Armin Van Buuren at the DC Armory

Armin is a God!

Washington DC, DC Armory 19NOV2011 8:00pm - 2:00am

So I know I am backtracking on this little blog of mine but this was one of the best concerts I have been to and wanted to somehow write it down my experience before it went into distant memory in this pea sized brain of mine. So Armin hasn't played a six hour set in the United States in years so this was definitely going to be unforgettable. I had never been to the DC Armory before but the promotion company GLOW has hosted some awesome shows in the past. Headed down to the DC Armory at around 7:45pm and Armin was just stepping on stage. The DC Armory is was the size of a college basketball stadium there was people moving back and forth everywhere but the atmosphere was electrifying. Believe it or not, as conventional and conservative dc folk seem, these guys really love their trance and really know how to party. Since this was Armin and he was playing a six hour set so there was so many from all over the United States. As I went out to have a smoke, I bumped into some people who mentioned they came all the way from Brazil to see Armin play. I told them I couldn't believe that they had flown all that way and they responded "Fuck yeah we love Armin". I was thinking to myself wow Armin is really a god. Went back inside for Armins opener and when he stepped on stage everyone went bananas. The cheers for him was louder than the volume of sets played by the opening DJ's. The stage setup wasn't too impressive. There was only one screen behind Armin and there definitely was so theatrics. Everyone seemed so excited to know that they would be dancing to Armin for the next 6 hours straight. If there was a DJ in the world that could hold a crowd and keep them dancing for that long it was Armin. Below you will find the videos of the opening. 

Midway through the set my friend asked me if I had seen Armin leave the stage to go pee (It must have been at least 4 hours). I responded to her no I didn't and it was true he didn't leave the stage. That comment made me laugh so hard. Gods don't pee.. oh wait yes when they pee it rains :P

The atmosphere was truly electrifying. Even though the light show and light production wasn't as great, song after song in Armins amazing set people just kept on dancing and singing. It was fantastic. The tempo and flow of each songs was so seamless that there wasn't a break in sequence where people would have stopped dancing because a song did not fit in with the lines of the beat. 

My friends all agreed that this was one of the best shows that they had been to not only because it was six hours but the set list and selection of songs. XM radio and later posted the set on Xmas day. Below you will find the set on sound cloud. Enjoy and dance your hearts out.

http://soundcloud.com/arminvanbuurensuperglow/armin-van-buuren-at-superglow

We love Above and Beyond!!

Philadelphia, TLA 10FEB2012 8:00pm – 2:00am

It was a cold, wet and dreary night but my spirits were at an all time high. Above and Beyond in Philadelphia? I thought I would never have seen the day. I used to listen to these guys when they were doing remixes for Ayumi Hamasaki (Japanese pop star) back in Australia in 2000! I've also been listening to their broadcasts Trance Around the World religiously. Amazing how far they have gone and how popular they have become.They are truly amazing and it is wonderful to see that the Philadelphia trance and progressive movement is definitely getting bigger. From the small raves at Transit and Shampoo in the hay days of college, Philadelphia has never been a great draw for Trance artists. Heard the TLA was not so big I figured A&B (who are truly the number one DJ's in the world – Yeah F*** David Guetta) would have had a bigger draw. Speaking of David Guetta, it's so funny seeing how many people rock these F*** David Guetta shirts – saw them at this show also. I always give them props when I see them Haha. Nevertheless the venue was definitely big enough to hold a great show (A little smaller than the electric factory). Only Jono and Pavo were there last night. Some girl told me Tony (who is my favorite) was back in England taking care of the TATW broadcasts while the other two tour America.

Tour Van - Group Therapy North American Tour Pt 1

SOLD OUT

Some lesser known artists opened for them. One of them was named Ned Lex. They weren't too bad but I was really hoping for someone like Mat Zo or Jaytech open for them (Jaytech is from Australia!). Hopefully they do when round 2 comes.

They played a two hour of songs and remixes from their Group Therapy album. Their light show and production was great too especially when their Group Therapy ribbons came on for their opener. I couldn't ID the opening track but I have heard it soo many times on TATW.

Here are some videos from the night. The highlight of the night was definitely when Sun and Moon came on in the middle of the set. I don’t think I saw a single soul not dancing or singing to this song. I love this song and you can always catch me humming and singing it out of nowhere. It was truly an experience.

What's always awesome about A&B shows is the messages they have at the end of their shows to reflect on some of the life changing world events such as the Japanese Earthquake and  reach out to our friends in Japan and all over the world of all the catastrophic events that happened and to unite and overcome. Truly inspirational and uplifting. I can have a busy and long day and come home and throw on some A&B and feel like my all my troubles and worries have disappeared for just that time. Their music has that effect on me.  I would definitely recommend you check them out. They promised that they would come back to Philadelphia. The energy that they bring to the crowd is amazing.  Hopefully they will be at EDC this year.

 I love these guys and will never stop listening them. PLUR.