Saturday night was legendary for many electronic music fanatics, as two gorgeously talented artists finally made it “together” in Beirut: sharing one single Dj-booth, one city, one crowd, one atmosphere, two apple books, and two musical tastes eventually combined. In my and many other opinions, Sasha took over the mental part with a sensual emotional background as always. And Digweed took care of the sensual part while remaining technically mental in this musical journey. Having them both on decks lifted music to very high standards where heart and mind astonishingly blended together and became as one.
My night kicked off with maDJam’s warm-up, which lasted for almost an hour for me before Sasha took over. maDJam’s was on the right track most of the time, I love his warm-up session despite for some very few confusing moments. However the music kept the vibe on and successfully warmed us up to Alexander & John’s mind-blowing music. Well done Ahmad, again.
The moment had come and around 1:00 AM sharp, DJ Sasha initiated his set by one stunning intro that I personally wasn’t expecting! A track featured on Joris Voorn’s Balance, very emotional and added a lot of charm to the dance-floor. Alexander Coe was for me, a surprising element on Saturday night. His music wasn't so much diverse at first, mental but subtle, and so far different from his December gig in Beirut. Dropping Tech house, new-age Techno and old-school acid-ish within some minimal beats since now and then, his set sounded sometimes at the beginning repetitive but varied overall in a fabulous shape, beginning to end. The music was way too intense and lovely at certain points, yet mental and hard to dance to sometimes, but weirdly we did dance after all as everyone around us was dancing and enjoying. Sasha’s set really took up too much energy out of me at some times though, it was great.
Continuing this musical voyage, John Digweed overtook his Dj-booth position and kept music enduring with all its fascination. Let me just say that Diggers’ music had its special charisma. As you could obviously notice by the switch in music, which got a bit more emotional and sensual while ongoing with techno-ish, proggy and strong beats most of the time. I loved many tracks that he played, how technically good he was as much as Sasha was as well. Many wasted a lot of energy on Sasha’s set, not being consciously aware of what Diggers has to offer. Yet then we sustained non-stop dancing and kept on getting pleasure of such scrumptious musical treat. Digweed’s music was apparently steady and lifted our emotions up high. Everyone around me loved it so well and got pleasure of every single beat. It was truly juicy.
Eventually, it literally and physically happened. Sasha & Digweed, both on a back2back drive. Where mental and sensual finally combined, and delivered the peak of this anticipated night. The flow of music was persistent and both artists knew exactly what to offer to thirsty clubbers. Myself being among them, I had a great musical blast and lastly felt a bit the raving experience.
Now, concerning the setup, it was averagely good. The big “S” and “D” had its own effects, giving credits to the lights dispositions at most. Having the Dj-booth from Sasha’s previous gig and screens from Digweed's previous gig as well turned out cool, but technically I must have say that it’s cheap and indirectly saved a lot of money and time. But thankfully I don’t personally care for such details in general as much as I care for music instead.
Lights were nice. Revealing the huge “S” and “D” letters, and supporting the special musical effect. Adding nice cool displayed visuals, like multicolored straight lines reflecting Invol2ver’s special design, and clearly Transitions’ Volumes later on. Good job Vince and the VJ!
Service in the VIP section was awful.
Sound system was great, not excellent as usual. Thankfully we had our special front row linking V/VIP areas in order to enjoy the great feeling. It was marvelous although I only had the chance to experience it for 15 minutes before it got crowded.
Smoke machines were annoying too, rather not have them.
I found that having the painter or graffiti designer a useless idea. If it only were about ambient downtempo electronic party then this idea would have been a bit acceptable. With all respect to the female and her great artistic skills, it had nothing to do with what’s going around whatsoever. Just go with a straight simple setup as previously mentioned without adding such “small details”.
Flying bar, hmmm. Nice tool to offer more entertainment, but why have music played on it too? (I think). Whenever it reaches the ground, sound propagations in the back really annoyed lots of clubbers in the V/VIP crowd. I don’t know…
Crowd quality, again, not its finest at all.
Overall, it was a good night for all electronic music fans. Sasha & Digweed were awesome and made this night memorable for almost everyone who made it on Saturday.
Thank you for making this night happen !
As for the local Djs, well no comment. what to say? their music level has been the same the past 4 years? anyway...
good idea... of course for future gigs, if the same corridor is created, i advise all VIPs to get EAR PLUGS! 
