(I wrote this and it originally appeared on BeTheRave.com)
Markus Schulz has just released his latest artist album titled Scream and I had the amazing experience of being able to hear his fourth and final set of Labor Day weekend in Toronto where he played for four and a half hours inside of the Kool Haus. If you’re planning on checking out an extended Markus Schulz set there’s one item that is a requirement, sun glasses! You don’t need them to cover up some dilated pupils but you’ll want them to protect your eyes walking out of the club because by time he’s finished playing an extended it’ll be early morning with the sun already up in the sky.
The last time I had seen Markus Schulz was at Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas when his set was cut short due to the excessive winds shutting down the entire festival for the night. Loops and Tings was playing at the time Markus had to get on the microphone to share the bad news so every time since that I’ve heard that track it brings back those sad memories. It made sense to shut the night down but you could sense his set was peaking getting everyone ready for Armin van Buuren. Ever since that night there seemed to have been an emptiness inside of me from not hearing his complete set but hat emptiness disappeared after hearing Markus Schulz push the limits of the sound system in the Kool Haus from 3:30am until 8am.
As Katerina had mentioned in her review of Labour of Love in Toronto, it should be on your bucket list. Electric Zoo is in direct competition with Labour of Love and they offer two different experiences. If New York City is your destination for that weekend just look up other events in Toronto. New York City, LA and Las Vegas are typically in headlines but cities like Toronto and Montreal should be destinations for anyone who loves dance music. More on Toronto in the future!
The night was warmed up by The Guvernment’s resident Mark Oliver (one of the best dj’s in North America you may have never heard of), followed up Glenn Morrison who played a blend of the top electro house tracks of the past year along with randomly playing We Will Rock You (see video below).
Strange.
Gareth Emery had played after Glenn Morrison. I love Gareth Emery but half way through his set I was ready for the number one reason for my trip, to have Markus Schulz lead me down the rabbit hole and then crawl out early in the morning.
The rabbit hole is a term that Markus often uses to describe the journey he’ll take you on with one of his sets. The extended set is something that very few are capable of pulling off. It’s not just about playing track after track that’ll have the dance floor jumping up and down. It’s about the highs and lows and making you forget about time.
The first two hours of his set are what some would call a predictable set but there’s nothing wrong with that. The only way it’d be predictable is if you’re addicted to downloading every live set and tuning in religiously to Global DJ Broadcast. If you go to see a band on tour they’re going to play a lot of the same tunes night after night. Want to be surprised? Don’t listen ahead of time so there’ll be some anticipation. The real treat though is getting to hear songs on a dance floor with a loud sound system sending bass through your chest instead of through a pair of headphones, home stereo or speakers in your car.
Tracks like Loops & Tings, Digital Madness and Finish Line have been staples in sets throughout the summer and it was great to hear them but the real anticipation was how songs like Nothing Without Me, Scream and Carry On would sound echoing throughout a large room. The vocals carried throughout the room and sounded better than I expected and have quickly become favorites. It also helps that Markus knows how to program a set to go from a track like Scream and then into Finish Line, The Dark Knight and Digital Madness and then on to Nothing Without Me.
Here’s Nothing Without Me featuring Ana Diaz:
Digital Madness
The Unicorn Slaying occurred about 50 minutes into his set:
Perception
The music from 5:30 until 7:30 can best be described as the rabbit hole. Relentless bass lines with the occasional melody that keeps your feet moving on the dance floor until your feet hurt and legs feel like jello. You’re not going to hear a lot of melodic trance hands in the air trance but that’s not the reason you go and see Markus Schulz. You go to hear the dark progressive tunes that’ll take you on a journey. Experiencing a dj play an extended set is like running a marathon, you have to pace yourself to be able to make it to the finish line and when you do it may be painful on your feet but it’s a memorable and rewarding experience that you’ll never forget.
As the morning arrived and clock ticked past 7:30am he played this beauty:
One of his last tracks of the night was iiO – Rapture, a track released over 10 years ago and hose still left in attendance were singing along like the track was just released this summer.
By the end of the night the four and half hour set had been everything I had hoped for and then some. That emptiness I had inside of me from the shortened Electric Daisy Carnival set had disappeared but now I feel the need to experience an even longer set from Markus, specifically an open to close set. How about it Guvernment?
Here’s that 8am image you’ll want the sun glasses for:
You can download the two hour Global DJ Broadcast World Tour Toronto here:
http://www.edmtunes.com/2012/09/markus-schulz-global-dj-broadcast-world-tour-06-09-2012/
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