Hardwell at Story Miami August 9, 2013

Having never been to Story nightclub in Miami I had no idea what to expect. I had acquired a ticket to Hardwell August 9^th which had been sold out for months so I knew that it was going to be incredible. I have only seen Hardwell one time in my life before tonight and it was last October when he was starting to dominate Edm. Several of my close friends were going so the night was going to be unforgettable no matter who was playing especially since my lady: Karen was coming as well.

I began the tedious two hour drive from the Gulf coast around 9:30 p.m. while we were blasting Hardwell’s TomorrowLand set to get pumped up for tonight. Upon arriving and parking we began our short walk to Story and were promptly let in upon checking our id’s and tickets. As we walked inside it was a complete sensory overload: intense lights, pounding bass, scantily clad dancers, and a ton of people.

As this was Hardwell’s Go Hardwell or Go Home tour, he had brought along fellow dj Dannic to open for him. I was hoping to hear Dannic play some of new songs or even Viper but I didn’t recognize any of the songs he was playing but I figured it was to build the anticipation for Hardwell. As the clock neared 1:30 my friends and I made our way to the very front row for Hardwell and we would remain there for the duration of his set. When the clock struck 1:30 I began to hear the faint sound of Spaceman playing and at that very moment I knew I was about to have my mind blown once again. This started the crowd into an absolute frenzy and people began jumping like their lives depended on it.

I was hoping to hear Hardwell play some of his older songs and I was not disappointed when I heard Zero 76 along with How We Do. What really surprised me was hearing him play Eat Sleep Rave Repeat and dropping Rattle by the Bingo Players, this made me extremely happy as I love the Bingo Players. By this point the crowd was going absolutely crazy with no signs of slowing down. One of the things I love about Hardwell is that he genuinely has a good time when playing as evidenced by his jumping around while playing.

I had very high expectations for tonight and Hardwell and he did not let me down especially after dropping some amazing mashups that included: Alesso’s Years vs. Showtek’s Cannonball vs. Martin Garrix’s Animals which absolutely blew my mind. Along with that he also played Macklemore’s Can’t Hold Us Down vs. Sandro Silva’s Epic vs. Dada Life’s Kick Out The Epic vs. Arty’s Grand Finale. Continuously dropping banger after banger, Hardwell showed no signs of slowing down and I could tell the crowd was in a state of euphoria.

One of my favorite moments of the night was when he grabbed the microphone and belted out Welcome to Miami B**** which I knew was Alvaro and Mercer’s new song featuring Lil Jon. This night was turning out to be one of the best nights of my entire life and we still had another thirty minutes to go when all of a sudden I hear Encoded start to play. I keep hearing “Welcome to the soundtrack of your nightlife!” inside of my head and this gets me even more excited because not only is it the intro to Hardwell’s weekly On Air podcasts, it is also his song: Encoded from 2011.

As the last song of his set ended we finally had a chance to rest our legs and catch our breath. I truly felt blessed that I was able to witness without a doubt the best set I have ever heard in my life. Not only was I blessed to have seen Hardwell but I was able to do so with some of my best friends which made this a truly unforgettable night!