[Review] Swedish House Mafia @ Manchester Apollo 27/05/11
House gigs at large venues are always an unusual one, the crowd can be different at every show and the music can sometimes trail off and lose interest. On Friday night, when I attended Manchester Apollo to witness Swedish House Mafia, I was put right. The Apollo as a venue, I like, with it's high ceilings and upper tier to boot, but how could three DJ's and producers keep the place bouncing until 2am? SHM entered 2011 as superstars following a huge previous year. 2010 was such a big year for them, signing with EMI and having huge hits with their single "One (Your Name)" which feature Pharrell followed up with the Tinie Tempah featuring "Miami 2 Ibiza". Two top ten tracks in as many months from these guys and fans snapping up tickets as quickly as they went on sale. They must be doing something right.
In Manchester Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso put on a show that I was not prepared for. I've seen DJ's play before and it's fun, don't get me wrong, but their always seems to be a little something lacking. Swedish House Mafia showed me what they'd been missing. With huge pyrotechnics firing off the stage at timed intervals for drops in songs, the crowd was screaming for more as they danced the night away. The trio played a host of their own tracks and kicked it all off with their hit "One" (all of which you can watch unfold in the video at the bottom). As well as their own hits they threw in chart track mixes and favourites including, the beautiful songstress and chart dominator that is Adele, SKoA fave Calvin Harris......As the night went on the energy in the room was electric and everyone was their for the same reason. To have fun and witness 3 great talents.
The lasers were constantly firing across the top of the Manchester crowd liked a never ending barrage of darts. Drop in their recent track, "Save The World" and the place nearly erupted. If you get the chance to see these guys live, do it. It's not just yoru average DJ behind the decks kind of thing, it's a full on experience and a show. They set a bar that, for me, will need to be hit by other DJ's at future shows. Just sayin'. The chemistry these three guys had between them and the 3500 fans was unifying. The tempo was upbeat and the night was young, at least for SHM, who once they wrapped up their set headed to the afterparty at Sankeys to play some more tracks for electronic hungry Mancunions. My ears were ringing until Sunday evening, always the sign of a good night.
A great night and a great show with a full AV show to boot, from what is surely to be one of the more influential groups for 2011 in the dj'ing world. 2010 was big for these boys but I think 2011 has a few treats in stall for them too.
Keeping with the vibe, take a listen to the Style Of Eye & Carli Remix of their track "Save The World" courtesy of EMI and Beat My Day.
Swedish House Mafia - Save The World (Style Of Eye & Carli Remix) Beatmyday.com ExclusivePreview by Beat My Day
Weren't at the Manchester show? Take a look at the fan shot youtube video below to get a taste of what you could have witnessed.