Gatecrasher showcases best DJs, effects in trance
By DAVID FULTON
Scene Music Critic
"Welcome to the Future," the screen flashes in unison with the thunderous beats that shakes one to the deepest depths of his or her soul. The screen could not have been more accurate in its message, as Gatecrasher stormed the Point Depot Theater in Dublin with more intensity than a glare from Hannibal Lecter.
With the current status of the music industry trapped in a monotonous doldrum of pre-packaged pretty boys and repetitious rebels, Gatecrasher provided a glimpse of hope for the future. With six of the biggest names in trance music on the bill, including Judge Jules, Timo Maas, Sander Kleinenberg, DJ Tiesto (who just started his residency at Republic, an English club), Scott Bond and Robbie Butler, the show raised music from one-dimensional ear candy to a six hour, mind-blowing, three-dimensional spectacle.
Based out of Republic, Gatecrasher is quickly becoming a worldwide phenomenon. New Year's Eve brought simultaneous shows in London and Belfast with DJs flown back and forth after sets. The travelling dance club has already done several shows in South Africa, New York and parts of Asia with a load of shows scheduled all over the world, including the United States in the Summer of 2001.
With more than 20 past and present resident DJs from the club enlisted in the tour, painting the globe in the brilliant musical colors of trance should not be difficult.
Much like the Grateful Dead, the true brilliance of trance music is in its live performance. With a light show on par with any Pink Floyd concert, flashing images that both exhilarate and disturb, a sound system powerful and clear enough to wake the dead and 7,000 bodies writhing and dancing, the music was given life. Where most music performances of today focus on the artist, here the focus was put on the music, with each DJ only visible as a mysterious shadowy Victor Frankenstein among the spastic lights waiting to bring his creation to life. In fact, a clear distinction between the DJs was difficult to find. As one finished his set, another was there to seamlessly continue the blitz of beats leaving sounds of silence few and far between.
There is much credit to be given to DJs. Many refuse to dignify them with the title of musicians, claiming they do not sing, play instruments or even write their own songs. Some even go so far as to group them with the highly unoriginal Puff Daddy as rip-off artists. But lumping a trance DJ and Puff Daddy together is giving Mr. Daddy too much credit.
It is true — they do not sing, and most do not write their own songs, but they do play instruments, as unconventional as it may be. The mammoth rig of turntables and records is as much their instrument as a Fender Stratocaster was for Jimi Hendrix. Where as Hendrix played his instrument, DJs knit theirs into a brilliant web of colorful tones and beats that entangle the listener in its maze of sound.
Each DJ provided his own blend of style, record selection and beats, which meshed together during transitions. While sets by all of the DJs were carried out with brilliant style and flawless performance, the real pleasure of the evening came during DJ Tiesto's set. The 32-year-old Tiesto took the stage to a rather appropriate trance flavored intro of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name."
From there Tiesto took the crowd on a sonic voyage that at times seemed to be moving in slow motion, while moving dangerously at the speed of light at others. Even a monk would have had a hard time standing still as Tiesto's music infected the crowd like a dancing virus. He himself could be seen gyrating with a sly grin on his face behind the massive rack of equipment.
The Holland native has quickly become one of the most successful producers in trance music and helped form Black Hole Recordings. With numerous albums under his belt, including the highly rated Magik series, he continues to impress critics and is currently working on an album of original compositions. He has his own distinct style that not only compliments the songs on his decks, but also transforms them into vivid musical works of art.
Tiesto's performance offers a bit more flash than that of the others. At one point he threw his arms into the air and stood tall gazing into the audience, like an ancient pagan priest holding court to thousands of followers during a ritual sacrifice. His music is almost sexual in nature as it slowly builds until peaking in an orgasm of sound that washes over everyone in earshot.
While some trance DJs attempt to beat the listener to death with thunderous blasts of bass, Tiesto chooses a more melodic and smoother approach, as evident in his performance. He takes a melody line and repeats it while dropping the bass completely out of the mix, thus giving the listener almost a sense that they are floating in the surrounding sound waves.
Slowly, cymbals re-enter followed by beats that increase in speed and audibility. With lights strobing and images flashing in time with the music, everything reaches a crest just before a sensory overload and the viewer/listener rides out the sonic wave in a rush of audio-visual ecstasy
Once the last loop of Tiesto's encore had died away, the lion logos (looking quite similar to the lions on the label of Lowenbrau beer) that flanked the stage had flashed for the last time, and the house lights came up — the audience was brought back to reality. The reality they came back to was lacking in comparison to where they had just been. The musical journey to ecstasy and back had ended.
Check the Web site www.Gatecrasher.co.uk for listings of future concerts.
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, February 20, 2001
