MUMBAI: A stellar electronic opera, that is what the Armin Only ‘Intense’ show was. Brought to Mumbai by Sunburn, a property of Percept Live, the concert took place in the NSCI indoor stadium in Worli on 24 January. The first Sunburn event of 2014 sure packed a punch and more with Armin Van Buuren, #2 on the DJ Mag 2013 Ranking and a five times #1 position holder.
The six hour marathon set played by Armin Van Buuren had occasional performances by several artistes who are accompanying him on tour; singer-songwriter and violinist Fiora Cutler, Canadian singer Trevor Guthrie, American singer-songwriter Lauren Evans, singer-songwriter Cindy Alma and singer-songwriter Richard Bedford. Some of the songs that the crowd sang along to in perfect harmony were Trevor Guthrie’s This is what it feels like, Cindy Alma’s Beautiful Life, Fiora’s Waiting for the night, Lauren’s Alone, Christina Aguillra’s Feel this moment, Ellis Bextor’s Not giving up on love and If I lose myself by the band One Republic.
The crowd was grooving throughout the six hour set and responded to Armin and the music with enthusiasm, madness and fists pumping upward. The moment the energy began dropping, either ribbons would fall from the sky, or the smoke machines fired, or a performer would bring the crowd back on its feet. Huge yellow balloon-balls with a smiley face and an ‘A’ for one eye fell from the ceiling, which were tossed about by people. When Armin held up the Indian flag, the audiences went berserk and some of them sat on people’s shoulders to unfurl the Indian flag in a reverent response.
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The set up was classy; a piano to the right of the stage and a drum set to the left. The trampolines on the stage were well placed and the graphics on the screen behind Dutch music producer switched from trippy patterns to a mechanical face turning from side to side to a classic city centre set up with the theatre feature the Armin Only ‘Intense’ show to small screens playing the official videos of the tracks played to the drummer to a sensuous contemporary dance in slow motion. The lighting was just right.
Showmanship a class apart, the music was interwoven with performances by contemporary dancers a duo of acrobats and, of course, the accompanying singers. The trampolines were strategically placed on either side of the mixing table and so was a stage right behind Armin. The choreography and production of the entire show was fabulous and as entertaining as awe-inspiring. The costumes were not too flashy but had a whole lot of panache. Armin wore blue jeans, crisp white shirt, and an innocent smile. The dancers and the acrobats set a mood of amazement and immense energy, making the whole stadium shimmer.
