followers and devoted clubbers around him. Last year his concert sold out and this year, he filled twice a full stadium, the Gelredome stadium in Arnhem, the east of Holland. Within a day all the tickets were sold out, which is a great describtion of the impact this concert made last year and was going to make this year. Personally, I followed Tiësto ever since the year of 98, when he was still a "normal" popular jock here in Holland. Therefore it's unbelievable how far he made it, topping the charts worldwide and I was skeptical if he could bring a warm, intimate vibe to such a big stadium. The theme of the show was Magik (or Magic), named after the cd series that were his breaktrough, next to his Innercity performance. The concert would kick off at 23.00, so we arrived at 22.30 to check in. While standing in the wrong line for the entrance (our fault) it was cool to hear and see the anticipation on the people's faces. Everybody came quite early, since no-one wanted to miss a thing ofcourse.
After a little waiting we entered smoothly into the building. The whole atmosphere was very relaxed and good. The VIP-area was upstairs, we entered and the organisation over there was very good. No waiting rows, prizes were really fair (2 euro's for a beer). Time to check outside, the VIP-deck that had a magnificent view on the arena, where Tiësto would make his performance. It was still pretty quiet, the anticipation was growing. The arena was very nice decorated with 4 long vertical videoscreens at the back and a huge stage behind Tiësto's booth for the guest artists to perform. Also a lot of Magik and Black Hole signs throughout the arena ofcourse
We got a couple of beers and talked to some people from the industry and then it was time for the official opening!
At 23.00 a big projection screen scrolled down to the stage, which was projected Tiesto in 3d (u needed special 3-d glasses for that). It was pretty cool to see the first minutes, although after a while it became a little boring. The visuals were provided by Dutch top-VJ Mischa Klein and were absolutely gorgeous. Great surrealistic spacy images added to the "trancy atmosphere" that night. The first hour was a warm-up set and what a beauty warm-up. The first tune Way Out West - Killa sounds gorgeous on such a big soundsystem. The crowd was not too keen on the subtle progressive trancetunes the first hour as it was standing kinda still, still waiting for Tiësto in real life. After fantastic tunes from Nathan Fake and the monster classic Delerium - Innocente in the good old Tiësto remix, it was time for the concert to begin at 0.00.
The official start
Tiestooooooo! People screamed his name and they got what they wanted. After a massive, massive firework around the DJ booth the man himself came out of the booth presenting himself to the audience. Now the audience finally went into the party-modus. A live guitar was played during the opening, but I didn't really hear it very well. The arena was filled with people, but where usually when Tiësto performs the clubs are too full to dance, here everybody could find a spot to party. Everywhere you walked/danced people would make place for you or smile and be gentle. That's a mood that I haven't seen for a long while on some big parties. Anyway, the first hours some bomb tracks were played like the new Kyau vs Albert single, Made Of Sun, that got the crowd really grooving. In the meantime we checked down to meet Dutch producers Leon Bolier (Subsphere) and Galen Behr (Passiva) and Ruben (Ruhe) for some collective drinking & partying
Show elements
In the meantime singer Bibi entered the stage to perform live during the Tiesto track Walking On Clouds. It's still a difficult combination live singing during electronic music, because it usually sounds less smooth then on the track. There are few singers that can perform live just as good as on the stage. Jan Johnston is a great example who's capable of that. However, about Bibi's performance that night, I wasn't too sure. In the meantime we moved closer to the boot to meet Twan (dancemania) in the front with a load of friends. We danced on supertunes like Nickelson - Yin (Solid Globe Remix), Plastic Boy - Twixt 2004 and the new trancy gem Phynn - Lucid! The crowd in the front was really going mad, and we had a good view on the next showelement.
Choir
DJ Tiësto played a version of Suburban Train supported by a live choir and that was really impressive. The vocals of the choir added so much to this tune. Absolutely one of the best combinations of the evening! In the meanwhile Tiësto kept entertaining the crowd with uplifting tunes like Tiesto - Heroes & Darren Tate - Prayer for a God. Then Bibi came at the stage again for some vocal performance. It was slightly better then the first time, but still not an addition to the show in my opinion.
Smack my bitch up!
Sorry for the lady's, but this tune rocked the crowd. This was a perfect example of reading the audience on the right moment, they wanted a classic bomb and Tiësto brought this. Amazing work again, the dancefloor exploded, certainly when he dropped Tiesto - Lethal Industry (2004 Mix) supported by a live violin. Again, this classical instrumented fitted perfectly with the tune, really adding an extra depth to the tune. The co-operation between Tiësto and the violist was great to see and there was definatly a "sparkle".
The final hour
The last hour Tiësto pitched up the tempo, standing in his oval DJ Booth, surround by beautiful digital flames, choosing techier tracks like Sander van Doorn - Dark Roast and Jesselyn - Omnia, but also he played a pitched up version of a beautiful track called Michael Burns - Forwards, which was just so groovy and deep. Fantastic! The last special performance of the night were two percussionists that drummed their hands blue on Plastikman - Spastik, a classic tech tune. Again the interaction was very good and smooth. Finishing with Push - Universal Nation he gave a final treat to the audience, the opening tune of his Innercity set, back in 1999.
Conclusion
I was skeptical if this concert would really work, but I have to say that this show was one of the best I saw the past years. Amazing music, a good atmosphere (no mass hysteria). Also props to the organization, ID&T, who again did a fantastic job in all the different elements to make this a great show without any frustrations, reasonable drink prizes and tight security at the door. If you are a fan of DJ Tiësto, u would never wanna miss this. It was a more than pleasant surprise! With his upcoming world tour with concerts, be sure to check it when u got the chance!
looks like it was a hell of a show! though tiesto isn't my type, but i really
wished i was there!
