12.08
HULA! Photo Credit: AmpedNights.com
Want to write a review for a big event in the LA area that you attended/plan on attending? Please click here to contact us.
Getting in
No problem at all. Took a cab over and walked in at about 11:45 – midnightish. No line, traffic wasn’t bad at all, no fuss, no muss.
First impression: Circus Disco is huge! I had been there a few times before but I had forgotten just how big it was. The main room could easily fit 2000+ people while each of the 2 side rooms could accommodate another 1000 or so. The place reminded me of Amnesia in Ibiza which was humongous and was able to accommodate huge nights like Armada in one room and Roger Sanchez in the other.
Hands Up LA! Photo Credit: Chandley Partridge
The Venue/Crowd
I must say, compared to events at Vanguard the production value of this place was on a whole ‘nother level. Of course, it’s hard to compare because Vanguard has weekly club nights while this was more of a festival inside a club… however even when paying 50$ to see AVB at Vanguard I didn’t see any special decorating. In comparison to festivals like Monster Massive or EDC, the decorations at this place were top notch and the production value was definitely there. I would say it definitely rivaled the stages I’ve seen at those festivals. The lights and setup were fantastic – there was a huge board of lights behind the main stage as well as TV’s and other lights. There was also a confetti launcher that just wouldn’t quit. By the end of the night the whole floor was covered in confetti!
The only thing missing were weird costume troupes walking around but hey… considering my 15$ ticket (which I bought waaay in advance – it was 30$ at the door) I was very very impressed.
As far as the crowd well… there wasn’t really one. There were plenty of bars and the bathrooms never had a line (for guys anyway). In fact, to be honest, the place felt a little empty at times. When the headliner Eddie Halliwell came on at 1 AM the place seemed pretty full but my crew of 3 was able to walk away from the main stage and come back right to the front without any problems whatsoever. Couldn’t quite do that at The Shrine a couple of weeks ago. After all my complaining about Insomniac/GoVentures packing sardines into the Sports Arena I found myself missing that huge mob yelling at the top of their lungs. There was definitely some yelling and hands in the air but the energy at the main stage wasn’t as high as some other events. That being said, the DJs made do and Eddie Halliwell still finished extremely strong at the end of the night, he had everyone with their hands in the air chanting his name!
The lack of crowd was especially noticeable in the other room where Hatiras was playing. The man still threw down some great beats but there were maybe 20 people in the room (some of whom were definitely taking advantage of all the dancing space). I’m not going to make any sort of claims as to why the place wasn’t packed but I must say, it was a little bit disappointing. Especially considering what they missed out on – cheap tickets, great venue, great music…
HULA! Photo Credit: AmpedNights.com
The Music
The first set we heard was Marcus Schossow. I had already mentioned before that DJs doing world tours tend to stick to a particular set due to their busy schedules and such… but I was still a little disappointed to see that Marcus’s set was very similar to the tracklist for his Tiesto opening 3 months ago. There were a few new tracks but most of them were the same. Of course I think I can safely assume that most people there had either never heard of him and/or that tracklist so I am a minority voice here.
I spoke to Marcus briefly after his set – he was very friendly and in a party mood. My girlfriend and I wanted to buy him a drink and he requested a jager bomb. Before I left to go get it I told him Mr. White was one of my favorite tracks of his. He told me “that was 3 years ago! so long!” By the time I came back with his jager bomb (10$) he was gone. Perhaps I offended him with my lack of current knowledge but for the life of me I couldn’t think of a track of his that was released lately! Regardless though he was a very friendly guy and a good DJ – always smiling behind the decks, getting the crowd jumping and excited. The tracks themselves were good as well, although I have heard them many times it’s always better on a premium sound system! Just wish I had heard some new or more unique tracks.
After Marcus we briefly checked out Hatiras in the side room. He was definitely playing some good stuff – melodic house with plenty of buildups and interesting effects. Like I said though, the crowd was sparse and we left pretty quickly. Rob and I acknowledged afterwards that as rising DJs everyone has a night like that, and there’s nothing you can do but play your set (and Hatiras wasn’t playing crap either so at least he didn’t react by playing disco or something). At least you get paid and get some recognition on the lineup for future nights in LA.
Then it was back to the main stage to listen to the headliner, Eddie Halliwell. I had never given him a proper listen until I listened to his Cream Ibiza mix this year. His style is very fast and he does not really produce his own tracks, only remixes. This means that unlike most other DJs, Eddie’s fame comes solely from his mixing abilities – I had high expectations!
My expectations were definitely met. Eddie was not only a great mixer but a showman as well, always getting the crowd involved and making full use of effects to pump energy onto the dance floor. Chants of “eddie! eddie! eddie!” could be heard during almost every breakdown. Eddie started strong and ended strong, mixing quickly through many different trance tunes. He dropped 3 Sander Van Doorn songs – Bliksem, Ninety, Spaceman (his remix of the Killers), Ferry Corsten’s Brainbox (which I love), Cirez D On/Off and of course Stranger to Stability (Len Faki Podium Mix) which seems to be in every DJs set this winter (Schossow played it too).
Loved hearing all the tech trance which is my style and loved Eddie’s energy. Toward the end he definitely got into it with some scratching, dancing around the main stage, and even jumping on top of it to get the audience pumped up! What a show!
Hands Up LA! Photo Credit: Rob McCall
The Verdict
Well, overall it is easy to see my pros and cons of this event. The pros were the music and the venue. Again, I was extremely impressed with the decorations and lights as well as the size of the venue itself which had bathrooms and bars galore and could probably have accommodated twice the crowd that was there.. Eddie put on a great show while Marcus dropped some good beats and Hatiras was going strong in the side room.
The con was the lack of a big crowd to really get that intense energy into the room. There was a good amount of people but when the headliner went on and we had plenty of standing room toward the front I found myself asking “where’s everyone at?!”.
Let’s have more events like this at Circus Disco, get the people out there, and let the good times roll!
Oh and last but not least, it was great meeting Malia, the Circus promoter, at HULA last night. It’s always nice to meet other trance addicts trying to develop the scene around here.
Malia got her big LED hula hoop stolen and if any of you guys happen to know what happened to it please use the Contact Us form here; make up fake names and emails if you want to do it anonymously.
© 2009, M Silin. All rights reserved.
