Nowhere in the traditional thanksgiving dinner is a heaping helping of trance music among the turkey and stuffing, but it didn’t seem to bother the many New Yorkers who showed up at Pacha after their normal feasts. Legendary trance DJ Paul Van Dyk headlined a night of pure trance music bliss that allowed the crowd to dance away a couple of pounds before they woke up Friday morning.
Paul Van Dyk is one of the most celebrated and decorated DJs in modern dance music, being one of the first electronic music artists to earn a Grammy nomination, and finally winning one through his work on The Dark Night soundtrack. Each one of his critically acclaimed albums has garnered success as well, his latest being Evolution. Van Dyk’s recent sets are full of his classic hits, mixed with some of today’s biggest newer trance stars – though he does like to stray away from the genre from time to time.
Catchy choruses and synths float in the air, before a new beat pulsates through the crowd. It’s a constant change of pace, from hands up in the air, to jumping up and down. While many other DJs share a similar style, Van Dyk’s mastery of weaving in and out of a set can be seen due to his nearly two decades of experience.
It wasn’t all PVD on this night, however, as he was joined by two of today’s brightest young trance groups, Tritonal and Super8 and Tab. Super8 and Tab got things moving as the crowd filled up – it seemed like they could have spun even longer as the crowd was completely feeling it. Tritonal took Pacha to another level once Van Dyk finished up.
The Texas based duo have headlined Pacha in their own right before, so the place was set with an LED light show that kept the headline vibe on until the early morning. It was one of the times that no one even thinks about leaving after the headliner, and the energy level even may have stepped up a bit. Tritonal have a huge catalogue of songs that they tend to mix together with the latest hits creating unique and memorable sets. Pacha remained packed until the early morning as the crowd jumped away the pounds.
It’s always great when there are multiple awesome artists on the same bill, and when you throw in a legend like Paul Van Dyk, it’s just a recipe for success. As I’ve mentioned before, Pacha is an excellent venue for trance music, and American dance music fans seem to finally be embracing the genre with full throttle. Next month, both Gareth Emery and Cosmic Gate will hit up Pacha, but there is definitely room for more trance on the calendar.
Photos Courtesy of Paul Van Dyk
PvD @ Pacha NYC
Editors Note: All Proceeds Went To Charity For Hurricane Sandy Relief