Live Review

Tiesto – Victoria Park, London

• 5th Aug 2010

As I strolled into Victoria Park to see Tiësto, one of the world’s biggest DJs, there was one thing that immediately struck me. It wasn’t the people dressed in fluro, the men with their shirts off, the sheer number of star tattoo or dilated pupils. It was a sign reading: ‘No glow sticks’. What? No, surely not? Once I had overcome the initial shock of this revelation, which I have to admit still perplexes me, I was free to have an enjoyable evening and experience the music.

Support act Pendulum were already on stage by the time I arrived late in the afternoon. The boys from Australia performed an impressive set of live drum and bass, incorporating old and new material. The crowd slowly filtered in, many coming straight from work, it was Friday afternoon after all. By the end of the set a massive sea of people were dancing and jumping to the infectious beats. Pendulum have had huge international success since relocating to London in 2003. Hits from their number 1 album Immersion, such as ‘Witchcraft’, were energetically performed and enthusiastically received. The new sound, incorporating electro house and heavier beats, was a hit live as the audience couldn’t get enough of tracks from the latest album. Though equally, favourites from the earlier back-catalogue, such as ‘Tarantula’, were well received by the crowd people unable to stop themselves moving to the beat.

After a short break, just long enough to stock up on over-priced festival food and drink and wait in the ridiculous toilet line, it was almost time for Tiësto. Anticipation was building for the chiseled Dutch superstar DJ, so by the time he appeared on stage and took to the decks the crowd went wild. Decked out in either orange, official Tiësto merch or fluro attire the audience were geared up to get their dance on. And dance they did, without pause for breath, for the next three and a half hours. About 20,000 sweaty bodies moved to the beats of a DJ who has won every award known to trance music and then some. Tiësto did what he does best – spin tracks, throwing in trance remixes of hit songs from artists as diverse as Florence and the Machine to Diplo. Then there were the slightly more experimental mixes, combinations of electro and techno, beat-driven mixes to get the crowd jumping.

In the earlier part of the set lighting effects were dulled by the brightness of the sky, but as it became dark the full impact of high tech lighting was experienced. The graphics projected onto the back screen were impressive and visually spectacular. And to top off the spectacle smoke machines teamed with giant cannons shooting confetti and white streamers into the ecstatic crowd.

Tiësto did not speak to the audience at all during the set, which was disappointing. While his blue steel look and chiseled jaw were charismatic there was something a bit lacking in the way of stage presence. Unlike Pendulum before him, he failed to make a real connection with the crowd. That said, the audience were more than connecting with the music and each other, as hugs were generously shared around and there was plenty of love in the park. If only there had been a glow stick to wave!