ADE 2011: Survived Events: DJ Mag Top 100 Awards Party

It shouldn't be a surprise that ADE, and especially the DJ Mag Top 100 evening, were both an absolute success! Of course, ADE had nothing to prove anymore and yet again delivered a week-long paradise for EDM-heads!

This happened to be my first ADE. After the top 100 awards party, I know that I have a lot of lost time to catch up to. The other days were filled by workshops, debates, conferences...and of course lineups! Like I said earlier, a EDM paradise...


Just one night. But luckily for me it was the biggest of them all! With a line up of Fedde Le Grand, Schulz, Guetta and 4 times dj of the world, Armin van Buuren, you just know it is going to be a night to remember!

Sidney Samson was a last minute add on to the lineup and he happened to open the night. I originally didn't like his presence all too much, but when I entered the colossal main room of The Amsterdam Cruise Terminal, he pleasantly surprised me!

He performed an absolute splendid warm-up set, varying from his signature electro-house to dubstep and even drum&nass! It got the surprisingly tough crowd a little bit loose for one of the many headliners for this evening: Fedde Le Grand!

The last time I saw Fedde do a set, I was 14 years old. He was gaining a lot of international acclaim for the infamous "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" single. It's quite strange to see a highschool-party dj now headline at such a prestigious event. Since it was so long ago, I really had no clue what to expect. Apart from some of his music, I'd never listened to one of his podcast since I just can't listen to Tech House. And although I was partially right about the Tech-House thing, Fedde showed to be an excellent crowd reader. It must have been one of the more tougher sets I've witnessed in my life, but overall he played beastly. Between the heard Techno and progressive stompers, he ocassionally found some time to play real anthems like this killer remix for Insomnia by Faithless!



Meanwhile, the Top 100 list was begin showning on the big screen behind Fedde, and the countdown began! Sooner than I expected, my personal headliner of the evening arrived: Armin Van Buuren!

I've heard so much about him these last couple of years but experienced so little. Due to the anti-trance period in my life, I know nothing of armin or a trance set until he opened. And let me tell you, it was like witnessing a king! People cheered anf followed and imitated his every move. My earlier prejudgments of trance melted away quickly as his dj-set progresses!

The amount of energy in the set was unbelievable! I was utterly drained after it. Trance has to be one of the most exhausting live music out there. Mesmerizing good melodies and roof trembling loud bass was almost destroying the sound system. My iPhone which I used to record the evening with could barely capture the audio. I loved it!



It was clear that the visitors absolutely loved Armin. And I understand why now. He has to be one of the most sympathetic dj's I've seen. He was constantly smiling and interacting with the public. He even made a picture during his set from all of us! A true dj can make a crowd love him, and not only play the biggest tunes. I think 99% of the people I was sharing the Cruise Terminal with felt he should be #1 again!



Meanwhile, I'd seen 2 faces of my personal top 5:

Mat Zo and Arty ended up being number 73 and 25. My original top 5 was Arty, Mat Zo, Sander Van Doorn, Axwell and Laidback luke at number one. But I feel that top 5 isn't really accurate to my personal DJ top 100. If I had really voted for my top 5 dj list it would be Luke still at one, but then followed by A-Trak, Sander Van Doorn and 2 blanks. I haven't seen enough dj's play to make an honest top 5 imo.

While that thought in mind, the top 20 finally came on screen and not surprisingly it was my number one:

As predicted, Luke was ranked way lower than he should have been, confirming this list is not based on dj skills but on popularity. The rest of the list:

03.Tiesto
04.Deadmau5
05.Above&Beyond
06.Avicii
07.Afrojack
08.Dash Berlin
09.Markus Schulz
10.Swedish House Mafia
11.Paul van Dyk
12.Axwell
13.Gareth Emery
14.Fedde le Grand
15.ATB
16.Sander van Doorn
17.Headhunterz
18.Ferry Corsten
19.Skrillex

and finally, as expected, a final showdown of the two giants of the EDM scene: Armin and David.



Surprised? I was not. Guetta has worked his ass of and has number one in 46 different countries and plays all around the world in the biggest acclaimed clubs of the scene. Left aside from what you think about his music, the man earns a lot of respect for his effort the last couple of years. In the video you can hear some people booing which really made me sick. I wasn't cheering either but I still felt he earned it.

After the award, I was too exhausted by Armin's set that I felt like going home. I was certainly an experience that I will look back too with joy. My first ever ADE night happened to be one of epic proportions! But even a roll of Dextro and 3 energy drinks couldn't keep my eyes open. Trance events are apparently too much for me at this point. But I'm certain I will visit one again.

For me, this was a very short but thrilling ADE. And next year I will most certainly do the whole week. Until then!