The crowd went crazy the moment Tiësto’s first beats sounded out. The artist stepped on the stage and the venue was engulfed by the screaming of excited fans, who have waited to see the famous DJ perform since the buzz about the event began early this summer.

The line of people waiting to enter the venue started forming at 7 p.m., as soon as the doors to the Oncenter Exhibition Hall opened. Dressed in neon colors and wearing sunglasses, people waited calmly for the anticipated electro dance show. Syracuse is Tiësto’s fourth of 19 stops on his three-week ‘Club Life College Invasion Tour,’ which ends in Los Angeles on Oct 8.

The show started at 8:30 p.m. when opener Porter Robinson took the stage and began mixing electro sounds. Robinson shot to fame when he joined Tiësto during his Canadian tour before graduating high school

Taking inspiration from established artists like Wolfgang Gartner and Deadmou5, Robinson mixed sounds from Gartner’s ‘Illmerica’ and even Lady Gaga’s recent hit, ‘The Edge of Glory.’

As he began the countdown to his hit ‘Say My Name,’ the anticipation had everyone alert and ready to erupt into another series of fist-pumping dance moves. As soon as the fist beats of his song played, the crowd’s energy seemed to surge and the mass of people began leaping and jumping.

‘Put your hands up for New York,’ Robinson said to the crowd as he was concluding his set. ‘I love my city.’ The crowd joined in.

Porter Robinson’s set was long; he performed for 1.5 hours. Even though people were dancing and singing along to his music, the crowd soon started chanting: ‘Tiësto, Tiësto, Tiësto,’ eagerly awaiting the man of the hour to hit the stage.

The wait was finally over. Tiësto took over the stage, ready to show the crowd why he is ‘The Greatest DJ of All Time,’ according British publication Mixmag. Lacking flashy accessories and dressed in his usual attire, a simple, purple T-shirt, Tiësto immediately got to work on his set and the crowd began reacting to his every beat.

Behind his DJ set, a giant screen showed images of female silhouettes moving to his beats and pop culture images that followed his rhythm. His tremendous energy prompted the crowd to dance along.

A dynamic, energetic and talented performer, Tiësto gestured to the crowd and people responded back by jumping, fist-pumping and singing along.

‘He’s a great performer and can immediately get the crowd pumped up and into his music,’ said Ashley Thombs, an undeclared junior in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

Tiësto effectively mixed his songs into one flowing loop, so it was hard to distinguish individual songs. He played remixes of popular songs like ‘Otherside’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers and ‘Hello’ by Martin Solveig and Dragonette. He then transitioned to some of his newest songs, including ‘C’mon’ and ‘Maximal Crazy,’ and concluded by spinning tracks, like ‘Elements of Life,’ from older albums.

The colorful laser beams and lights indicated that the emphasis was on creating a visually stimulating show. The production included hundreds of confetti raining on the crowd and clouds of white smoke shooting from the ground.

‘The show was wild, crazy and fun,’ said Rachel Moczarski, a junior child and family studies and human ecology major. ‘It’s great that they brought such a big headliner to Syracuse within the first month of school so that everyone can get together and enjoy the concert. It shows how much fun Syracuse is.’

Tiësto has a unique style that students attending the concert seemed to enjoy. In his sets, he skillfully mixed trance sounds and threw in some moderate dubstep into his sets. People closed their eyes, threw their hands in the air and waved along to the beats.

The entire evening, people belted out familiar tunes and commented on how great the show was. The venue offered people enough room to dance while enjoying an upbeat, musically and technologically outstanding concert.

kvdolins@syr.edu

 

Published on September 18, 2011 at 12:00 pm