Above & Beyond at Surrender Las Vegas June 26, 2013

I cannot even imagine where to begin when I saw Above & Beyond perform in Las Vegas on June 26^th, 2013. I was truly fortunate enough to be staying at the Encore hotel with my family that week. In addition, I was extremely lucky to be able to hear them live at one of my favorite Las Vegas clubs, Surrender. I went to the club around 11 p.m., early enough, so I could get an epic view of them live. This special and memorable night marks the first time I had ever gone to a club alone. However, I could have honestly cared less since I was about to receive some amazing Group Therapy!

As I walked in, I was awestruck by the sight of a gigantic outdoor pool and numerous bars. The fact the weather was atrociously hot forced me to rehydrate myself with the most delicious cocktails. However, I did not enjoy being greeted with a Pitbull song at an EDM event. To say the least, the resident DJ’s musical selection was more pop-oriented than needed and sarcastically, I was expecting to hear him play the most over-played EDM song, Avicii’s “Levels”. I yearned to hear more trance and more electro-house before Above & Beyond went on.

Around 1:15 a.m., I began to head towards the increasingly packed dance floor. Thankfully, I got a spot about 10 feet away from the DJ booth, which was not easily accessible because of the abundance of EDM fanatics. As a result, I am not flabbergasted that the EDM scene has grown exponentially in the past several years. Finally, around 1:30 a.m., I see Paavo and Jono emerge from backstage. I’m in a complete state of euphoria as I am finally about to witness them live. My dreams are finally turning into reality because they played one of my favorite new songs, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”. Although, it was a remix I had never heard before, it gave me goose bumps hearing it live. The crowd was in absolute brouhaha and they had everyone belting out the lyrics to “Get Lucky”. Next, I heard them play “Floorlifter” by Rank 1, which made me absolutely ecstatic! The climax of my night was when Above and Beyond played one of my favorite songs, “Thing Called Love”. They continued to blow my mind especially when they played “Walter White”. I was so excited that I may have suffered a minor heart attack. Basically, Above and Beyond are heaven-sent.

Their plurfect song Sun & Moon made my life complete. After absolutely killing it for two hours straight, my feet were exhausted from shuffling. I will never forget this incredible night and hopefully one day I can have the opportunity to meet them. I would like to thank them for changing my life for the better and I could not be more proud of their achievements they have made in the EDM scene. Ultimately, if you want to go “Above and Beyond”, it will be one of the best decisions you can ever make.

Paavo & Jono