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Let me recount my adventure for any interested TA'ers. Text relating to the party is in yellow.
Woke up at 10 AM to my friend calling me and telling our roadtrip mobile (Ford Festiva, funnest car on the planet) was broken and we would be taking that same driver's modded turbo Golf. That was a  for me because I knew we would be spending about 3x more on gas, we'd be driving stupidly unsafe and at stupid-high speeds (fun but :nervous) getting arrested for any of these in Canada would likely make us miss the party.
We meet up at the driver's house where the driver's brother and my friend finally came back after spending all summer in jail. If you still have any doubt that a hot, slutty, stuck-up rich girl screaming rape won't land you in jail even though there is no evidence, think again. The U.S. judicial system is a joke.
Of course we end up doing 120 on every open stretch :run: and peak at around 135 so we have to refill at a rest stop in New York @ 3.79/gallon I think. At least we got there fast? :dunno: This is also where we unexpectedly had to spend the majority of our budget by getting 1/2 the expected MPG and having to buy premium fuel.
Got INTO Canada with no problem, drove and walked around the Falls for an hour or so, snapped some pics, chilled in the mall, got money exchanged at a dissappointing rate, and we went on our way.
Traffic on Gardiner Expressway was at a standstill and dissappointingly only 1 other car honked to our "Cleveland <3s Mark Oliver" sign stuck to our rear window. Got in line around 8:30 though the doors didn't open till 9 or so and the guest list line was moving slower than the normal one once it did!
Got in there to Mark Oliver tearing it up much like I had expected. Began dancing my ass off and his awesome set just flies by. To my awesome surprise he finishes off with Air For Life, currently my all-time favorite non-vocal trance song, so I just go crazy. Him finishing up with that absolutely made my night before many of you had even arrived  . I was dissappointed when I found out the Mark Oliver set wouldn't be broadcast live, because the internaets people really would be missing out on an awesome less-known DJ. And I wanted everyone to see my sign, which he did sign at the end! Yes!
I was already pretty low on energy from MO but I stuck it through Markus Schulz because I hadn't seen him live before. The first 30 minutes were simply amazing. I was front and not quite center but having a blast. This guy next to me was also totally feeling it. Black shirt and some white dress shirt wrapped around his waits - which one of you TA'ers was that? 
I was feeling pretty tired and somewhat bored at Markus playing some more low-key tracks and having 0 interaction with the crowd - he wasn't smiling or even looking up so I decided it was a good time to walk around the complex for a while as it had recently opened.
The tent looked like a nice place to chill and those guys walking on stilts were pretty cool. Went into the Guvernment and it was packed. Continued around, got some cool pics of the Skyline and eventually chilled in the couches at Orange Room for a while. Came back to KH, got some water, listened to a big of Markus Schulz, friend wanted to go for a smoke break so we went around the Guv one more time. This time I was in a dancing mood so I was just dancing the entire time while walking around the complex and through crowds :mamoru:
We get into the Guv where Digweed is now playing some hard-hitting slow housey stuff that I'm loving it. However the entire place is so packed that the line to go up the stairs is stopped by the bouncers for some reason, so I have a few minutes to enjoy him right there. And once we were on the stairs on the 'corner square' I was just dancing there - guess I had the best spot in the room  .
Chilled on Skybar but because of the crowd we got back at 1:01 so we missed Markus' closer. Rocked out to Grayarea which though wasn't the best music, it was a really fun 'concert' atmosphere that was a good mixer to the DJ sets in KH - and I normally hate such rock concerts  . It was fun when the lead singer came down into the crowd, he was never more than 1 person away from me. My friend got some really good pics of him.
Around this time two of the three friends I was with were feeling really tired so they decided to call it a night and go sleep in the car. At 2 AM! What can I say other than they missed out on the true party, which was just getting started then. Trance n00bs :P. Especially sucks for the one that is a huge Coldplay fan.
Blank & Jones tore it up. Such amazing talent with pure trance tracks. They hit so hard that after 1 hour I was beginning to feel tired and I wanted to save the majority of my energy for Armin so I went and rested on the bar/couch area on the side wall of KH. Went back with 15 minutes left in B&J's set, met up with someone from another forum who recognized the friend I was with, and then made my way to front and center to rock out to the last few awesome tracks with the TA crew (don't know any of you, but the awesome vibe and energy there, must have been you.)
