"The 10th of May 2003 will be a day
to remember in the history of dance music!" is the PA
announcement welcoming DJ Tiësto on stage at
the Geiredrome, Arnhem. If you were one of the 25,000
trance lovers crammed into the dome you would
doubtless agree - whether the man voted world's top DJ
by the readers of DJ Magazine can cut it on your home
cinema is another matter.
Musically there's no problem, and you'll soon be waving your mug of tea in
the air like you just don't care! However, it's debatable as to how
successfully the visual elements of the gig transfer
over to the home environment. It's a bit difficult to
keep so much focus on a man playing records without
losing interest, so to combat this there is a
spectacular light show to enjoy.
Tiësto bobs and weaves his way through the set, and has a good many
guest performances to help him out. None are more welcome
than Jan Johnston, billed the "first lady of
trance" and a vision in white here.
The show takes in different continental themes, with Europe first, then
the US, ushered in by The Star Spangled Banner, and later
visits to Asia and Africa. This introduces a nice
balance to the set and means that Tiësto's driving
trance sound is often complemented by extended down-tempo interludes. The longer running time of the DVD is also a massive plus, as it means a set can be
conceived in a three hour stretch and broadcast in one
go.
Musically, Tiësto's selection wins hands down, mixed expertly and seemingly
effortlessly. Some of the tracks here can be found on
last year's Nyana compilation, also on Black Hole,
including Tina Arena's excellent vocal
contribution to the Roc Project's Never, Tiësto's own tracks Nyana, Traffic and Obsession, and
Conjure One's fantastically named Tears From
The Moon.
There are two particular musical peaks. The first is the
blue trance sound of Scott Bond vs Solarstone's
3rd Earth, which takes John Tavener's carol The Lamb
and lifts it into a dreamy trance stratosphere, time
standing still in the breakdown. The second comes towards the
close with Ralph Fridge's Man On Mars, the crowd
pumped up for a final onslaught on the dancefloor.
The package comes with a second
disc featuring a "making of", alternative angles and
more, and while the visuals are sometimes impressive
it's the music that really thrills on this release -
the unbroken span really allowing Tiësto to flex his
muscles. And on this evidence he wasn't voted number
one DJ for nothing for he's a leading exponent of Holland's
thriving trance music scene.
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