With the success of their first collaboration: HVOB and Underher Live, we were very pleased to see the organizers reunite for yet another round. After their incredible first event, it came to no surprised when the hosts announced a sold out Jan Blomqvist Live show at the Phi Centre.
Music is a cultural form of art that brings people together. It is a form of expression understood by all, as it doesn’t care for one’s status, gender, ethnicity, age, etc… It has the power to influence one’s mood, to change the atmosphere, to tell a story.
Nowadays, with the advent of technology, many chose to live in the virtual, with the countless social media platforms, applications, and websites available. With the wide musical spectrum available through numerous applications and websites, staying connected and following your favourite artists is just a click away. Surfing the web and streaming music has never been this easy.
But can this virtual experience simulate and recreate the actual sensations felt during a live show? When all of your senses are engaged; it’s more than just the visuals and the sound. The feeling of excitement people get prior and during the show, how the general atmosphere of a live performance is influenced by the venue and its crowd. Every performance is so unique and brings out a range of emotions.
Once more, the choice of venue was perfect for the type of performance. With a little under 200 spots available in the room, including the mezzanines, the Phi Centre helped creating a feeling of intimacy.
The opening act was announced only 10 days before the big night: Pōe. Like many, I wasn’t familiar with the artist, but my curiosity was instantly triggered. When nothing relevant came up on google, I followed the link on the Facebook event and started listening to the many releases on the artist’s Soundcloud. I was surprised to see that, like his Facebook page, most of the tracks on his profile were barely 6 months old. This piqued my curiosity even further.
When Friday finally arrived, I could barely contain my excitement. Poe started warming the crowd up around 9:30 pm. His performance was very energetic and groovy. The DJ was dancing and smiling the whole time.
After 60 minutes on stage, Pōe came to the dance floor and started interacting with the people. A little later in the evening, it was funny to hear him describe his experience: “At some point I was singing and it felt very quiet. I wasn’t sure if it was because of my voice or what, but I just continued with a huge drop. People started jumping and dancing, I was relieved.” Another interesting comment was the one where he mentioned his heavy metal background and how it would have been funny to sing with that voice to wake the crowd up!
Following the intermission, which was a little longer than expected, it was time for the main act. To my surprise, a solo Jan Blomqvist came on stage, the setup unchanged and no musical instruments. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the live performance came to a stop after a couple tracks. Shout out to the staff, who worked fast to resolve the issue. When Jan finally came back on stage, the crowd started cheering before continuing to dance and sing along, as if nothing happened.
The Berlin-base DJ and producer interacted with the audience as he performed a rhythmic set, filled with hypnotic melodies and soulful vocals. Earlier that day, the DJ posted on Facebook that he’d be playing 6 tracks out of his new album. The room was filled with happiness and the crowd went wild when “I don’t think about you” came on. You could see faces light up as Jan played some of the fans’ favourites.
Track after track, the captivating sound brought us on an incredible journey, tingling all sensations. The intimate room allowed to witness and feel the emotion flowing in the air. A feeling of euphoria was omnipresent. This common passion and love bringing us all together. For a few hours, you forget about your day to day life and let the music transport you to another dimension.
Despite the technical difficulties, it was another successful night “in the real”.
article by Telsa
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