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The Usual Suspects: Celebrities and Blueprint host Nicky Romero

May 16, 2012

 

It was the usual suspects: Blueprint Events, Celebrities, and an up-and-coming superstar DJ. On May 11, the long-running Stereotype Fridays hosted Nicky Romero’s up-tempo house stylings; a sound Romero himself describes as ‘stabby.’ The 23-year old’s sudden rise to the upper echelon of the dance music game has seen a steady salvo of bombs dropped like Toulouse, Wild Ones Two and Se7en. These complex productions and his energetic flair during DJ sets secured mad support from big-timers like Bingo Players—and the most popular DJ in the world, according to DJ Mag readers, David Guetta. Combined with Vancouverites’ affinity for partying well into the night, it was no big surprise that the show sold out quickly, and that ‘Romero at Celebs’ was the talk of the town leading up to the night in question. Luckily, the Wet Coast knows how to get some last minute tickets!

As the crowd filtered past Celebrities’ always-efficient door staff and friendly security, Blueprint resident Marin0 could be heard churning out a steady flow of tracks from Toolroom’s latest Miami 2012 compilation, including Rene Amesz’s Stars Under the Sun and XYZ123’s 2gether.  As the crowd thickened—and Celebrities’ typical carnival-like atmosphere took hold—Vancouver’s veteran DJ Timeline oiled patrons up with some great lower BPM tracks, albeit sprinkled crowd-pleasers like Thomas Gold’s Alive and Alesso’s Pressure remix. Before Romero himself ascended to the decks, Timeline threw down his best track of the night, Mark Knight and Tiesto’s killer Beautiful World.

As 12:30 a.m. approached, the rammed dance floor and bars welcomed Romero with unbridled friendly enthusiasm as he rose to assume his rightful place: in control of the pulsating Community sound system. With a steadfast determination—and a beaming smile that existed all night—Romero whizzed through a number his own tracks, including his bumping remix of Tonite Only’s Haters Gonna Hate. By the dance moves unfolding on the dance floor,  surely no one was hating on that one;  the crowd was driven to frenzy! The set then took a reverberating but still progressive rhythm as the night tore on; tracks like Romero’s mash-up with Knife Party, We Found Love, were somehow mixed flawlessly with more airy tunes like Titanium (Sean Johnson’s Nothing to Lose Bootleg).

Celebrities has a habit, though. But it’s a damn good one! Here at Vancouver’s long-time LGBT venue, DJs play well past 3 a.m., and  Romero was no different. With the crowd still completely bonkers, Romero relentlessly laid down track after track, proving himself not only a thoroughly prepared DJ, but an ironman of the clubscape. Paying homage to crazed-but-classy crowd assembled before him, Romero chose to close out his show with a fitting tune, his and David Guetta’s Wild Ones Two. It was an entirely appropriate finale to yet another epic Stereotype Fridays; it is now clear that Celebrities is the best house music venue in the city, by far. With killer DJs constantly gracing the decks and  staff that actually want patrons to have a great time, it’s no wonder these shows sell out fast. Because as much as Nicky Romero clearly enjoyed himself—and trust me he did–the crowd enjoyed this Friday spectacle even more.

For a look at some BIG upcoming Vancouver concerts and the early Ibiza party season, check last week’s Wet Coast post: Decisions, Decisions: Summer in Vancouver or Ibiza!

 

Alex MacLachlan