Festival Summer: Tomorrowland

Even though it's almost mid-winter I haven't forgotten about writing a review for Tomorrowland. So here it finally is: the last part of my Festival Summer, Tomorrowland!

Tomorrowland

Location: Recreation Area "De Schorre", Boom, Belgium

Date: 22-24 july 2011

It was my second time going to Tomorrowland but my first time going three full days. It was also the first time they planned to do the festival on 3 days. I guess they wanted to give the people who came from different parts of the world more time for their money and make it worth their stay. They also started extremely late with the ticket sale, but the combi tickets were sold in a matter of days. Luckily I bought them on the first day of the ticketsale. The reason the tickets might have sold so fast might have something to do with a video that was sent around the world by David Guetta where he thanked the Tomorrowland crowd, as can be seen here. He was the headliner on Sunday previous year and his gig was without a doubt one of the most memorable times of my life ever. The crowd was great and the atmosphere was simply magical. After those videos I think many people wanted to experience something like that as well and it kinda showed in the ticket sale.

Friday

I arrived early on the festival grounds, but I was amazed by the amount of people who were already there. I got my festival wristband, which served as evidence for my paid ticket, quite fast as there weren’t so many people who bought a combiticket at the gate so early. I was a bit disappointed as I got my wristband though; the design wasn’t as amazing as last years. After getting my wristband I needed to wait for the festival gates to open, but there was a big open truck from Red Bull at the entrance where a DJ spun some tunes to warm up the crowd and to keep us entertained. At 2:00 P.M. it was finally time but I had to wait for a friend, I still had her ticket. Luckily the first DJ I wanted to see was programmed at 3 P.M., so I was right on time.

I was amazed by how big the festival area was this year. Sure, it was pretty much the same size as previous year, but it seemed that there were even more stages to discover, as well as food tents and chill-out zones. For the Mainstage they flattened out the whole area and made a tunnel behind it for easier access on both sides. Definitely a big improvement!

I had to search quite a bit before I found the right tent where the first DJ I wanted to see would perform. After strolling around the area I found a tent above the hill in front of the Mainstage, which was decorated with candies, all kinds of lights and a big rotating stage with a huge screen on top: I had found the Trance Addict tent! (and my first stop for the day)

The first time I heard of Orjan Nilsen was ironically enough one year ago at the A State of Trance stage at Tomorrowland, where Armin Van Buuren played on of his songs together with an impressive set of fireworks. That song was “Go Fast!”. Eager to learn more about this DJ prodigy I looked up some of his songs and fell in love with “La Guitarra”. I was really excited to hear that he was coming to Tomorrowland this year and I was not disappointed. He played a great set with lots of his songs and a new one I hadn’t heard before; “Twilight Mode” from 4 Strings. 4 Strings was one of my favorite 90’s dance composers, so I was really happy I found out it was made by them. My day started good.

After hanging around a little at the Trance Addict stage, it was time to go to the Q-Dance stage. They usually recycle props and stages from their bigger event “The Continent” and this year was no different. A big creepy clown that seemed to follow you with his eyes towered above the trees that secluded the Q-Dance area, and the signature claws and saws around the stage were present. The clown reminded me a bit of Hannibal Lecter played by Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, brrr. 

"Hello Clarice."

Remarkably I didn’t stay that long but I did catch a part of Dr. Rude. I knew him from his track “Feelings”, which was used in one of the aftermovies of Summerfestival. And well, it was very energetic. Hardstyle and Tekstyle are never dull to say the least.

I spent the rest of the day at the Mainstage. It was really hard to choose between so many DJ’s with so little time. Sometimes I had 2 or even 3 DJ’s I wanted to see at the same hour. I watched the whole set of Dirty South, most famous for his remix with Axwell of the Temper Traps' “Sweet Disposition”.

After that it was time for the headliner of Friday: Faithless. I was really thrilled to see them live, certainly because it would be their last performance in Belgium. They played most of their classics such as “God is a DJ”, ”We come one”, and of course “Insomnia”. It was quite good, but not as amazing as I had expected it to be. The sound sounded a bit off and some of the songs seemed to be slightly remixed. I think it would’ve been a lot better if they went with their original versions. Either way, it still was a blast.

The day ended with Swedish House Mafia. They were really great but I didn’t stay until the end, it was a bit overcrowded to my taste. Luckily there was someone else I wanted to see. On my way I picked up a part of Carl Cox, a true techno veteran and it showed. What a sound! As I picked my belongings for the day out of the many cabinets and returned the key to the clerk, I looked down upon the festival area and bid it farewell for the day. I’d be back tomorrow.

        

Saturday

Saturday was probably the best day for me, it was equally frustrating though as Saturday had so many DJ’s and acts I wanted to see at the same time. I never wanted to have a clone of myself that much as I did that day. I was also happy to have some company; a friend had bought a Saturday ticket, so I had someone to talk to. Sadly this wasn’t exactly the case the other 2 days as I kept missing friends because of bad cellphone reception.

I spent most of the day at the Mainstage once more, but one of the coolest parts was perhaps the Marshall Masters at the I love the 90’s stage. (yes, I love the 90’s has a stage at Tomorrowland too, they’re that good)  They proved that hardcore was far from dead. We jumped and sang along with their songs. They were just so energetic that their energy rubbed off on the whole crowd. The most fun part was without a doubt when they played “I like it loud”, everyone was humming and singing along as they heard the first notes. I didn’t have a voice left after though. :p

A better view of the stage, early in the morning.

