Pryda @ Beekman (Pacha NYC) Review/Rant

Before I go on any rant about how the event was organized and whatnot, I will say (and later review) that I went to Pacha afterwards to catch Prydz and had a great time because you simply cannot go wrong with Prydz. However, the Pacha venue proved to be disappointing for many, as usual.  Luckily, it seems that they have issued full refunds through their ticket provider, clubtickets.com, for this event or free tickets for Thomas Gold at Pacha on August 11th.  All you have to do is email helpdesk@clubtickets.com.  I only recently did this and have not heard back yet (UPDATE: You can get tickets or a full refund, either one works and clubtickets is VERY quick and professional about it all) and I would recommend including your confirmation number and event name in your email to expedite the process.  Anyway, on to the rant/review.

To start, I got to Beekman at around 11:30PM and was greeted by a massive line to get inside.  I imagine this was largely due to Identity ending but I still had never seen the line there stretch so far back.  For Maya Jane Coles and Maceo Plex at Beekman, the line was practically nonexistent and there was a very solid crowd there.  Granted, the Maya Jane Coles crowd was not oversold like this was.

Eventually, everyone made it into the venue despite the crowd and got to enjoy the legend that is Prydz.  Only problem was that this fun lasted for about 30 minutes tops.  The question everyone is wondering is how on earth does something like this happen?  Well, in all honestly, I am about as baffled as everyone else out there.  If they had bothered to look into ANY of the past events at Beekman (Maya Jane Coles/Maceo Plex, Art Department, Knife Party) they would have known that the sound had to be reduced at all of these events and some even shut down for a little while.  This was with the venue being much less packed too.  Oh, and I almost didn't touch on the bathroom situation which was the worst I've seen anywhere but whatever, all I know is that entire boardwalk was covered in piss (including the mall).

After being completely shut down, they decided to try and salvage what was left of the night by moving the party to Pacha, where Madeon was already playing.  I'm fairly certain every single person at Beekman groaned in unison upon hearing this announcement as everyone thought it would be much more packed than Beekman was.  Some went, some did not, my friends and I went to the nearest Duane Reade to regain our buzz (great decision might I add) and then proceeded to Sullivan Room for Justin Martin.  Some of us actually went in but the majority of us ended up sucking it up and moving on to Pacha rather than coughing up more cash.

Upon arrival to Pacha we were forced up to the top floor as usual and had to wait in line to get downstairs.  Why they do this I'll never know, especially when it was not incredibly packed downstairs (I've seen it a LOT worse).  We arrived basically where we left Prydz at Beekman, hearing Sunburst and many other songs from his newest album Eric Prydz Presents Pryda.  His mixing was flawless and each long progressive build was capped perfectly.  See, Prydz actually puts his headphones to use and physically mixes, a rarity at some of the more "popular" DJ shows.  Certain even newer tracks made their way into his set, for example, Ocean Drive, which I discovered via his EPIC Radio show and has already become one of my favorite current songs.  Check below for a sample.

Pryda - Ocean Drive

The finale that Prydz saved for the end was one of the best I've ever been a part of.  Saving the best for last usually means the rest of the show was mediocre at best but this absolutely was not the case as I don't think anyone stopped dancing for a solid 3 hours.  Anyway, he ended with (might be missing some as my memory is hazy) The Veldt surprisingly, followed by Circles (Eric Prydz Remix), Pjanoo, Allein, and capping it off with his Mirage/We Are The People edit with Empire of the Sun.  If that set list doesn't make you go from 6 to midnight (apologies ladies) then I don't know what will.

The night ended at around 5:00AM or 5:30AM but it was well worth the wait.  Unfortunately, I did not get to witness Shadows, my personal favorite from the album, but you win some and you lose some.  All the more reason to see him in action again (hopefully in less than 5 years this time).  Overall, the night was resurrected because of the talent and nearly ruined by a boneheaded move on Pacha's part.  Of course, the music always trumps any mistakes by the promoters because that's what everyone pays for.  And next time Prydz, please do not give in to the big name of Pacha if possible.  All of your NYC fans will love you even more for it.

Thanks again for braving the air to create an unforgettable night that everyone enjoyed because of your talent.