This is why i can safely say that Markus Schulz lived up to my expectations! Once again he showed a perfect choice of tracks, perfect skills and transitions and perfect interaction. Trust me i’m not exaggerating! Anything you want to see a DJ doing, he did it, does it and will keep on doing it. Armin is my favorite DJ today, but when i say that Markus played a better set than Armin at Sunrise Festival (remember that they are teammates!), it is because i have a very good reason.
Last night, the venue for 2008’s number 8 DJ was small. I think it could contain 1,000 ravers. Don’t be surprised though, we know that Markus Schulz easily deserves a much bigger venue for at least 10,000 ravers. Those who saw him yesterday know that. Those who knew before he came to Lebanon also know that. The VIP area was in front of the DJ booth, at the back of the venue and between the two areas there was the dancefloor. The lighting system was very nice and above the DJ booth. A screen behind it with the usual visual effects and two lasers on the left and right side of that screen. There were two small bars for the regulars on the left and right side of the venue with a screen above each that advertised Marlboro (i hate smoking and i find it illegal to advertise cigarettes, but heh i can’t change/introduce laws in Lebanon). The VIP area had i think 28 tables and a bar in the middle at the back of the area. The sound system was very good on the dancefloor and in the middle of the VIP area, but worse on the left and right side. It was acceptable though so i don’t consider it a negative point.
I mentioned earlier that Markus deserves a big venue. However smaller gigs aren’t worse at all and we saw that yesterday! I have to give thumbs up to MixFM for filtering the crowd almost to perfection. The emos weren't allowed to get in. There will be always a few exceptions of course but this time it was very clear that the crowd was really good. For the first time since 2005 i enjoyed my time in the crowd. A large majority of the ravers were decent people who danced to the music. There were no monkey shouts (“yalla yalla…”). Markus interacted a lot and in a friendly way with the ravers and he was very very happy all the time! What should i say about the set? It had everything. He played tech-trance, uplifting trance, progressive trance and 5-6 vocal trance tracks. Personally it’s actually very good that just a few vocals were played since a Trance gig should focus on the music more than the lyrics. That’s my belief at least. Also he knew when to put this track, and when to put that track. This guy knows what he does to perfection! What i wanted to hear the most are the two following tracks:
Markus Schulz vs Andy Moor – Daydream (Lemon & Ainar K Remix)
Rex Mundi vs Ronski Speed – Perspective Space (Markus Schulz Mashup)
And my patience paid off since i waited from 1:30am when he started till 4am for the first track, and till 4:30am for the second track! I also wanted this one:
Drax & Scott Mac – Must Have A Dream (Mac Zimms Remix)
It’s techy, but its breakdown is freakin breathtaking for me! Unfortunately he didn’t play it. I’m sure that he played his newest track The New World and you also check out the mashup Gareth Emery vs Delerium – This Is Silence!
I hope that after this event Markus got himself a fanclub here that will only get bigger and bigger (hopefully with decent people). And to finish the kickass set, he chose Formentera What (Gareth Emery Remix)!
I’ll finish my review with this:
Markus Schulz will become the world’s number one DJ very soon! Trust me on this one!
I hope that i covered everything in my review. If you have anything to add feel free
