Bink. Tiesto: The Lord of Trance Kaleidoscope Tour’s stop at Pacific Coliseum takes fans on a journey Loe By Leonardo Ramos espite the swine flu hitting hard in the D Lower Mainland, British Columbians have had it good this year. One of the biggest rock bands in the world, U2, closed their 2009 tour in Vancouver, and let’s not forget that the Olympics are only a few months away. Now, lo and behold, what many believe to be the world’s number one DJ came to Vancouver. Tiesto played to a jam-packed stadium at the Pacific Coliseum on the 14" of November in promotion of his new album Kaleidoscope. For those of you who don’t know, Tiesto is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music, His music scene was in trance, but over the years, he’s moved to a more eclectic form of electronic music. He has been crowned number one DJ in the world three consecutive times by DJ magazine, and was the first DJ to sell out a solo stadium event for over 25,000 people. His remix of Delerium’s “Silence” (featuring Sarah McLachlan) was the first house track ever to be broadcasted on daytime radio in North America, and it became an international dance floor anthem. In addition, in 2004, he became the first DJ to play at the Olympic Games, when he played in Athens for the opening ceremony. His 2007 Elements of Life World tour supporting the album of the same name made history, as he being the first DJ to go on a world tour. It was in the summer of 2007, when he came on that tour to GM Place, and naturally, being a huge fan, I went to the spectacular show. Two years later I embarked on another musical journey when I saw him at the Pacific Coliseum. There has been much debate on his latest album, Kaleidoscope and its comparison to the Elements of Life album. The question remains, is the later album and tour better than its predecessor? Elements of Life is a more epic ambient instrumental album, whereas Kaleidoscope is more focused on vocal tracks and so the instrumental aspects suffer a bit, because they are not on the same level. Tour wise, Tiesto’s 2007 tour was on a larger scale and 14 had overall thematic message and story, whereas Kaleidoscope seems rawer. During the opening track, we see Tiesto on a large video screen with sunglasses on, turning towards the audience. At that moment he faces the audience, takes off his shades and the show begins. Through a series music videos from his new tracks, as well as a visual focus on polygon shapes, Tiesto does what he is always been best at, visual entertainment. Like in the previous tour, he takes us on a musical journey, though not to explore the four elements: earth, fire, air and water, as he did in Elements of Life. Instead, via the bright star, we are shown of what seems like a glimpse Tiesto’s view through a kaleidoscope and his expression of describing it to the audience through music. Near the end of the concert, Tiesto is on the big screen again, holding a star, and now putting his sunglasses back on, as he turns away, vanishing with a bright flash, thus signaling, that our time with him is now over. The concept is simple, yet deep. The concert was packed and the night felt like it was never going to end. He played many of his new tracks, with a lot of his more obscure songs but never forgot his classics. Tiesto played a four-hour set, ending at 2 a.m. following a 30- minute encore. It has been noted that some people wondered why he played at the Pacific Coliseum, instead of GM Place again. The answer is quite simple: GM Place has a policy that doesn’t allow the DJ to keep going after midnight. Tiesto, being famous for his four-to-six- hour live sets, frustrated some fans having to cut his show short, despite an amazing night. Regardless, that rule doesn’t exist at the Pacific Coliseum so he was able to play longer, and so appease fans. Tiesto’s 2009 world tour cannot be really compared to his Elements of Life tour, because it is far more distinct and unique. If forced to come to a decision, his previous tour was grander, but Kaleidoscope, both album and tour, brings fansin to a whole a new world of Tiesto that we haven’t experienced before. ee Add online courses to your regulat studies Didn’t get into the course you needed? Is your busy schedule making it difficult to balance schoolwork and a job? Thompson Rivers University can help by bringing education directly to you through its Open Learning Division. With over 400 online and distance courses available for registration throughout the year, you can get the credits you need and transfer them back to your home institution. You can study when you want, where you want and even set your own exam schedule. For a complete list of Open Learning courses and programs please visit our website. ae . THOMPSON RIVERS eB UNIVERSITY arming _ ‘4 www.truopen.ca 1.877.663.4091