Paul van Dyk @ Biel {REVIEW}
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:56 pmIt had finally arrived! June 18th was the date we were all impatiently anticipating, for it was the night when Paul van Dyk would be performing live at Biel (DownTown Beirut) for the first time in Lebanon.
I got there at about 10:30 and the crowd was already getting ready to hit the dancefloor. MixFM's MadJam was warming up the people with a set of Progressive House, paving the way for Amadeus to take on the decks for the official warm-up set.
As I heard Dan Harper announcing the beginning of Amadeus' set, I got in and headed straight to where the crowd was at. Diversity was the first word that came to my mind - there was every kind of people: from ravers to classy, from Lebanese to Greeks, from young teens to older people... The venue was just right for this event: big space, big bar, 4 giant screens displaying neat visuals, very impressive light & lazer system, and the sound was definetly better than previous MixFM events.
Amadeus, proudly wearing a TranceHits.com t-shirt, started out his warm-up set with a warm selection of Progressive House with some minor Progressive Trance influences, particularly when threw in Art of Trance's Turkish Bizarre; you should've seen the TranceHits.com members going all crazy over that baby! He didn't have enough time to finish off his set the way he really wanted to, and by that I mean with pure Progressive Trance, because PvD arrived a bit earlier than expected. But still, his track selection was just perfect: it wasn't too energetic to make the crowd grow tired before PvD, and it wasn't too chilled to make the fall asleep; it was just what a warm-up should be.
PvD's arrival at about 1AM was met with incredible cheers from the crowd. He opened up his set with Muzikman's remix of Red Bullet, slightly pitched up. This is when the crowd truly kicked it off. I am not going through every single track that PvD played because I simply don't remember them. But what I am certain of is this: PvD played one hell of an energetic set. The bass was pumping non-stop, the beats were all uplifting, and the crowd was loving every bit of it. It wasn't too trancy, which might have been disappointing to the true trancers there (including myself). His selection was mostly consiting of Techno & Hard House, with a twist of Tech-Trance and some minor Melodic beauties along the way (of which I recall Nothing But You and Sosei). Just like he said in his interview, his set will consist of only 25% Trance; and I think it was closer to 10% last night.
PvD played for about 3 consecutive hours, during which (as mentioned above) highly energetic Techno & House tunes were dominant, with occasional Trance tracks thrown here and there. One thing I can tell you about the crowd: they were swallowing up those bass kicks like a coke-junkie swallowing up his pill! I can safely say that not one raver left the dancefloor while PvD was spinning - people were worn out, tired as hell, and about to faint, but they were still jumping around like crazy and worshipping every single beat that DJ played. I was personally very affected by this phenomena, as I witnessed how even the biggest RnB fans were in a different world last night. It proved to me that even if EDM is dissed by most Lebanese, they still enjoy it just like any EDM lover does.
As I mentioned above, PvD's set was poor in Trance. That doesn't mean it was a bad set, not at all: a good DJ is one who knows what to feed the crowd, and PvD sure knew what those Lebanese clubbers wanted. For us Trance freaks it might have been disappointed: personally I would've been A LOT happier if PvD focused more on Melodic Trance like he used to do in his early days. But I guess evolution is part of every DJ's career, and if PvD's evolution led him to a more techy inclination than so be it, as long as he's making the crowds go wild he's still "the clubbers' God" to me, but surely not the trancers God.
And oh how sweet was PvD's exit track! The one and only, Amadeus' signature: For An Angel. Dan Harper had mentioned in his interview with the man that For An Angel is one of the biggest club hits in Lebanon, and PvD replied "then I guess I'm gonna have to ship that vinyl with me" - and he sure did! You should've seen the crowd's reaction when the threw it in - true 'hands-in-the-air' material! By then, the dancefloor was still as packed as when PvD first got on, which put a BIG smile on my face, because it proved to me what true clubbers the Lebanese are.
PvD's departure was met with even greater applause than his arrival; the crowd truly loved him. And everyone thought it was all over here, but they had no idea what they were in for.
