I'm starting to feel the effects of the intense summer of 2009, it's been like non stop touring since mid July and I've been to the west and east coasts of the US, Canada, Croatia, Montenegro and now Switzerland and Ibiza, but still loving it! Zurich Street Parade has been going for years and I've heard so much about it and here I was on the Elite float with some great people including Dennis, who is a legend (bring on Berlin in September!) and Kristina from Seattle. Played with Mousse T and I haven't had a proper catch up with him for years so it was great. He played a very nice funky set going into dirtier stuff towards the end. In the evening we were booked to play the after party and maybe because of the venue being out in the suburbs and the rain, it wasn't that busy, but had a total blast even though it rained cats and dogs. The weird thing was that it was tropical the day before and the day after!
Zurich Street Parade, Elite float August 8, 2009
Jordan Rivera - Praise The One (Groovenatics)
Izzy Stardust & Dumb Dan - Big Love
Tristan Garner - Gypsy Woman
Max Vangeli - Fender Bender (SB Re-FX)
Thomas Gold - Shake It
Matt Joko - So House (SB)
Tori Amos - Professional Widow (AvH vs Stefano Azati)
Real El Canario - El Campeon
Jeremih - Birthday Sex (Chris Kaeser)
Michael Jackson - Remember The Time (Camel Rider)
Basement Jaxx - Raindrops (Robbie Rivera)
I Feel Love Lockdown
The Twang - Barney Rubble
James Talk - West End Girls
Tatyana vs StoneBridge - Put 'Em High
Club Oh!, Zurich August 8, 2009
Jazmin Sullivan - Dream Big (SB)
Lily Allen - The Fear (SB)
The Face - Needin' U (DJ Wady)
Ministers de la Funk - Believe (Antoine Clamaran & Sandy Vee)
Supafly - Get Down (Deniz Koyu)
Armand Van Helden - You Don't Know Me (Pach & Norm)
Wawa - El Fuego (SB)
Jeremih - Birthday Sex (Chris Kaeser)
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean (Chris Kaeser Memorial)
James Talk - West End Girls
Pilotpriest - Zipper (SB)
Duck Sauce - Anyway
Thomas Gold - Shake It
Fonzerelli - Dreaming (Robbie Rivera)
Empire Of The Sun - We Are The People (Shapeshifters Dub)
Tatyana vs StoneBridge - Put 'Em High
Bring on Ibiza and with all the alarming reports of the bad economy I was ready to check it out myself. I heard the Swedish House Mafia party at Pacha was half empty and I can now tell you that it's not true - the place was packed and the vibe incredible. I know, I am a bit biased and I was hanging out with them in the booth, but honestly, it was the best show I've seen there. On the Tueasday before my Privilege show, I went to see Roger and Armin in Amnesia and I've never been to that club before so totally exciting and man, what a club! The two rooms are each bigger than most clubs if not all in the world. You could easily fit a 747 in the terrace where Roger has moved this year. He had the crowd rocking even though it wasn't peaking yet, just nice solid tribal and less techy than I've heard him the last 3-4 years. He said he was very happy with the move and I think he nailed it really. Then it was time to check Armin next door and even though I'm not big on trance, it was amazing to see and I know why he's No 1 now. It wasn't banging at that stage, more vocal driven and big drops, but it was chaos on the floor already. I decided to go to Privilege and catch an hour of Robbie's set before going on and it's pretty amazing how they have managed to make the world's biggest club pretty intimate. The booth is right on top of a pool so and half the room is covered up and the VIP upstairs is not open on Tuesdays. Robbie had a good groove going, but looked a bit stressed as his flight for the next day was dead early so I got on a bit earlier at 3.15. I decided to slap them up a bit and it worked like a charm. As you are far away from the crowd it was pretty hard to connect so I had to put on my best jumping routine to get it going and I was soaking wet after, but in all a good show. As Amnesia still was open, I decided to go back there and by this stage Armin was tearing it up. Very impressive and very inspirational. In a nutshell, the following has happened in Ibiza: People go for less days and spend less on hotels, food and drink.The Brits have been hit hardest as the exchange rate for euro is pretty much on par, so noticeably less Brits, but more Italians, Germans and French on the island. All restaurants have adjusted their prices, especially in the old town that was empty last year. If only the clubs could do the same, it would be twice as busy. As it is now, there can only be one winner per night and 2 decent events - not enough people to fill them all. And traditionally a trance event would not compete with house, but someone told me Tiesto lost 500 people to Pacha on the Monday.
Juicy @ Privilege, Ibiza August 11, 2009
Max Vangeli - Fender Bender (SB Re-FX)
Marlo - Ula (SB)
Tristan Garner - Gypsy Woman
Wawa - El Fuego (SB)
Real El Canario - El Campeon
Hardrive - Deep Inside (Geoff M)
Michael Jackson - Remember The Time (Camel Rider)
Matt Joko - So House (SB)
SHM & LBL - Leave The World Behind (Dabruck & Klein)
Tori Amos - Professional Widow (AvH vs Stefano Azati)
James Talk - West End Girls
Tatyana vs StoneBridge - Put 'Em High
Dirty Funker - Flat Beat (Tube & Berger)
Eddie Thoneick - Don't Let Me Down (Joachim Garraud)
Sia - The Girl You Lost (SB)
David Guetta - Just A Little Bit (Whelan & Di Scala)
Basement Jaxx - Raindrops (Robbie Rivera)
Pussycat Dolls - Bottle Pop (Richard Vission)
Thomas Gold - Shake It
Armand Van Helden - You Don't Know Me (Pach & Norm)
Phonat - Set Me Free (Avicii)
David Guetta - When Love Takes Over (LBL)
