On the same day Jimmy Choo launched his collection at H&M in Vancouver, DJ Tiesto (Former #1 DJ in the world, but still probably the world’s best known electronic DJ) played a free show at HMV Robson to promote his Kaleidoscope album before his actual concert last Saturday. Wristbands were supposed to be handed out at 11am that morning, however, my friend and I got there at 8am (Starbucks in hand). Luckily, the HMV man came by at 8:30am (in half-hour intervals) to hand out wristbands to cold Tiesto fans, so we didn’t have to wait the full three hours … or clog up the sidewalk. (However, if it means anything, I was fully prepared to wait the three hours if necessary…).

We came back in the evening, and his free set started at about 5pm. I was pleasantly surprised at how civil everyone was – a neat curving lineup around the corner onto Burrard street, and nicely looped back in the other direction (to not block the door at Off The Wall).  After the 45 minute concert, Tiesto had an autograph signing session.

Hope you enjoy my video clip from the event (Tiësto and Sneaky Sound System – I Will Be Here): 

I don’t know if this is such a good idea to jam hundreds and hundreds of Tiesto fans into an HMV store.  If PNE (where Tiesto is playing later that night) can fit 10,000+ concert goers who paid $100+ for their ticket, a free concert at an in-store venue is going to cause massive chaos at HMV…….This reminds me of when Deadmau5 played a free concert at the Santa Monica Apple Store and caused such an overwhelming response that the police had to shut down his show.

Caprice Nightclub will be transformed into a Hollywood / Las Vegas style party. “Complete with a red carpet, photographers, custom decor, exclusive VIP areas, beautiful models, hostesses and classy go-go dancers. It will definitely be a place and night for the exclusive elites of the industry and party goers to see and be seen.”  Get your tickets now from Clubzone for only $20 (earlybird).

The space has been given a sleek makeover that has drawn both thankful regulars and new clientele. Smiley’s Public House delivers the style of a modern, British-style pub while retaining the warmth and character of a traditional pub. The open-concept room boasts 240 seats and a range of table sizes, including 16-seat picnic tables. Guests come in to loosen their ties, tuck into modern pub food, watch a football match and engage in good-natured banter around the pool table. The dance floor brims on busier nights, and a DJ spins to the after-work crowd on Fridays.

A week from now, on Sunday May 10th, trance is attempting to make its way back into Vancouver with a bang. For Vancouver’s resident trance fans, limited options for a night of electronic music on the town are the norm and long has the city’s scene now been dominated by hip hop & top 40. On May 10th, at the sleek and stylish Shine Nightclub in Gastown, DJs Eric Allen (and my personal friend!), Marty Palin and Danny Taylor (resident DJ in Taipei’s Ministry of Sound) are bringing back the trance sound. As the second of two trial trance nights, May 10th hopes to bring out enough trance fans to make the night a regular staple in Vancouver’s nightlife scene.

On May 10th, come down, dance, relax and enjoy a fresh new sound in one of the hottest clubs in the city!  With plenty of seating, an expansive main room and a smooth and relaxing second room, Shine is an ideal venue for this event and with your support hopes to hold many “Experience” Trance nights in the future.  As the event is on a Sunday night, parking downtown is easy and available. Cover is FREE before 11pm.  I’ll be there!

Click HERE for the Facebook Event.

For $88 (stupid Ticketmaster charges!!), I had at great time at the Armin Van Buuren concert last night at The Commodore – my second time seeing him live in Vancouver.  1000 people united for the same cause, dancing their Wednesday night away until 2 in the morning.  Wouldn’t expect anything less from the voted #1 Trance DJ of 2008 (by DJMag)!  Doors opened at 9:00pm for DJ Kevin Shui, a local Vancouverite who has previously opened for DJ Tiesto (the former #1 Trance DJ).  He was followed shortly after by DJ Jerome Isma-ae, who was playing his set when my friends and I arrived at around 10:30pm.

Armin Van Buuren opened with “Dust in the Wind” by Arnej [click here for my video] and encored with his own “Communication“.  Other familiar tracks he played included “Lost” by Sunlounger featuring Zara [click here for my video], the Adam K & Soha Remix of “Need to Feel Loved” by Reflekt, and “In and Out of Love” (Richard Durand Remix).  Overall, it was a great show although “general opinion” remarked that Armin Van Buuren should have played more vocal tracks which characterizes the trance genre, instead of  the harder progressive house towards the end.

A lot of MMV readers have previously asked me why I don’t incorporate more music articles onto this website.  But I can only write about what I know about – and I wouldn’t be able to write a “value-added” article about anything other than electronic dance music.  To be honest, I’m waiting for the Vancouver music scene to change towards electronic dance music.  In the past year, we’ve had several big name DJs (and up and coming DJs) play in our city including Tiesto, ATB, Above & Beyond, Deadmau5, Fedde Le Grand (”Put Your Hands Up For Detroit”) … and Kaskade is playing a sold out show tomorrow.  I can’t decide if this scene is getting more mainstream or if I am just more submersed into the culture – a bit of both, I think.  For example,  Deadmau5 was nominated for a Juno Award and his track with Kaskade “Move for Me” was played for a couple of weeks on the radio. Nontheless, the trance/house/electronic scene is still a relatively small community but maybe the exclusivity of this “underground” scene is what makes it all the more fun.

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For more details, click here for the Facebook Event page.