Who else to take on the follow-up set but our own Amadeus! All hyped up after watching his idol spin the vinyls for 3 consecutive hours, Lebanon's #1 Trance DJ took on the decks and started his prayer with none other than the masterpiece Saltwater (the CJ Stone Remix of course). All I can say about the follow-up set is that Amadeus delivered nothing but pure quality Trance. When PvD left, most of the crowd turned their backs and started walking out. But when Amadeus threw in the first beat, most of them turned around again and came back to the dancefloor. I can honestly say that 75% of the people who were attending PvD's part were still on the dancefloor for half of Amadeus' set! I honestly don't remember most of the tracks that Amadeus played because, simply, I was dancing non-stop like a madman. I had been semi-dormant throughout PvD's set because although his tracklist was incredibly energetic, it just didn't move me, because it simply didn't contain as much Trance as I would expect. But I knew all along that eventually Amadeus is going to take over the decks and my Trance thirst would be quenched. Moments that really affected me were when he threw in Ferry's take on Kathy's Song, and obviously when the almighty Adagio For Strings was played; I was litterarly kneeling down on that last one, my hands in the air, and I was told that a couple other people did the same after seeing me doing that. The crowd only started leaving when the music volume was slightly lowered, so it was obvious that the people were willing to stay even longer. It all ended at approximately 5AM, and I went on to watch the sunrise on a seashore with one big smile on my face, and one great Trance experience in my heart.
In conclusion, PvD's set was characterized by its non-stop flow of energy; a true dancefloor-killer playlist. It is true that it was mostly consisting of Techno & House, but if that's what gets our crowd going then good for him; PvD gave them just what they needed, sign of a good DJ. As for Amadeus, he was really our 'Trance Messiah' - all us TranceAddicts thirsty to hear a continuous stream of our beloved Trance tracks were more than satisfied with what Amadeus had to offer. So all in all, the rave was a big success, one that we should all be proud of: the clubbers' God on one side, and the Lebanese trancers' God on the other side.
TranceHits.com members present at Biel were: DIONYSOS, SamEr, electro-sam, TRANCExual, commando, timberlinx, DJ Thirix, DJ Nitrate, Alien|DJ, Dreamboy, Psychedelic Cowboy, Pibito, Misstress B, DJ Fade, DIPPS, bxtreme, ammour, PROZACT, Aleco, trancematic, edy, BSaab, Lza, and of course AMADEUS.
On this occasion we wish to thank MixFM & Baccardi Breezer for successfully organizing this massive event, Amadeus for the outstanding warm-up and follow-up sets he played, and every TranceHits.com member who was there without any exeption; we truly enjoyed seeing your happy faces there, and hopefully this will not be the last Trance event in Lebanon.
Keep an eye on this thread as pictures from the gig are on their way; SamEr, move your lazy ass!
I got there at about 10:30 and the crowd was already getting ready to hit the dancefloor. MixFM's MadJam was warming up the people with a set of Progressive House, paving the way for Amadeus to take on the decks for the official warm-up set.
As I heard Dan Harper announcing the beginning of Amadeus' set, I got in and headed straight to where the crowd was at. Diversity was the first word that came to my mind - there was every kind of people: from ravers to classy, from Lebanese to Greeks, from young teens to older people... The venue was just right for this event: big space, big bar, 4 giant screens displaying neat visuals, very impressive light & lazer system, and the sound was definetly better than previous MixFM events.
Amadeus, proudly wearing a TranceHits.com t-shirt, started out his warm-up set with a warm selection of Progressive House with some minor Progressive Trance influences, particularly when threw in Art of Trance's Turkish Bizarre; you should've seen the TranceHits.com members going all crazy over that baby! He didn't have enough time to finish off his set the way he really wanted to, and by that I mean with pure Progressive Trance, because PvD arrived a bit earlier than expected. But still, his track selection was just perfect: it wasn't too energetic to make the crowd grow tired before PvD, and it wasn't too chilled to make the fall asleep; it was just what a warm-up should be.
PvD's arrival at about 1AM was met with incredible cheers from the crowd. He opened up his set with Muzikman's remix of Red Bullet, slightly pitched up. This is when the crowd truly kicked it off. I am not going through every single track that PvD played because I simply don't remember them. But what I am certain of is this: PvD played one hell of an energetic set. The bass was pumping non-stop, the beats were all uplifting, and the crowd was loving every bit of it. It wasn't too trancy, which might have been disappointing to the true trancers there (including myself). His selection was mostly consiting of Techno & Hard House, with a twist of Tech-Trance and some minor Melodic beauties along the way (of which I recall Nothing But You and Sosei). Just like he said in his interview, his set will consist of only 25% Trance; and I think it was closer to 10% last night.
