Yesterday really felt like the first day of summer for me. Although the temp did noticeably drop after sunset, during the heat of the day, it felt like it could've been July. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect conditions for ANTS opening party then.
Me and the rest of the club team went down to check it out. Unlike past years, they've kept a wraps on exactly this year's theme would entail, so I was a little intrigued to see what they would do as they never scrimp when it comes to production.
They've made this year's stage design more minimalist. Gone is last year's cheesy birthday cake. It's a triangular pyramid shape, so at first glace you think, hmmm it's a classic but we've seen done numerous times. But this is the TNL we're talking about, and of course, it's never going to be that simple...
As the day got later and the daylight takes way to nightfall, the "pyramid" reveals itself to be a volcano with eruption effects. The way they've used the CO2 in multiple directions actually mimics the sulphur fumes on a real volcano. Looks really cool. And then there's geothermal spring effect with glowing lights in the pool - also very effective.
The small stage at the back has been completely dismantled (let's wait until Tuesday to see if it is resurrected for an outing early doors at Defected), which made for a much larger dancefloor. Of course the opening was packed, especially towards the front, but if you wanted some space at the back you could find it.
Spotlight favourite (!) Wade did a good of keeping the energy levels up and there was a really good vibe on the dancefloor with everybody having a great time. There was no goofy intro from Wade on this occasion, but lots of remixes of well known tracks and a lot of rap vocals used.
Afterwards Andrea Oliva and Nic Fanciulli came on for a b2b and, well, they just know this venue and this crowd so well, they understood the assignment. Played some great tracks (Carlita's Time was my highlight and something else I've been trying to ID ever since). There was a brief intermission before Paul Kalkbrenner started and obviously he reset the pace. I've seen his show too many times now though, so only stayed for the first couple of tracks before leaving for some food before hitting Hï for part two
Me and the rest of the club team went down to check it out. Unlike past years, they've kept a wraps on exactly this year's theme would entail, so I was a little intrigued to see what they would do as they never scrimp when it comes to production.
They've made this year's stage design more minimalist. Gone is last year's cheesy birthday cake. It's a triangular pyramid shape, so at first glace you think, hmmm it's a classic but we've seen done numerous times. But this is the TNL we're talking about, and of course, it's never going to be that simple...
As the day got later and the daylight takes way to nightfall, the "pyramid" reveals itself to be a volcano with eruption effects. The way they've used the CO2 in multiple directions actually mimics the sulphur fumes on a real volcano. Looks really cool. And then there's geothermal spring effect with glowing lights in the pool - also very effective.
The small stage at the back has been completely dismantled (let's wait until Tuesday to see if it is resurrected for an outing early doors at Defected), which made for a much larger dancefloor. Of course the opening was packed, especially towards the front, but if you wanted some space at the back you could find it.
Spotlight favourite (!) Wade did a good of keeping the energy levels up and there was a really good vibe on the dancefloor with everybody having a great time. There was no goofy intro from Wade on this occasion, but lots of remixes of well known tracks and a lot of rap vocals used.
Afterwards Andrea Oliva and Nic Fanciulli came on for a b2b and, well, they just know this venue and this crowd so well, they understood the assignment. Played some great tracks (Carlita's Time was my highlight and something else I've been trying to ID ever since). There was a brief intermission before Paul Kalkbrenner started and obviously he reset the pace. I've seen his show too many times now though, so only stayed for the first couple of tracks before leaving for some food before hitting Hï for part two
