EVENT REVIEW: Eric Prydz Presents Pryda @ Rebel 01-03-19

My crew had gathered earlier than usual, and the pre-club anxiety was high in the hours leading up to the long-awaited, sold-out event: Eric Prydz presents Pryda at Rebel Toronto. Earlier in the day we had received an announcement of the set times and discovered that Eric Prydz would be taking the stage at midnight for a 3-hour onslaught of Pryda tracks. The added bonus of amazing opening vibes, provided by local producer Weska who would take the stage at 10 PM, only increased the anticipation as we entered the doors of Rebel Toronto. Furthermore, my squad had even gone so far as to book a limo to chauffeur us to and from the venue. As we cruised down the highway towards our destination, we found ourselves listening to Eric Prydz’s last studio album “Opus” (2016), revelling in memories of previous shows and discussing what we expected for tonight’s event.

Arriving at the club before midnight is usually a struggle for us, however, in anticipation of what was in store for that night, we found ourselves promptly in line at the early hour of 10:30 PM. Chatting anxiously in cue with other Prydz and Weska fans who had arrived early in hopes of beating the crowds, we found a spot up close, near the front row. The overall vibe of the crowd in line was energetic and exciting; I even struck up a conversation with a group who had travelled from Brooklyn earlier in the week just to witness what would surely be an unforgettable night with Pryda. In no time, we were through the line, as well as the ticket cue, and after a seemingly-quick stop at the coat check, we found ourselves up on the second-floor balcony, overlooking the dance floor, revelling at how even the massive space Rebel contained could still reach near-Guvernment (RIP) levels of sardine-can packed.

 

As local talent Weska took the stage for the night, setting the vibe, the crowd began to quickly fill the dance floor. My squad quickly went to go acquire drinks and water, say hi to some other friends, and cut some pre-headliner shapes on the dancefloor in preparation for the main event. Weska provided a great opening foundation for the legendary Eric Prydz to build off, however, I found his opening set was cut a bit short, and we had not gotten our fill by the time we had made our way to the dance floor. To get a proper view of this artist and what he is truly capable of, I recommend checking out this recent set from his performance at Coda.

Finally, it was time for the main event. Every light faded to black in the main room of Rebel Toronto. A spacey, ambient tone began to emerge slowly, accompanied by a pulsing white light behind the silhouette of the man we had all come to see. Suddenly a crisp, sharp kick began to create a beat that ultimately dropped into the fundamental Pryda track The End is Just the Beginning. From here on in, the barrage of uplifting and melodic progressive house tracks that Prydz wove together were possibly only surpassed by the amount of seemingly endless unreleased edits and mashups I heard throughout the night, in textbook Eric Prydz fashion.

To highlight a few Pryda tracks that were enjoyed throughout the night, a few of my favourites were Obsessive Progressive, Sol, Madderferys, as well as an unreleased remix of Jennifer Lopez‘s Cherry Pie from 2005. Time flew by, the whirlwind of progressive house taking hold, and before I realized it, last call had come and gone. One thing  I quickly realized was that, unlike some shows I had been to, the crowd did not thin out following last call. This showed me that those who had come out tonight were not only there to party, but were true fans who took pure joy in the experience of an audio and visual symphony crested with that unique and precise level of production that Eric Prydz is known and loved for.

As the night drew to a close, I heard the tone of a familiar track being mixed in. The last time I had heard this particular track was at Eric Prydz’ last visit to Toronto in December of 2017. As the beat for Generate began to fill the club, while the title track Opus from the album of the same name also played, Pryda began to close out the show. The dedicated crowd began to cheer: yet another unprecedented set by Eric Prydz in Toronto.

While I was initially unsure of what to expect from Eric Prydz in his Pryda incarnation, I can now say that having seen Eric Prydz perform under both his other aliases (Eric Prydz, Cirez D), I can say with certainty that this latest showing of Eric Prydz by Pryda has been my favourite iteration thus far. I look forward to his return to the Toronto area.

PARTIAL TRACKLIST:

Decadence ID – Pryda
The End is Just the Beginning – Pryda
Moody Mondays (club edit) – Eric Prydz
F12 (Mark Brown) – Pryda
Thel’umsindo – Dj Stilo & Mr Thela
Cherry Pie – Eric Prydz edit
Obsessive Progressive – Pryda
Sol – Pryda
Amazzonia – Giorgio Goirdano (Robbie Taylor & Benny Royale edit)
Chakalaka – Wippenburg (Eric Prydz edit)
Loving You – Pryda
Generate – Eric Prydz
Opus – Eric Prydz
Melo – Pryda
Run – Pryda
Spy2 – Pryda

LINKS:

Eric Prydz
Website
Facebook
Spotify Playlist

Weska
Facebook
Soundcloud

Rebel

Website

 

Nick Byrnes – EDM TOR