MUSIC | Tiësto thrills 3,000 clubgoers with an Epic multihour set

For anyone who saw Tiësto's show at Epic last Friday, one thing was certain: he proved his talent and brought the crowd's energy to a whole new level. The Dutch disc jockey, mixer, and producer is touring the U.S. promoting his new album Kaleidoscope. With 3,000-plus fans, this was bigger and better than any electronic music event I've ever seen in the Twin Cities.Local promotion group Sound In Motion did a fantastic job with this production. The sound, the lighting, the crowd, and the giant LED screen created an unforgettable spectacle for the return of the king of electronic music.

Tiësto is one of the most famous DJs in the world, and his name has become synonymous with trance and electronic dance music. While he typically produces and plays euphoric trance with spiritual vocals, hard beats, and melodic synthesizer chords, Friday's show demonstrated his ability to evolve. Kaleidoscope surprised many by pushing the boundaries of the trance genre with a more mainstream sound and electro-house twist.

Sound In Motion DJs Tyler Hampton and Jack Trash played exciting opening sets, fueling the club with thunderous, resonating beats. The David Guetta remix of the popular Black Eyed Peas song "I've Got a Feeling" brought the crowd to an uproar as they anticipated the main event. A chant began. "Ti-ës-to, Ti-ës-to, Ti-ës-to," cried the swarms of fans the night before Halloween. When Tiësto took the stage, and the club erupted. It was clear this was going to be a different show than previous appearances by the DJ.

By starting promptly at 11 p.m., Tiesto extended his playing time to three hours, giving him enough time to play a thorough set. He was able to take the crowd on a journey and display the true breadth and depth of his music. The early part of his set began with an exploration of his new sound, playing many tracks off Kaleidoscope and throwing in remixes of Basement Jaxx, Bloc Party, U2, and even Three 6 Mafia. A huge LED wall framed his stage with video of kaleidoscope images and female singers synched to the music and with every beat, Tiësto enveloped the crowd's senses.

The talent of a DJ is apparent in his or her interaction with the crowd. As his set progressed into a more instrumental and melodic sound with well-timed classics—such as his remix of "Silence" by Delerium, and his own "Adagio for Strings"—Tiësto showed a real connection with the audience. With ominous crescendos of harmonic synthesizers and booming percussion, Tiësto gave everyone exactly what they wanted.

Epic Nightclub

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612-332-3742

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Grady Newman

Grady Newman is an avid lover of electronic dance music, and an amateur DJ.