Steve Angello/Nicky Romero Event

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Last Friday Ottawa was treated to a special night of progressive house at the CE Centre.

I was only able to catch the last track from Third Party's set which is unfortunate because I would have loved to see the whole thing.

Here's a cool profile on Third Party by the Size TV, skip to 3:49:

Following Third Party was Nicky Romero, who has made a huge name for himself by producing some monster tracks such as Toulouse, Se7en, Generation 303, and Wild One Two ft. David Guetta.

My highlight of Romero's set was the 'Coming Epic' mashup of Diddy - Dirty Money Feat. Skylar Grey 'Coming Home' (Dirty South Remix) with Sandro Silva/Quintino's 'Epic'. The 'Epic' drop still lives on in a few mashups and I'm a sucker for it every single time.

Steve Angello's set really lit the place up with his energetic performance along with some cool pyrotechnics.

Steve Angello started off his set with Swedish House Mafia's latest hit song 'Greyhound'.

My ultimate highlight of the night was when Steve Angello dropped Skitzofrenix & Jeff doubleu - Rushin' (Original Mix) followed up by Steve's hit song Knas.

The biggest crowd reactions of the night were the mashups. Tracks like Nari & Milani vs. SHM vs. Laidback Luke - Leave the Atom, and Dirty South & Daft Punk vs Hard Rock Sofa - Coming Home to Aerodynamic Quasar were definite winners.

One of the last tracks that left a definite impression on me was Swedish House Mafia's 'Save the World'. Having watched SHM's 'Save the World' track from their Coachella set literally gave me goosebumps so seeing a similar rendition at the CE Centre was amazing.

One thing I'd like to note is how impressed I was with the entire set up of the event. The lighting, pyrotechnics, and especially the sound was very well done. So full props to DNA Presents for significantly improving the entire experience for the crowd this time around.

Great night!

Sander Van Doorn Event Recap (Barrymore's, Feb 7th, 2012)

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Ottawa welcomed Sander Van Doorn to the nation's capital with a sold out event yesterday as he rocked the crowd with 2 hours of relentless fun.

I first saw Sander Van Doorn in September 2011 when he played at the Electric Zoo in New York and in that event he primarily played vocal infused tracks back to back to back so I was pleasantly surprised to watch Sander switch it up a bit last night by offering a different sound.

The biggest crowd receptions (as in the crowd collectively jumping up and down which made the dance floor turn into a trampoline) were Sander Van Doorn's biggest hits that include Koko, Love is Darkness and more recent releases including Slap my Pitch Up, and Who's Wearing the Cap.

The biggest surprise of the night for me personally was how good Steve Jobs ft. Angger Dimas by Steve Aoki sounded live, it was a real banger! Prior to the show I was really on the fence on whether I really liked that track or not but now I love it. Granted I still believe that it's not the best sound to play in your bedroom but live at Barrymore's it's a guaranteed win.

Not the best quality photo but I love how it shows the vibe and energy from the dancefloor

Sander Van Doorn stayed a little after this set to autograph anything for his fans (Check out the video below). It was another solid night for EDM in Ottawa!

Swanky Tunes: Smaller Crowds, Huge Energy!

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Two nights ago a select group of EDM lovers decended upon Barrymore's to experience a special night that was brought to you by two of the three super crazy and energetic trio called Swanky Tunes. These Russians never let up the entire night as you could see them both pump the crowd up and themselves with a certain energy that the crowd had almost no choice but to follow along and just go mad wild. Throughout their two and a half hour performance never did I see a let up of the energy in the dance floor (aka the constant trampoline) because if these Russians didn't quit, neither would we.

The music played through the first hour was good but their selection in the second hour really took it to the next level in a big way. Some notables included:

R3hab & Swanky Tunes ft. Max C. - Sending My Love (Original Mix)

Here's a nice mashup of one of the hottest tracks out there right now, Quasar by Hard Rock Sofa:

Dirty South & Daft Punk & Hard Rock Sofa - Coming Home to Aerodynamic Quasa (Zhand Reboot):

No set is complete with Dada Life - Kick out the Epic Motherf**ker:

Showing lots of love to the crowd

For the people that skipped this one I think you missed out on a really excellent set by Swanky Tunes because they definitely brought the fun to Ottawa that night.

My NYE odyssey in Montreal Part 2 (Dec 31st, 2011)

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On New Year's Eve I came back to Circus Afterhours for one of the most anticipated events all year where they featured such DJs as Jaytech, Wezz Devall, Leon Bolier, Heatbeat, and Hollow Earth. I actually got there at around 1:30 am because I knew that I was in for a very long night!

Here were the set times that I attended for the night:

1:30 am - 3:30 am - Jaytech

3:30 am - 5:00 am - Wezz Devall

5:00 am - 7:00 am - Leon Bolier

7:00 am - 9:00 am - Heatbeat

Jaytech set up the night perfectly with his smooth beats and ephemeral mood that he manages to create. He can take you on a nice blissful adventure with his well crafted sets. Then Wezz Devall came on and upped the tempo by a LARGE margin and proceeded to drive the dance floor nuts.

Leon Bolier was the best set of the night in my opinion as he brought in a great mix of melodic tunes and downright dirty beats and baselines that really got me moving. I'm so impressed with Leon Bolier's set that I would go and travel to any reasonable amount to see him again. If he ever does come to Ottawa he is not to be missed!

The night ended for me when Heatbeat took the DJ booth. By that time I was pretty worn out after 6 hours of dancing and listening to some great music but I enjoyed his set nontheless. Heatbeat used some dubstep elements into his mix which was actually quite welcome by that point. I ultimately left after half of his set because 6-7 hours is about the max I can take in any event.

Overall I'd like to thank Circus Afterhours for organizing another fantastic event where I was exposed to some new talent that I won't soon forget. I should mention that I paid a little extra for the VIP tickets (only $25 extra on top of the original ticket) and it was worth every penny. The main selling point for me was that I was able to hang out in the VIP area where you rubbed shoulders with other DJs and were able to have a PERFECT view of the of the DJ booth from behind.

Here are some pics from the event:

Wezz Devall (left) and Leon Bolier (right):

 Heatbeat