EVENT REVIEW: Above & Beyond alongside Mark Oliver at Sound Academy 31-05-14 by Adele Desloges

Beatport: http://bit.ly/bp-Hello
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/hello-itunesMore friends arrived and I went to find them near the entrance. This group was coming to see what Above & Beyond had to offer. They tend to stick to the underground clubs around Toronto that are playing tech house. What a beautiful reminder of why I love the EDM scene. People tend to be open-minded and more accepting of new and different things. Just then, Mark Oliver dropped a track that made their day. I knew this one well as my roommate plays it all the time at home. Now I’m realizing that like this song a lot now too, and she must be rubbing off on me. Enter Hot Natured ft Anabel Englund – Reverse Skydiving (Shadow Child Remix).

At 12:30am there was a lull in the noise, and I knew it was about to happen. At least two of three members of Above & Beyond were about to appear. Cellphones and cameras were everywhere in the air, and I could barely contain myself. It felt like ages since I saw them at Veld Music Festival last summer. The music was progressively ramping up, and even though I couldn’t see the stage, I knew the exact moment when they were visible. The crowd erupted and the energy changed almost instantly.We were treated to a wide array of Above & Beyond original tracks like Sticky Fingers and You’ve Got to Go, as well as music from Anjunabeats and Anjunadeep artists like Jaytech and Arty. I’ve compiled a set list for you and added it below. As you can expect, there were a few sing-along points in the evening to tracks like Alchemy and Sun & Moon. I was more than thrilled when I heard one of my favourites, On My Way to Heaven, and that’s when I found a good friend of mine. She had tears in her eyes, and I’m sure I would have too if I wasn’t so stressed out from the crowd. It was very crowded in the Sound Academy, and hard to maneuver through to find space to dance in. We moved toward the patio and stayed in that area a while so we could enjoy some much needed breathing and dance space. I finally could really stomp it out.

Watch our fan Jordan Lauzon press the button!

The set was over too soon, and everyone else was surely in agreement about that. Soon chants of “One more track!” were bouncing off of the rafters. I headed towards the exit, so I could beat the rush to coat check. Then the music started up again, and we were treated to a two-track encore of Alone Tonight and a personal favourite – Good For Me! The feels were strong as the glitter confetti poured from the ceiling.

I cut out before Good for Me ended, and hopped outside to get a cab. I’m about to shed some light on a serious Toronto problem: cabbing home from events. There were several groups outside with me trying to get a taxi home. None of the drivers would let us inside their vehicles unless our destination was going to be extremely far. The 15$ fare to my area wasn’t sufficient for me to get inside. I had to walk, with many others, from the Sound Academy at the pier all the way to Front Street before a driver accepted my fare. Just a fair warning to anyone heading out to parties in Toronto, this is a normal occurrence.

I arrived home safely, still singing Alchemy, Black Room Boy, and Good For Me in my head, and thinking that there is really something so special about Above & Beyond, something hard for anyone to describe completely. The emotion, the heart, and the passion in their songs.. it sends your heart and soul somewhere beautiful.

Thank you to Ink Entertainment for bringing Above & Beyond back to us. Also, a grand thank you to Involved Management for having us attend and cover the event. I can’t wait until they return, and I know I’m not the only one. Until then, I’ll be tuned every Friday to their Group Therapy Podcast, and watching the ABGT100 events unfold.

Check out our photos by Stephanie Canarte, click here!

SET LIST: (Special Thanks to Genia Miinko for filling in my blanks!)

1. Spencer Brown – Chalice
2. ? (Sunny Lax – Karma?)
3. Andrew Bayer / Mirth Mobile (intro) vs Above & Beyond – Sticky Fingers
4. Above & Beyond – Alchemy (Club Mix)
5. Deadmau5 – Avarita
6.London Grammar – Hey Now (Arty Remix)
7. Artificial – Prototype
8. New Order – Blue Monday (Above & Beyond Remix)
9. Above & Beyond – Walter White
10. Audien – Hindsight
11. Mat Zo – Pyramid Scheme
12. Above & Beyond – Walter White
13. Ilan Bluestone & Jerome Ismae – Under My Skin (A&B 80s Revival Rework)
14. Above & Beyond – Black Room Boy (Club Mix)
15. ?
16. Above & Beyond – A Thing Called Love
17. Oliver Smith – Evermore
18. Ilan Bluestone – Spheres
19. ?
20. Above & Beyond feat. Alex Vargas – Blue Sky Action
21. Jaytech & Super 8 & Tab – Code Red * THIS WAS DISGUSTING*
22. Above & Beyond pres. OceanLab – Satellite (Ilan Bluestone Remix)
23. Above & Beyond – Sun & Moon (Club Mix)
24. Norin & Rad – Thundercat
25. Ilan Bluestone – Sinai
26. Andrew Bayer – Once Lydian
27. Above & Beyond – Mariana Trench vs On My Way To Heaven (vocals)
28. Andrew Bayer – Bullet Catch / Oceanlab – Breaking Ties (vocals)
29. Above & Beyond – Sun In Your eyes vs John Christian – Flight 643
30. Above & Beyond feat. Zoë Johnston vs Arty – You Got To Believe
31. Above & Beyond – Hello
32. Axwell – Heart Is King w/ REM – Losing My Religion w/ Ferry Corsten – Punk (Arty Rock’n’Rolla Remix)
33. ?
ENCORE
34. Above & Beyond – Alone Tonight
35. Above & Beyond – Good For Me

LINKS:

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Adele Desloges – EDM TOR