Markus Schulz checking out his visuals before the show begins – credit to Mir Shoaib
When Markus Schulz was announced, I was beside myself. When I saw it was going to be an open to close set, I near passed out. Markus Schulz open to close sets are legendary and that is an understatement so the goal of the night was to be there open to close. Unfortunately Houston traffic had another plan for me.
It’s my own fault I didn’t check my traffic apps to see what I would run into if I went my normal route. The last time I went out I had an easy ride down 290 to Stereo Live. I was not so lucky this past weekend. Construction at West 34th street and the closing of 290 right before it branches off to I-10 and 610 made what was normally a barely 30 minute drive into over an hour drive. Once I made it to 610, I felt a lot better. When I pulled into the parking lot of Stereo Live, the stress melted away as I anticipated what the night held in store.
The line to get in wasn’t long at all. It was the typical wait as security had people empty their pockets and open up their bags. I got in painlessly and quickly went inside Stereo Live so I could see the unicorn slayer do what he does best. According to a few people I spoke with, I hadn’t missed very much as Markus Schulz started off very slow in tempo and progressive in style. This came as no surprise to me as this is how Markus typically arms up in an open to close set. He seemed to be in his club mood when I walked in. The crowd was definitely into it.
What I took note of immediatley was the visuals programmed to the set. They were amazing!! A lot of the time you just see various patterns, colors, strobes, and the occasional name up on the LED screen behind the stage in the main room. Markus Schulz had scenes of space, nature, dancing energy, song lyrics, and women. It was a nice touch to what was arguably one of the best sets I have ever heard Markus Schulz throw down among the many times I have seen him in Houston.
Markus introduced Houston to new music from his upcoming album, Watch the World, set to be released worlwide on April 29th of this year. Markus played Omair Mirza’s remix of his track Destiny featuring Delacey and a mash up that I went nuts over: Protoculture vs Delacey – In the Air of Manticore. Out of all the tracks Markus played, the one that stood out in my mind the most was Anahera by Ferry Corsten presents Gouryella, which was accompanied by a sobering message about where we come from and what we have to treasure in this life. It really was a beautiful moment and you could feel the love emenating from the crowd.
Trancefamily most definitely assembled for this special night. There were no bad vibes and everyone was dancing like mad. Markus addressed the crowd a few times and seemed to be enjoying himself up on stage. One great thing about Markus is that he is the same guy, whether he is playing infront of thousands or a few hundred people. I felt like I was at a festival and that can be hard to replicate when you are in a club. Between Markus’s good energy and the crowd’s, I felt right at home.
I did my best to stay till the end. I got part way into the Rabbit Hole, as Markus and his fans like to call it, before my body said no more. I went home at around 2:30am. If I had just pushed myself to stay a little longer, I would have made it to the end. I am told Markus ended his set at around 2:45am. I was hoping for a longer set for an Open to Close performance, but seeing as Markus had to fly out to Miami the next day, I understood why the set wasn’t longer. It was good for how long it was however.
My ride home was uneventful and clear of traffic. Even if there had been a hold up, I would have sat with a smile on my face as I recounted the magic of Markus Schulz’s unicorn slaying. To all the families missing unicorns, my deepest apologies for they were sacrificed on the dance floor. For highlights of the night, check out my video below.
I was listening to electronic dance music without even knowing it when I was listening to Jock Jams in the 90s. Fast forward to my senior year in high school and I had discovered Fatboy Slim. I have been listening to edm ever since and love writing about new sounds, good sounds, and the music that makes us move.
