Review: Webster Hall with Myon & Shane 54, Arnej & Leon Bolier in NYC 7/21/12

Someone once asked me, “Can you actually rage to trance?” I responded very quickly and firmly, “Of course you can rage to trance!” Some people who aren’t familiar with the genre assume that it’s all about soft, melodic tunes; however, they are seriously wrong. On Saturday, July 21^st, my point was proven right when there was a trance takeover at Webster Hall.

Myon & Shane 54 are two trance DJs that united as one back in 2008. They have brought us the best trance week after week with their podcast, “International Departures”. When it was announced that they were coming to NYC, to Webster Hall specifically for one night, I knew it would be a night that any trance fan wouldn’t want to miss. The duo opened up their set with their very own Summer of Love mix of Our Love. The crowd seemed to feed off of their incredible energy, everyone’s hands up in the air, rocking from side to side. In the midst of their set, they dropped a song that seems to be a huge hit this summer, On My Way to Heaven, by Above & Beyond. As the crowd sang along, Myon & Shane 54 enjoyed it just as much, clapping and dancing to the beat as they continued to DJ. It’s refreshing to see the DJs get just as excited as you get when they play one of your favorite songs; it makes you enjoy the show even more. Closing out their set, Myon & Shane 54 dropped their bootleg of Nirvana’s Smells like Teen Spirit, which was originally debuted during ASOT 450. The crowd went crazy, rocking out to a great ending, yet ready for what’s to come.

Up next we were blessed with not only one amazing trance DJ, but as a surprise, two. I will start by saying, thank you NYC traffic, for making Leon Bolier miss his flight the prior evening. Next, I will say how thankful I am, amongst every other NYC trance fan out there, for Arnej to share his set with Leon. Arnej alone is known to bring amazing trance rage to his shows, but to decide to do a back-to-back with Leon Bolier was like the EDM Gods came down to earth for a night and gave us an unexpected dose of #tranceheaven, as we often say on Twitter.

Arnej started solo, kicking the set off with his very well known intro, Dust in the Wind. This is the perfect way to start your crowd, slow and steady, as the beat picks up the pace, giving the fans a tease of the show to come; I call it the calm before the storm. From uplifting, to dark and dirty, he took us on an emotional roller coaster, playing different types of trance, including vocal trance, with tracks such as Gareth Emery’s “Concrete Angel.” As Leon Bolier came in to the mix to play back-to-back with Arnej, there wasn’t a dull moment as they dropped hit after hit. Some tracks included during his set were, Sometimes They Come Back for More by Cosmic Gate and Arnej himself as well as Reboot by Ummet Ozcan. Who would have thought these two DJs would be on the same stage at Webster Hall, giving us such a surprising treat? I certainly didn’t expect this. It’s nights like these that NYC needs to get back. Where DJs will surprise with you special guests and extend their sets because their fans are raging way too hard for it to be over yet!

With that said, we were given an extra hour, yet it still seemed like 5 AM approached rather too quickly. Arnej played his mashup versus Yuri Kane, They Need Us Right Back, ending the night with a perfect vocal track. It was an evening that took us on an emotional ride, proving that this is more than what people may think of it. To me, that’s one of the best things about trance; it can make you rage, it can make you cry, and it can make you feel a million emotions, all at the same time. It’s so relatable to how you’re feeling, no matter what you’re feeling. Thank you, Myon & Shane 54, Arnej and Leon Bolier, for giving us more reasons to love this music and a night that we will never forget.

Article by: Natalie Aflak