Armin came out, and it was a big moment for me. I have been entranced to him these past few months and it was of course the first time I had seen him live. The energy of those screaming 'Armin' and welcoming him on stage was huge. I couldn't believe he opened right up with Zocalo, a track I've been dying to hear not only live, but by him. More song after awesome song until I realized the heat from the crowding in front of the DJ booth was really getting to me and I was running out of water. So, resourcefully annoying as I am (and copying off the girl in the front row), I start fanning myself with my rolled up MO poster. -Sorry to all the people I was probably smacking in the face while fanning and sending any BO to you- After a while it kicks in that since I'm so close to stage I could get it signed. But it took 6 or so rounds by the manager before I finally got it signed and then I was able to bolt to the bathroom, douse myself in cold water (which had condensation fumes floating off of it in my water bottle,) chill on the cushions by the washroom, drink 2 or 3 bottles and regain some energy. I guess I only missed around 30 minutes of Armin and I got to notice those giant projector screens with cool images of Armin and whatever! Nifty!
Made my way to the TA area (front and centre) and had a blast of a time with what little energy I had left for the night. So many awesome tracks he was able to fit into that set. Armin was so friendly, Some DJ's spend the majority of their time fine-tuning knobs, looking through their records or posing for their camera. It seems Armin spend the majority of his time checking out every face in the crowd and smiling, waving, and mouthing words to people. I had neither the room or the energy to do much else than jumping up and down. Armin plops down more amazing tracks, everyone in the TA area sings along to every track with vocals (or maybe that was just me) and Armin does a lot of cute :hsugh: faces and :ugh: when the majority of the crowd goes  for that track with the jazzy intro.
Armin was the first DJ I have ever seen that, even though I felt physically exhausted and had no energy left - by the time the party in KH ended I hadn't eaten in 15 hours and had danced for 10 of the ~12 hours I was in the Guvernment Complex. :coold:I did not want him to ever stop playing. I kept giving it all I could to the awesome tracks he kept playing - it was simply the best set I had ever heard. Closing with Coldplay was an amazing move on his part, I believe. The vibe was amazing. Then came the encores! The guy would just not quit! Simply an amazing experience. No doubt he is #1 in my mind and a lot of the peoples' there. Props to all those who were yelling 'thank you Armin' at the end of the night.
:bowdown:
Awesome, very friendly vibe I saw last night throughout the complex. People chipping in to help others at the bar if they were short, giving up seats and cramming in to make room in the chillout sections, not killing me for the repeated accidental elbows to the head/face from jumping around or stepping on their toes - sorry. I did take a pretty good elbow near my eye that left a mark and one time my glasses flew straight off, but it's something you need to put up with if you're in a crowded area. Take the risk or stand in the back where there's more room, as mean as that might sound :hs:. Didn't ruin my vibe one it.
Then on the drive home we got stopped by immigration at the border crossing and we lost an hour right there. At least we got through okay . After a short and speedy drive home I showered, ate, posted a little on OT, and slept for a good 16 hours.
Memorable Moments include:
-Air For Life by Mark Oliver
-Till There Was You by Markus Schulz (and all the OTers singing)
Without You Near by Markus Schulz
-A bunch of the awesome, classic tracks played by Blank & Jones which I don't know by name.
-Zocalo by Armin (What a way to start it!)
-Till There Was You by Armin ("Everyone sing!")
-Communication by Armin (oh how I wanted this buildup, and he gave it!)
-Play it Louder by Armin (this was the ONLY song I was hoping for all night, all others were pleasant surprises. I don't know if my post in the official request thread on his forum helped, I'd like to think it did - and the justification that he played it on 3 ASOTs in a row.)
-Shivers by Armin (I knew this would be played, and it was good.)
-Silence by Armin (CRAZY! This song seems so old-school yet so new at the same time. Was I the only one singing along to it? I hope not!)
11/10 party. I tried my hardest to have fun because you never know what happens in life, so I always party like it's my last.
Does anyone have the ripped video stream?
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). I wasn't really feeling their act, but it was nicely done!
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