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Okay, so I arrived in Ottawa right around 2pm went to sleep and woke up right now and prepare for a long read... 
What can I say my easter weekend was one of by far one of the best weekends I have had in years, from Toronto(GUV) to Ottawa(Sander Van Doorn @ Heaven) to MTL Stereo for Creator & Bal En Blanc.
I have decided for myself not to do any substances a while ago, and shifting my sleeping schedule actually helped me be really energetic at Bal.
Well to start it off I took it really low key on Sunday taking a nap till 7pm meeting up with friends in the Embassy Hotel across from Palais. And drinking a few Vodka bottles with them, and us as a massive crowd of around 30 people headed to the lineup. Wanted to mention this is my first Bal en Blanc event and I will be comparing it to other Montreal events like Tribe's Sasha&Digweed and The Bell Centre Massives.
1. Lineup & Security:
We arrived at the lineup @ 11:30 and I walked through with my Camera taping the entire lineup which was MASSIVE I think at least 700-800 meters long. We got to the back and me being pretty hammered we had a fun way through the entire lineup(although my friends managed to sneak out back to the hotel room and drink another bottle of wine while I and some other people were waiting in the lineup.), I ended up meeting some nice Montreal people in the lineup which I later saw on the dance floor. I expected it to be a really long lineup so I was a little surprised and we stood in it from 11:30 to about 2:15 where I got into the coat check, the pat down was really weak this time compared to the Bell Centre massives, they did not check my wallet and my pockets were not even patted down properly. You can see why so many people get drugs inside. I mean the smart ones still will get them inside...
Overall the lineup was long but really it was to be expected. Security was weak. I agree with a lot of people that Bal en Blanc did a really poor job on the lineup, but there is now way a thing like that could ruin my night. I was way to excited for this one...
P.S. The lineup did a very good job at sobering me up though 
2. Setup, Decorations, Lights:
I am not gonna lie, but I was disappointed with the setup, lights and the decorations.
Lights:
For 15000 people to be paying over 100$ for a ticket and not to be able to provide some better decorations, some lazers in the tech room, maybe a fire machines, a more intense light show, for the breakdown then some commercial club.... Seriously Bal en Blanc you guys need to pick it up, I do not know how your revenue works out for you and the dj's you have to pay off etc, etc but looking at places like the Netherlands (Trance Energy costs 40 euro's to get inside and their light show is probably 20 times better then BeB's or any of the Bell centre rave's which are hosted by you.) or even any event in Europe hosted by ID&T. Comeon I mean there are Lazer's for about 30000$ with programming @ everything that could make your party's lights a lot better in my opinion. Tribe did an awesome job for S&D and now that the bar has been risen, BEB you guys really need to pick it up.
Lights 4/10
Decorations & Setup:
Washrooms were overcrowded, however I enjoyed the fact there fruits and juice was being sold, you could actually get something to eat and be replenished if you were not like every other crack head or e-tard. I liked the accessory stores and the massage beds in the middle, awesome fun experience. I did not like the theme this year and I am sure many of you can agree with me on this one. The mosaic looking like thing above the Tech-room DJ booth was way too cheesy. Not enough places to sit but that was expected. I can't say much about the house room, I was there for a little bit during David Guetta's set but the moshpit of aged shirtless men in the middle was not my cup of tea. I wanted to catch Victor but my friends were really tired and needed to get back to Ottawa. Decorations were pretty decent, nothing special.
7.5/10 for Decorations & Setup.
3. Sound
I made the biggest mistake of not buying HI-FI ear plugs before going to Montreal, my ears are still ringing right now and when I say the sound sucked I mean IT SUCKED! The house room was not as bad, but house doesn't have those breakdowns and DJ's maxing the volume to make your ears bleed. One of the speakers in the TECH room blew up during Armin's set I think. Having those huge 2 dollar ear plugs was not an option for me, I hate the sound with them. I knew it was going to be like that so I can't really deduct much points from them for this one. My bad for not getting ear plugs. I honestly had to dance with my hands in my ears for some time... Unfortunately the line up in the house room was really bad, I only wanted to see Victor...
Sound 5/10
4. Music
Well as many of you know I like my House and Trance. I came to this party to see Ferry, Armin, Menno and Victor C.
Ferry Corsten:
I got inside for Ferry's but I was not really digging it. Some classics here and there but the energy was not really there, it may be the the Montreal Crowd in general or it may be Ferry was just a little too slow for me. There was definitely some nice tracks played, I can recall "Beatiful" and some other classics. It was a highlight when he played "Exhale" right before Armin's set. The guy with the flag's was my buddy by the way. He was waving it in the VIP all the time. He asked me to boost him up a few times so he could be above the crowd. Fun times definitely. Guy is very passionate about his trance music and I think that's pretty cool.
I give Ferry a 7/10.
I actually went to the house room for a little bit and when getting through the mosh pit of gay men in the middle I checked out some of Guetta's set which really sucked by the way, I have some video's that I will post later when I will upload them to youtube.
Armin van Buuren:
I saw this guy once at Sensation(Bell Centre) but I was doing  so I am not going to count that one(of course I liked him that time).
As soon as he started off people were getting excited. He started off sounding really techy. The first hour of his set had a little "Sander Van Doorn" touch to it I might say, seeing Sander 2 times in the past 5 days.. He played "Sia - The Girl you Lost to Cocaine(SVD MIX)" and a few other techy tracks that I have heard before. Nice energy you can dance it off too. About an hour into his set I heard "Arno Cost & Norman Doray - Apocalypse" which was fun to hear. About an hour into his set Armin fluffed it a little and dropped one of the best prog tracks of the summer, man I love this one "Dash Berlin - Till the Sky Falls Down(Dub Mix)"   .
I was starting to feel Armin's set from this point on. A few more tracks that I could recognize from his ASOT "335-343". He had some great energy going. The obligatory Jesus pose and the bowing . I went to rest around 6:30 and did some video's from the side. The last hour and a half of Armin's set was definitely the best of it. "Ernesto & Bastien - Thrill", "Motorcycle - As the Rush Comes" and many other great tracks. Definitely what a trance Lover needed from this guy. I say he delivered very well. For a 4 hour set he played the TRANCE fix that people needed. Some nice Energy at some points.
I have something like 6-7 video's that I might post later on. My Nokia N95 can't stand the bass from the speakers though. It really destroys that little mic on the phone.
Overall the guy had awesome energy, and he was feeling the crowd at the front for sure. Lot's of hands in the air, etc etc... Damn my legs still freaking hurt from dancing off for about 5 hours.
Armin - solid 9/10.
My friends got really tired after Armin and I heard a few Menno tracks and checked out Victor's set for a few minutes. It was a really nice sound. But I can not give him a rating since I was way to tired and had to go home.
I think I had something like 5-7 redbulls that night.  
5. The Crowd
Lots and lots of beautiful Montreal women. I met a few, very nice ones. Generally the people are very friendly and outgoing. A lot of people were on drugs. I mean a lot, what can you expect it was a rave Man have I said it yet, the women were HOT HOT HOT! Lots of Juicers as well... The crowd in the techroom had good energy. The crowd in the houseroom in the middle scared me away. In general I really enjoyed it. A lot better then in Toronto with all the sketch and pushiness. I met Malek and a few other TA's...
Crowd - 9/10.
Overall I give Bal en Blanc - 7.5/10
Great times with my friends and a lot of great memories.
It was a truly amazing weekend for me. Great times, great memories.
Videos will be up soon. 
Last edited by zeKsg on Mar-25-2008 at 01:21
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