Alongside Savant were two local DJs that never fail to deliver insane performances that get a crowd going. Bass master Hydee was first on the decks, and he always brings the fire. Rumbling bass fans were not disappointed with a stacked set of dubstep and DNB bangers from the past few years. He dropped tracks like Skrillex’s remix of Cinema by Benni Benassi and Centipede by Knife Party. With a diverse set of new ragers and legendary tunes that we can never forget, Hydee had the entire room jumping up and down and getting excited for the main event.
Next up was another Toronto legend, JELO, a former resident at Footwork Nightclub. As soon as his hands touched the decks, the audience went wild in expectation for his driving and upbeat set. As anticipated, JELO dropped the biggest and baddest electro, big room and various house tracks that Toronto knows and loves. Each and every progression had our bodies tingling and ready to rage, and each drop had our hands reaching for the sky, dancing with the beat. Banger after banger, JELO provided the soundtrack of the party for a solid hour and a half of EDM goodness. At this point in the night, the crowd was jacked up and ready for the performance they paid for.
The lights went down to emphasize the opening of Savant’s set. As Aleksander took the stage, he emerged in a metallic gold Guy Fawkes mask; his signature costume gone glamorous. His energy was out of this world with the combination of his mask, his extravagant costume and his stage presence. It’s no wonder the room fell in love with him instantly. The unique thing about this DJ is that his sets are comprised entirely of his own original music because he’s made so many tracks over his many years of producing. Aleks started us off with an elegant intro made up of video game samples: his signature sound. Quickly, Savant upped the ante and threw us right into the high-energy beats that we know and love. Song after song, Savant dropped a crazy variety of tracks left, right and centre. Both the bodies and minds of the patrons of 794 Bathurst Street were not getting a moment to catch their breath, and they were loving it.
Savant did not fail to treat us with some of our favourite tunes of his such as Flashbach and of course, Sledgehammer which had the room raging out of control. I could feel the floor beneath me booming to the powerful beat. As the night went on and the party goers raved on, Aleksander removed his mask to reveal his incredibly enthusiastic face that visibly felt every beat and emotion in each of his tracks. If it’s possible, it looked as if Savant was having more fun than we were up there, dancing like there’s no tomorrow. As his set came to a close, the entire room chanted and demanded him to play ‘one more song’. As the genuine and humble artist that he is, Savant happily complied and graced our ears with one last track before the night raved on until 5:00AM with JELO.
Savant left some of us tired and satisfied and some of us amped up and ready for more music. Either way, he left us with good vibes and an honest performance that we won’t forget. Savant is one of a kind, and this was definitely proven to be true at 794 Bathurst Street.
Alix Nikulka – EDM TOR
