The king of trance played two sold-out shows at the Hangar.
There are few names in the electronic music realm that are as ubiquitous as Tiesto’s. There’s no disputing the fact that his ability to evolve musically is almost unparalleled in EDM. He’s been on quite the journey and has not hesitated to take us with him. In fact, when I mentioned to my uncle that I would finally be seeing the legendary Tiesto perform in the flesh, he laughed and mentioned that one of the best nights of his life was in 2005 when he attended a Tiesto rave. Talk about mass appeal. The Dutch DJ/record producer rose to fame in the early 2000’s with the introduction of his “In Trance We Trust” series. If it wasn’t for Tiesto, we wouldn’t have Armin or Gielen or Corsten. To say he was a major player in shaping the trance movement would be an understatement.
Photo credit: Jordan Lloyd
As the years have gone by, Tiesto has showcased his versatility as an artist by continuously adapting his sound to satisfy modern music trends. His pop-forward 2014 release, “A Town Called Paradise”,received mix reviews. While some people commended him for taking a risk and trying something new, others felt that he had fallen into the trap of generic radio-friendly production. Whatever your view on his shift towards putting out pop-influenced records may be, there’s no denying that all of Tiesto’s music has one thing in common: fun. It’s energetic; it’s catchy; it’s feel-good. The mere speculation of a Tiesto concert taking place in Brooklyn meant the show would be sold-out before ticket sales even started. The Brooklyn Hangar was the perfect location to host the prolific DJ – it has all the immense space of a warehouse without the grime. Despite the spacious setting, the venue was packed to the brim with wide-eyed music aficionados who were ready to move and groove until dawn. After a solid warm-up courtesy of Canadian DJ, Dzeko, the man of the hour took over the decks.
Photo credit: Jordan Lloyd
The atmosphere in the venue was electric. His set – albeit definitely not extraordinary – was comprised of a good blend of modern EDM hits, some Tiesto classics, your token big-room bangers, and a few oldies but goodies. Throughout the night, Tiesto masterfully mixed in staple records – such as “Take Me”, “Secrets”, and “Paradise” – that were bound to get the crowd amped. He brushed off a series of technical difficulties by hitting us with his universally loved “Adagio for Strings”. Another particular highlight was when he dropped his 2011 banger, “Maximal Crazy”. He wrapped the night up with a bang and a confetti-filled sky proving that even after all of these years, Tiesto’s still got it.
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