On Friday the 13th, 2015, while the rest of the world was hiding away from the monsters underneath their beds, we were lining up on Mercer Street in anticipation of spending the next few hours in a euphoric daze with Embrace, Vibrations, and the Toronto TranceFamily. The line was a buzz of excitement when we showed up at 10:30 as fans were trying to guess what we were in for and failing to even come close.
We were thankful that it wasn’t the forecasted -40 outside, but we were eager to get in and start dancing. It had been a while since any of us had gotten to spend time together in a room full of trance, and even before the doors of Maison Mercer opened and welcomed us onto its dancefloor we were beginning to feel the love.
The night began with Saad Ayub on the decks. Like any great opener, Saad pumped up the crowd and prepared us for the onslaught of emotion which would be following shortly behind him. The energy in Maison began to shift. We all got up from our seats and made our way into the dancefloor. The lights were all around us, the smiles and laughter almost as melodic as the music. Saad transitioned us deeper into our trance when he spun Nehalennia by Armin Van Buuren and Arty and prepared us to welcome MaRLo to the stage.
“It was a great night of trance. The music was on point from start to finish and Arnej and Orjan B2B was the cherry on top of this perfect night. I would like to thank my loyal fans and supporters for coming out early to show their support for my opening set. The highlight of my night was MaRLo complementing my set.” – Saad Ayub
Saad has said we will be able to listen to his set from this event once it is up on his SoundCloud as of Thursday February 26th, 2015.
The crowd was chanting as MaRLo entered the booth. The vibe began to deepen as he set the mood, the lights dimmed and the colours were scattered everywhere. The dancefloor was now packed, people jumping excitedly to the beat. His clever transitions and pounding kicks gave me shivers as I made my way closer to the stage. The energy this guy gave us was untouchable. Five minutes into his set we left the realm of Maison and entered the world of bliss. Everywhere you looked there were smiles, Toronto TranceFamily flags filled the room with the city’s love. There was hugging, there were tears.
“I had a blast playing Toronto, the crowd was great!” – MaRLo
MaRLo’s set was created entirely on the spot, and was not recorded, so if you want to hear his artistry at its finest, you’ll just have to come out to come of his shows.
At last, Orjan Nilsen graced us with his presence. The crowd went wild. He was spinning hit after hit, the emotion was becoming intense. I know the room didn’t actually change in lighting, but when Orjan began to teach us his brand of euphoria everything started to glow. I can tell a good trance show by how hard it is to resist the urge to go around and hug everyone while proclaiming your undying love and support. It’s safe to say that he had the whole room ready to throw our arms up in a sweet surrender. He played a remix of The Killers – Mr. Brightside and this sent us all spinning into the oblivion.
“The Maison events get better every time!” – Orjan Nilsen
Orjan’s set was also not recorded, and he did not keep track of his song selection either, so you’ll have to get out to see this mastermind live at an event.
Arnej then joined him for a final B2B and the crowd lost it as Orjan held up a Toronto TranceFamily flag to show his support for our city. Time had passed by too quickly, and before we knew it we were waving goodbye to Maison Mercer and getting ready to make our way to our favourite after-hours.
All in all, I think I chose a good night to visit Maison for the first time. The layout of the venue is eloquent; nice dancefloor, solid, pumping sound, booths and couches lining the outside of the room. The staff were friendly and helpful, the bar was quick, and I’m pretty happy with the fact that you can crawl right up there on stage next to the DJ. If you haven’t given this place a try yet, you can make your way there for their next event this Friday, February 20th, 2015, for the Lunar New Year celebration.
“Saad Ayub really did a good job getting everyone in the groove and setting the vibe for the rest of the night, making way for MaRLo who really just took it to the next level and got the place bouncing. Once Orjan came in people lost their minds. The place was packed, everyone was vibing in unison.” – Eryk Harvie, Photographer for EDM TOR
LINKS:
Saad Ayub
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Soundcloud
MaRLo
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud
Orjan Nilsen
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Soundcloud
Kayla LePage – EDM TOR
