Event Line-up
Stefan J. Kroos 10pm-12pm
Smith & Pledger 12pm-1:30am
Above & Beyond 1:30am-4:30am
Dj Tab + Super 8 4:30am-6:00am
Standard Entrance Fee - £12
Above and Beyond are, and have been, one of the most exciting talents in the trance scene today. Their productions have been recognised recently as the definition of trance, thus comfortably establishing themselves as one of the world leading Djs, causing them to have set a benchmark for the new generations of trance producers in the years to come.
Equally skilful behind the decks as in the studio, the trio, Tony McGuiness, Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamaki have rocked dance floors at huge venues such as Godskitchen, Gatecrasher and Cream; so there was no question that there would be any difference at the Tri State Release Party.
Despite a very confusing walk to get to the club Canvas, we finally arrived at 10:55pm. After hitting the bar for a drink, and walking around the initially disappointing club, we headed for the dance floor. First up was the Dutch Stefan J Kroos, who I’d never heard of before. Stefan was a brilliant warm up to the night ahead, having good track selection, and only on one occasion a bad mix. When Stefan dropped tunes like Supermodels from Paris – Keep on (JC1 Remix), The Drill – The Drill and Aspekt – Hi Jack, my only wish was for the crowd to be slightly denser so the atmosphere would have been better, but nevertheless the enjoyment from his set encouraged my friend’s and I to stay on the dance floor.
Following Stefan Kroos were the infamous Smith & Pledger. Although having a 1 ½ hour set, which on a personal note I think should have been longer, from start to end Ollie and Mark delivered a sensational display of both mixing skills and track selection. The guys hit off with ‘Who’s watching me – Remy & Roland Klinkenberg remix, which until that night I though was a fairly mediocre tune. By now the crowd had fully assembled, the club was comfortably full and the energy was soaring. The duo looked as if they were enjoying themselves, very much interacting with the crowd and every so often jumping about; always being a plus in my books. The tunes I recognised from their set were Smith and Pledger – Northern Lights, Luminary – Amsterdam (Smith & Pledger remix), Kyau Vs. Albert – Kiksu and Sunny Lax – P.U.M.A.
With energy levels soaring off the scales, it was time for the pioneer’s of trance, Above and Beyond (represented by Tony and Jono on the night). Initially these guys started off with a standard Above and Beyond set, but then briefly moved into a harder one, playing Filterheadz – Endless Summer and Mode Hookers – Breathe (Sander Van Doorn remix), causing me to slap myself with disbelief. Actually this went down very well, the guys read that the crowd might want some kind of pumping trance for a bit. Of course, these guys are what the crowd came for, and the display of hands in the air, cheers and whistles displayed their appreciation of the music being played. Slowly but surely the tracklist moved onto the classics (the set actually resembled that of a Trance Around the World show). Probably the highlight of the set was when they played Arcadia and Back on Track in succession. Only towards the end of the set the guys played tracks from the album Tri State, and what a way to end with a bang. Having said this, I must say during the middle of the set I felt as if the guys lost consistency. They would play one amazing tune and then follow with a mediocre tune. Overall I was pleased with them though because they did interact with the crowd and had smiles on their faces throughout.
Last but not least were Dj Tab and Super8, taking turns to grace the decks. On a conventional night out, the last Djs to play would always go far the harder and more pumping trance to keep the crowd alive (which normally I favour), but these guys kept the uplifting trance going, which went down really well, as to be honest, this night was all about anjunabeats. The crowd now began to disperse, which was a bit of a shame as I felt as if these guys deserved a larger audience. Of course, the guys had to drop Helsinki Scorchin’, and when they did, it was as if the remaining crowd rekindled all their energy into dancing like mad for this tune. They left no time for any rest either, as soon after they played Airbase – Escape, which went down extremely well. Unfortunately, at exactly 6am the bouncers started rounding off the remaining crowd and literally forcing them to leave. This left me slightly disappointed as I was certain that the night was going to keep on going until at least 7am. On top of this the bouncers forced Dj Tab and Super8 to cut short Sunny Lax – P.U.M.A in order to kick everyone out.
Rating:
Value for Money = 9/10, in my opinion for this line-up the tickets were cheap!
Line-ups = 9/10, Smith & Pledger, Above & Beyond and Super8 + Dj Tab, need I say more?
Music = 8/10, lot’s of uplifting trance, however I would have liked to hear a bit more hard trance.
Crowd = 9/10, you could really sense the energy from the crowd, hands in the air, whistles and shouts, very responsive crowd.
Venue = 7/10, my first thought was that the club was quite small and not that great, but towards the end of the night I must say that it did grow on me. Not enough lasers and the strobe light being at the front did annoy me and blind me.
Overall = 8.5/10
Pictures from the night: http://www.uktrancealliance.com/forum/inde...pic=22129&st=20