After grabbing something to eat we scurried to the Mainstage to see Avicii. Avicii was really good but there were some ups and downs in his set. It’s not easy when you’ve already made quite a few hits and the crowd has big expectations of you, but all in all he really did well. I might be a bit biased as well though as I found “Bromance” and of course “Levels” the best moments of his set.

Next on the Mainstage was Martin Solveig. He’s really known now for his hit “Hello”, but I like his older music a bit more. Boy was I in for a treat. He mixed some awesome songs and his record choice was great. His companion and self-proclaimed manager Lafaille certainly tickled my funnybone with his hipster dancing. I was really entertained and surprised by his set, definitely one of my favorites of the evening.

Martin Solveigh with his trademark sweatband.

After Martin Solveig, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike took over the Mainstage. It has become tradition for them to write the yearly anthem of Tomorrowland, and they keep getting better at it. I simply loved their set. They managed to overstep some boundaries by mixing some hip-hop in between, but they also gave classics and great hits their own twist, with success. My favorite was a mix of Green Velvet’s “Flash” and Robert Armani’s “Hit Hard”. Sadly I couldn’t find a MP3 of it anywhere, but someone managed to record the audio and put it on Youtube. The fireworks together with the anthem were also incredible. They were exactly timed on every tune and beat.

     
                                     The best part of Saturday, fireworks included.

My day was pretty perfect already, but Tïesto made it complete. He spun some of his older trance classics and some of his new, more house-ish tunes. He also made me discover another awesome track called “Tung!”. I just couldn’t stand still on that one! Saturday was certainly the best day, but I still had one day to go. Dead tired I crawled into a soft bed at a friend’s house close by. I could stay over there and take a shower if I wanted, something I was really thankful for.


     

Sunday

On Sunday I went to see Rank 1 at the Evolution stage. Trance is definitely my thing and I was happy he played “Airwave”. I was a bit miffed about the next DJ I was going to see though. For some reason the time was changed and another DJ would play in his timeslot, thus messing up my planning and making me unable to see him. It was really a shame because Angger Dimas made a lot of remixes I like. Luckily the Evolution stage was close enough to Smash the House where he played, so I could switch between the two while waiting for him, but alas, to no avail. Yves V, a Belgian DJ, made it worthwhile though, he was really good and he played “Madagascar”, one of the tracks he made together with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Angger Dimas, like a boss.

Grabbing a Belgian waffle along the way I rushed to the Mainstage waiting for Wolfgang Gartner to make his appearance. He played most of his own music and an awesome track I can’t find the name of. I made a video of it but the quality is suffice it to say bad… What a bummer. His “Conscindo” was one of the best parts for me. I’d definitely watch him again if I could get the chance.

Laidback Luke took over the turntables after that. He mixed some of his records on the spot and really good at that. He was without a doubt one of the most skilled DJ’s on the Mainstage that day.  He did an amazing set and introduced me to 2 songs which I both heard for the first time; “Dirty Talk” from Wynter Gordon and “Cry” from Bingo Players. They made me feel a bit nostalgic of 90’s music so I took an immediate like to them.

Just like last year Chuckie was programmed together with David Guetta, but instead of closing the festival like last year he was the warm-up for David Guetta. However… warming up would be an understatement. With his dirty house tunes he made the crowd go wild. My favorite was “Move it 2 the Drum”, and apparently, so was everyone else’s.

And then, the moment where everyone had probably been waiting for, David Guetta!  Previous year was so amazing and I guess many people wanted to relive that moment… And that was exactly what it was, a duplicate of the previous year. It didn’t feel spontaneous at all. Not from David Guetta, but from the crowd. The sit-down and the sea of lights were so sincere that year… It was done again, like it was a requirement for a good time. I was really disappointed and left the Mainstage quite early, not an easy task as probably one third of Tomorrowland was there at that moment and they had closed a part of the tunnel.

I went back to the Evolution stage to pick up Markus Schulz instead. And you know what? I didn’t regret it one bit. I could really feel the positive vibes from the crowd, dancing and listening to the music and enjoying it heartfeltly. It made me feel a bit warmer inside too. I heard Twilight Mode another time and Sweet Disposition as well, but as a mash-up with another great track called “39!”. (I really wonder why DJ’s have such fondness for exclamination marks in their track titles recently)

Sadly I couldn’t stay to hear Paul Van Dyk’s set completely. I think he is most known for his track “For an Angel”, but I managed to see part of it and the fireworks. Together with Armin Van Buuren he’s somewhat the godfather of trance, and you could hear that through his music for sure.

Because I needed to catch a bus I sadly had to leave a bit early, but all in all it had been an amazing three days. I’m definately going back this year and I hope to take some friends along so they can enjoy it with me.


       

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If  you’re interested in seeing the live sets, it is actually possible. B@TV recorded numerous sets and footage of various DJ’s and put them online on their website. You can watch them for free, but if you want to see more than half an hour you need to sign up, which is totally free by the way. Maybe you can even catch a glimpse of me muahaha. ;) I really recommend if you’re interested in seeing DJ-sets or reliving a part of the festival, or other festivals for that matter. B@TV has a pretty big repertoire.

For now I’ll leave you guys with the official after movie, ‘til next time!