After a long hiatus from the Los Angeles concert and club scene, Eric Prydz sold out event at the Palladium this past Saturday was nothing short of legendary. With Insomiac events providing their support, and a great selection of opening and, in this case, closing DJ’s the night was set to welcome back the man known as Pryda in true Angeleno fashion. Click through for the full review.
The line was rather tame upon our arrival shortly after 10:00 p.m., with little issue getting into venue. Surprisingly there was no merchandise table, considering this was an Insomniac event, I was half expecting at least some CD’s or Insomniac swag. The set up was similar to most Enhanced concert events, the major difference being the heavy use of the fog machine. The feel in the room was more that of an upscale club with an interesting cross section of people in attendance. It was obvious that some had purchased tickets banking on Insomniac’s reputation for putting together amazing events, while others were very clearly there to welcome Prydz home.
Those who decided to arrive fashionably late,missed a solid set by DJ Tara Brooks who had the venue dancing and set the mood for what was a perfect opening set by Jeremy Olander. In his Los Angeles debut, the Swede showed off an incredible amount of skill, blending tracks seamlessly and bringing the energy in the room to a boiling point. In true DJ fashion, the change over from Olander to Prydz was seamless as Prydz took the stage to finish Olander’s set, playing out an unreleased remix of “Bronte” by Gotye. As Prydz took over there was a very obvious change in the energy of the room. Within seconds of his opening song, Viro, there was an audible intake of breath by the those in attendance. This would not be the last time Prydz would take the rooms breath away as he did it again when he dropped his instaclassic Pjanoo, weaving the songs signature beat in and out an ease not often seen by this reviewer.
Prydz seemed above all to be basking in the love pouring out of the crowd. Several times he stopped to record the revelers with his iphone, footage that is sure to make its way to his website soon. Prydz reached back into his expansive and well curated catalog and did not disappoint. The crowd, half moved by the music, and half moved by the energy Prydz himself was giving out, danced longer and harder than I’ve ever seen at the Palladium. Towards the latter portion of his set Prydz dropped his often used mix of Daft Punk-Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger vs New Order-Blue Monday, followed by his newest gem Allein. Allein saw the crowd get in on the act as Prydz dropped the track out and let the crowd sing along as he recorded the whole thing. Ending on a high note with We are the Mirage, Eric Prydz finished what is sure to be a set for the record books.
Arty made a valient effort to follow Prydz and seemed to do a better than average job, but it was impossible to maintain the energy that Prydz had cultivated during his two and a half hour set. Overall, this was one of the best, if not the best concert I have had the pleasure of experiencing. Let’s hope Mr. Prydz does not make us wait another four years before he once again graces us with his presence.
//Helen Perez
