Tiesto Live @ Victoria Park
Victoria Park Hackney is not a venue you would immediately associate with a global superstar DJ, but there must of been a vibe that appealed to Tiesto at last year’s inaugural event. Set up as a municipal park for the poor folk of Tower Hamlets last century, it’s certainly an oasis in a sea of concrete. The tree-lined wide open spaces give a real festival feeling to the place. Once again this year the security was spot-on unobtrusive and helpful; it’s not often you can say that at a major event. The first thing that struck me entering the main arena was the opulent amount of space. The front was pretty tightly packed but you could access both sides easily.
The demographic of the crowd ranged from young technoheads through to old skool acid-house ravers. I guess I fall into the latter category, having bought into the warehouse parties of the late 80′s. Ok, so these kind of events are run on a commercial scale nowadays but I still felt that ambience that makes these gatherings special. Eventually we decided to check out the V.I.P area, and to be brutally honest for double the ticket price you actually got very little extra apart from a no queue bar, some sofas and easy access toilets.
We ventured out to catch Pendulum, as I had been looking forward to seeing these guys after having heard rave reviews. The mosh pit was certainly lively and they seemed to have a good majority of the crowd on their side. However, for me one song seemed pretty much the same as the last and it was all a little bit dark and heavy for a sunny Friday afternoon. Live drum n’ bass is best served in a basement club late at night. To be fair, it was always going to be a hard task playing second fiddle to the main event as Tiesto’s fans are a die hard bunch.
So as the clock ticked down to 8pm the air was heavy with anticipation! The lights dimmed as the Dutch master of the wheels of steel strode on stage, arms aloft.
The man himself was almost dwarfed by the huge banks of lights and speakers. It’s a strange feeling shooting photos from the pit as you look back at a mass of people letting their inhibitions go and dancing without a care in the world. After five minutes of concentration the euphoria took over and I joined the happy throng. It’s a real art form to be able to sense and work a crowd the way Tiesto does. There are few over the years who have mastered it with consummate ease and for me he is right up there with Oakenfold and Carl Cox.
As darkness fell the full extent of the spectacular lighting and effects took the whole thing to an even higher plane as it seemed everything was synchronised in harmony. Throughout the full three hour set the whole crowd was captivated; from the sweaty bodies up on the barrier to those losing themselves in the lightshow and music in the way back.
The only downside was the 11pm curfew which kind of cut things short, though I’m sure if we had been there till dawn many people would still have been calling out for one more tune. As it was we left smiling, still high on the music and headed back to the harsh realities of the London night.
0 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks