Armin van Buuren & Blake Jarrell’s India Tour 2010
Pin ItMumbai
18th November, 2010
Blue Frog
It’s not every day that you get to see two fantastic DJs in one night. It’s not every day that you get to hear two very different, yet absolutely phenomenal sets in one night. That’s exactly what Mumbai witnessed on November 18, 2010 when world Number One, Armin van Buuren graced the Blue Frog with the very talented (and super hot) Blake Jarrell.
The atmosphere at the Blue Frog was absolutely electrifying. Every single person who was present eagerly awaited the arrival of Armin van Buuren, to see whether he would replicate the energy of Sunburn 2009. However, I personally wanted to see what Blake Jarrell had in store for us.
Blake took the decks, and probably half the crowd didn’t know what to expect. I knew what was coming. Blake has a unique sound, and has the ability to transition tracks so beautifully, you won’t even realise where one track gets over and the next one starts. Tracks like his remix of the epic Snow Patrol tune "Chasing Cars" drove the crowd to dizzying heights. Other tracks like Sander van Doorn’s monster "Intro (XX Booty Mix)" made everyone scream. Tracks like "Teenage Crime" and "Niton" were absolute crowd pleasers. You also got to hear Blake’s remixes of TyDi & Audrey Gallagher’s "Calling" and First State’s "Cape Point". That wasn’t all. Blake played his own tracks like the beautiful "Punta Del Este", "Galapagos" and "Maresias". His sound was a crowd pleaser and everyone was more than happy to have him go on.
But, everyone in the sweat filled, hot, Blue Frog was waiting for the man… the Number 1 DJ, 4th year running, Mr. Armin van Buuren himself took to the decks, and I can tell you, not ONE person wasn’t screaming their heart out (myself included). Armin was here to promote his ‘Mirage‘ album, and he opened with the title track, "Mirage". By this time, the crowd was going absolutely insane, every had was in the air, people were screaming themselves hoarse. Armin played other tracks from his album, like the hugely popular "Orbion", "Minack" and the beautiful "Not Giving Up On Love" (which had every single person at the Blue Frog singing their hearts out). Tracks like "These Silent Hearts" (With BT) and "This Light Between Us" (with Christian Burns) were vocal trance delights. Other tracks from his album included "Full Focus" (his first single off the album), which had every member of the audience jumping, and having a complete hands in the air moment.
No no, that’s not all, Armin went on to play the absolutely gorgeous "Right Back", and threw in an absolute shocker with "Perception" (Ah, that was the highlight for me… I was literally screaming myself hoarse at this point). He also played the massive "Sanctuary" and every single person at the Blue Frog was singing their hearts out. Not only that, he played his remix of Faithless’ monster track, "Not Going Home", which had a few of us jumping madly all over the place. Armin also played the beautiful "Remember Love", the track in memory of the Love Parade tragedy. But, this is where we were completely taken by surprise. Armin played "Sail" and "Communication", and that was enough to send the crowd into a complete state of euphoria. There was screaming, there was emotions, there were hands in the air, there was jumping… all because Armin played 2 classics.
It just got better after that point. Armin belted out the popular Richard Durand mashup "On Off Love" and then another Durand remix of the classic "For An Angel" which had the crowd, once again in a complete frenzy. Armin was ripping the floor. And How. Armin’s own mashup of "Citadel" and "Not The Same" was absolutely beautiful. He threw in another surprise, by playing Tomcraft’s "Loneliness" and the evergreen "Zombie Nation".
Armin ended the night with the epic "On A Good Day (Metropolis)", which was probably the best way to end. Everyone was on another high at this moment, and no one could believe that they had witnessed such an epic set. I was lucky enough at this point to be on stage, and also meet Armin after the gig. Armin is a wonderful, down to earth guy, who loves his music, and playing for a crowd who appreciate his music. His stage presence captivates you, his crowd interaction is one of the best I’ve ever seen, and he doesn’t hesitate to go crazy behind the decks. And he believes that Blake Jarrell should rise to the top, up there with the rest, and I couldn’t agree more.
This night, is one of those nights that you can replay in your head, over and over again and never get tired of. This is one of those nights where you witnessed magic happening, and we were lucky enough to witness just that. This truly was, not just a Mirage, but a night that will be etched in our minds for a very, VERY long time.
Reviewed by: Shilpa S. Shah
Noida
19th November, 2010
Quantum
The Master had just ended his set with the amazingly mixed track "Going Wrong". He brings his hands together to say ‘Namaste’ to the hundreds of trance heads and starts to walk off.
"Armin Armin Armin……"
The chant starts and soon becomes louder than all the sound system of the club was. The Master looks upon his worshipers and gives a warmest ever smile seen on his face. He switches on the console…
"Armin Armin Armin……"
He picks the rhythm of the chants and starts playing beats along with the chant making it a soothing music itself. And then he rolls, and yes we are back in the game…
Welcome to Armin van Buuren playing live in New Delhi, India. These Delhi trance-heads made him play not once but twice after finishing off his whole set.
Armin started off his set from the track "Mirage" and "Desiderium" from his album ‘Mirage‘. After that it was A STATE OF TRANCE. He played and the people just moved on his music non-stop for more than three hours. The experience of watching the world’s number 1 DJ playing right in front of you is beyond explaining in words. You have listened to his all tracks endless of times, bought all his CDs, tuned into his radio shot ASOT every single time – and now he is there right in front of your eyes. He played tracks one after another – "In & Out Of Love", "Sanctuary", "Going Wrong", "Taken"… but it was impossible to keep a note of all of them for it was a state when the man meets his god finally after years of worship and meditation.
The gig was really really awesome. The huge line of people waiting, pushing, pulling to get inside the club to watch the world’s #1 DJ, a great and totally out of the world performance by Armin… and above all the best possible end to the gig in Delhi!
And yes, a major part of the crowd was actually singing along with all the tracks Armin played. Mumbai and Bangalore – Delhi is catching up and catching up very fast!
Reviewed by: Amandeep Singh
Very well described By Aman ..
It ws amazin to the God himself ..
hail AVB !