Group Therapy Chicago Review: Above & Beyond, Mat Zo, and Cosmic Gate at Congress Theater

Once again Above & Beyond came ready to please with beats straight from the Anjuna kitchen. The Congress Theater crowd arrived with an appetite that could only be satisfied by the DJ trio who ranked #5 in last year’s DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll. Peter Kontor opened the show, followed by an impressive performance by Mat Zo, next up were headliners, Above & Beyond, paired with an impressive closing set by Cosmic Gate. The night was filled with a mesh of original mixes and appropriately picked covers. Memorable covers include: Mat Zo’s performance of Deadmau5 & Wolfgang Gartner’s “Animal Rights,” Above & Beyond setting the pace with their opener, Pryda’s “2Night,” and finally Cosmic Gate opened their set with M83’s ever popular “Midnight City.”

I arrived to the Congress Theater as Mat Zo was showing Chicago exactly how he gets business done. Truly a pioneer on the decks, he embodies a sincere and energetic stage presence that doesn’t fail to get his listeners going. It’s as if he has created a whole new EDM genre – discovering the perfect balance of high paced drum beats and fading trance synths which sound absolutely beautiful together. Expect to hear a lot more buzz about this Anjunabeats DJ in the coming months. He kept the crowd bouncing during his entire set, and closed with a bang by playing his powerful original mix of “It’s Yours.”

Next up was another superb performance put on by trance masters, Above & Beyond. Going along with the theme “Group Therapy,” it’s better to abandon any stereotypes you may have about trance music, and allow yourself to get immersed and fully identify with every single track. The lyrics of Above and Beyond’s tracks never fail to set forth a feel good and positive vibe. A&B make the vocals easy to follow by displaying messages on the LED screen behind them that coincide with the music that they play. Their set closed with a riveting performance of their hit “Sun & Moon” featuring Richard Bedford, where they teased the crowd with one of the longest delayed drops that I have ever experienced. The crowd started to scream and yell in anticipation to fill up the silence that A&B created before the epic and familiar synth heavy drop that we all look forward to hearing during the track. The song was quickly followed by the sounds of the lyrics of Oceanlab’s “On a Good Day,” leaving the crowd feeling blissful and uplifted in true Group Therapy fashion.

Can’t get enough of Above & Beyond and Group Therapy? Get your weekly fix by tuning into their radio show “Trance Around the World” streamed live on the Anjunabeats homepage every week. http://www.anjunabeats.com/

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Photos by: Jennifer Catherine Photography

Article by: Amanda Stamelos