Tiesto taught Chicago fans a lesson they’ll never forget at his Club Life College Invasion Tour at the UIC Pavilion.
The show started ridiculously early, as Zedd kicked things off at 8:15. He threw in the usual suspects off of his new album, Clarity: “Spectrum,” “Fall Into the Sky,” “Stache,” and “Clarity” itself. One fresh piece was a mashup that started with “Coming Home” and, instead of transitioning into “Quasar,” morphed into the euphoric Eric Prydz remix of “Midnight City.” Zedd covered music clean and dirty, from “Save the World” to “Rage Valley.” He put on a show that was more than an opening act, but it wasn’t wildly different from any of his other sets I’d heard him play this year. If anything, it featured fewer mashups and curveballs than his show at The Mid in October.
While the general admission dance floor sold out months ago, there was still plenty of space for dancing in the sea of people. Those in the seated areas realized that they were missing out on the main floor party and were trying their hardest to breach the gates. Lesson learned: floor tickets or bust. Along with a venue that is a step up from the Congress Theater comes improved production value. After all, the magnitude of visuals has to match the magnitude of the DJ – and Tiesto is at the top of the ranks. The visuals were fresh, and the lasers were perfectly matched to the intensity of the beats. The UIC Pavilion is rarely used for these types of shows, but I’m certain that most people who attended would like to see more there.
Tiesto took over the stage at 9:45. From the front of the crowd, directly in front of Tiesto, it’s clear to see how Tijs is distinguished from other DJs – especially the younger set like Zedd. Tiesto doesn’t jump up and down to mirror the crowd. Instead, he grooves to the beat and dances because he feels his music. Tiesto doesn’t have to motion to the crowd to move them – the beats do it entirely for him. His physicality is not choreographed. He commands the decks in a cool and composed way. Tiesto twists and slides the controls of his equipment with a kind of style that can only be described as swag.
Based on Tiesto’s performances at Electric Zoo and at Stereosonic, I had certain expectations going into the night. The EZoo set played out as if I was listening to Club Life Volume 2 – Miami on Spotify, while on the other hand, the Stereosonic set featured fresh Tiesto material plus his older productions that really got me excited.
What I heard in Chicago that night was many of the same songs from Tiesto’s Stereosonic set, but it didn’t feel like the same set. Avicii should probably learn how to do that. The best songs from Volume 2 were included, but blended more carefully than I heard at EZoo. I felt that I saw Tiesto’s full range, and that it was a set unique to that single night.
All of the elements were perfectly synced. After Club Life tracks “We Own The Night” and “Chasing Summers” commenced, the word CHICAGO flashed on the screens in a massive font and the vocal mix of “Just Can’t Stay Away” blasted the crowd into oblivion. Many tracks from Tiesto’s Musical Freedom label made their way into the 2-hour set, with energy-spiking songs by Alvaro and Showtek. Chris Martin’s voice carried through UIC Pavillion in the remixes of “Paradise” and “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.”
After the crowd got hyped up to “Feed the Dada” and “Future Folk,” Tiesto turned the energy in a different direction that I was loving. With the W&W remix of “Silence” and a new remix of Dezza’s “Believe,” the night became more trance-heavy and melodic.
As Tiesto’s set reached the 1.5-hour mark, I started to worry that the it wouldn’t include the classic Tiesto tracks that have been resurfacing in his sets lately. Right then, “Lethal Industry” cut through. The real thrill of the night came when Tiesto asked if we were ready for some old school sounds – and the response was a resounding “YES, I’m glad you asked.” As “Adagio for Strings” started, the Tiesto icon appeared center screen and then dissipated into swirling clusters of stars. The song picked up, and rows of flickering green and yellow lights pierced through the pavilion. At the peak of the song, Tiesto’s trademark expanded to the full length of the screen, the steam cannons blew, and the crowd found itself in a vortex of raw Tiesto. In some magnificent transition, he followed “Adagio” with the Carnage Festival Trap remix of Hardwell’s “Spaceman.” Maximal crazy, literally.
Though the night concluded with Quintino’s “Epic” at 11:45, the magnitude of the concert lingered long into the early morning. This show was two hours of true Tiesto.
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