My legs are killing me, my throat is sore from all the screaming, but was it worth it? Hell yeah! For the uninitiated, EDM giant David Guetta performed live at Palace Grounds in Bangalore yesterday, drawing a crowd of over 5000 people at the Eristoff Invasion Festival.
It all began quite humbly though, as early as four in the evening, after explaining to the curious bus conductor what this ‘festival’ was that was drawing such a big crowd, getting through intense lines, redeeming tickets and cribbing about the heat and dust – I got to the main stage and experienced Dualist Inquiry.
The guitarist/producer a.k.a Sahej Bakshi did not disappoint. His music was fluid, jumpy and as the crowd built up, a smooth remix of ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’ got the dub step gurus in the audience all excited. I’d definitely like to see this guy live again.
Post Dualist, DJ Anish Sood took the stage to perform. As a side effect of being the guy before the main act, Anish was received by an excited audience who enjoyed his mixes of songs like ‘Californication’ but as they bid farewell to him, they were even more excited. In the process, he got them fairly pumped up, though it was clear the volume and energy were purposely toned down for the Star to make his entry.
GUETTA INVASION!
And what an entry it was. The crowd was already chanting for Guetta, and as the big black screens behind and in front of the console flickered, a massive BOOM brought them to life. What followed was pure decimation. The visuals were larger than life – a huge change from anything I’ve ever seen live in India. Sound was brilliant, and Guetta charmed us all from the start.
After a menacing intro he kicked into ‘No getting over’ and the even more popular ‘Love is Gone’ I heard more people singing along than at the average rock show, more hands in the air AND more butts shaking and bodies flailing than any concert I’ve been to. Surprise additions to his set were remixes of Block Rockin Beats by Chemical Brothers and Technologic by Daft Punk.
As he played his enormous hit ‘Memories’, Guetta gave the mandatory fan address, saying that he had no idea before his arrival in India that he had this many fans, or whether they’d know his songs and that he was ‘definitely, definitely’ coming back. He made the audience wave their cell phones in the air and everyone got all emo at this point. The set closed with ‘Without You’ and ‘I Gotta Feeling’
The visuals were stunning, and his live mixes were even better than the tracks themselves, purely for their extreme dance-ability. He even dropped a well-crafted dubstep-y mix for a few minutes, surprising the audience. Although the show lasted just around two hours due to venue restrictions, the crowd made the best of it.
WRITTEN BY: TARA THOMAS
PHOTO CREDITS: NAMAN SARAIYA