PvD played for about 3 consecutive hours, during which (as mentioned above) highly energetic Techno & House tunes were dominant, with occasional Trance tracks thrown here and there. One thing I can tell you about the crowd: they were swallowing up those bass kicks like a coke-junkie swallowing up his pill! I can safely say that not one raver left the dancefloor while PvD was spinning - people were worn out, tired as hell, and about to faint, but they were still jumping around like crazy and worshipping every single beat that DJ played. I was personally very affected by this phenomena, as I witnessed how even the biggest RnB fans were in a different world last night. It proved to me that even if EDM is dissed by most Lebanese, they still enjoy it just like any EDM lover does.
As I mentioned above, PvD's set was poor in Trance. That doesn't mean it was a bad set, not at all: a good DJ is one who knows what to feed the crowd, and PvD sure knew what those Lebanese clubbers wanted. For us Trance freaks it might have been disappointed: personally I would've been A LOT happier if PvD focused more on Melodic Trance like he used to do in his early days. But I guess evolution is part of every DJ's career, and if PvD's evolution led him to a more techy inclination than so be it, as long as he's making the crowds go wild he's still "the clubbers' God" to me, but surely not the trancers God.
And oh how sweet was PvD's exit track! The one and only, Amadeus' signature: For An Angel. Dan Harper had mentioned in his interview with the man that For An Angel is one of the biggest club hits in Lebanon, and PvD replied "then I guess I'm gonna have to ship that vinyl with me" - and he sure did! You should've seen the crowd's reaction when the threw it in - true 'hands-in-the-air' material! By then, the dancefloor was still as packed as when PvD first got on, which put a BIG smile on my face, because it proved to me what true clubbers the Lebanese are.
PvD's departure was met with even greater applause than his arrival; the crowd truly loved him. And everyone thought it was all over here, but they had no idea what they were in for.
Who else to take on the follow-up set but our own Amadeus! All hyped up after watching his idol spin the vinyls for 3 consecutive hours, Lebanon's #1 Trance DJ took on the decks and started his prayer with none other than the masterpiece Saltwater (the CJ Stone Remix of course). All I can say about the follow-up set is that Amadeus delivered nothing but pure quality Trance. When PvD left, most of the crowd turned their backs and started walking out. But when Amadeus threw in the first beat, most of them turned around again and came back to the dancefloor. I can honestly say that 75% of the people who were attending PvD's part were still on the dancefloor for half of Amadeus' set! I honestly don't remember most of the tracks that Amadeus played because, simply, I was dancing non-stop like a madman. I had been semi-dormant throughout PvD's set because although his tracklist was incredibly energetic, it just didn't move me, because it simply didn't contain as much Trance as I would expect. But I knew all along that eventually Amadeus is going to take over the decks and my Trance thirst would be quenched. Moments that really affected me were when he threw in Ferry's take on Kathy's Song, and obviously when the almighty Adagio For Strings was played; I was litterarly kneeling down on that last one, my hands in the air, and I was told that a couple other people did the same after seeing me doing that. The crowd only started leaving when the music volume was slightly lowered, so it was obvious that the people were willing to stay even longer. It all ended at approximately 5AM, and I went on to watch the sunrise on a seashore with one big smile on my face, and one great Trance experience in my heart.
In conclusion, PvD's set was characterized by its non-stop flow of energy; a true dancefloor-killer playlist. It is true that it was mostly consisting of Techno & House, but if that's what gets our crowd going then good for him; PvD gave them just what they needed, sign of a good DJ. As for Amadeus, he was really our 'Trance Messiah' - all us TranceAddicts thirsty to hear a continuous stream of our beloved Trance tracks were more than satisfied with what Amadeus had to offer. So all in all, the rave was a big success, one that we should all be proud of: the clubbers' God on one side, and the Lebanese trancers' God on the other side.
TranceHits.com members present at Biel were: DIONYSOS, SamEr, electro-sam, TRANCExual, commando, timberlinx, DJ Thirix, DJ Nitrate, Alien|DJ, Dreamboy, Psychedelic Cowboy, Pibito, Misstress B, DJ Fade, DIPPS, bxtreme, ammour, PROZACT, Aleco, trancematic, edy, BSaab, Lza, and of course AMADEUS.
On this occasion we wish to thank MixFM & Baccardi Breezer for successfully organizing this massive event, Amadeus for the outstanding warm-up and follow-up sets he played, and every TranceHits.com member who was there without any exeption; we truly enjoyed seeing your happy faces there, and hopefully this will not be the last Trance event in Lebanon.
Keep an eye on this thread as pictures from the gig are on their way; SamEr, move your lazy ass!
