Tiesto began his eighteen month Kaleidoscope world tour at the Hammerstein ballroom in New York on Thursday the 24^th of September. Entering the stage at 11pm, Tiesto had the crowd pumping past four am, even though the show was advertised to last only until 2am. From the moment Tiesto spun the first record, I was mesmerized by his unique vision of Trance music. I was not alone.  The Hammerstein Ballroom, a grand three story venue lined the balconies, was filled with gyrating bodies as far as the eye could see.

Then, as the night progressed and the drinks flowed (the crowd contained more wild drinkers than the usual trance-heads), the audience hoisted boys and girls into the air onto the shoulders of friends and and began the crowd-surfing. Surely, this is rock concert behaviour? Either way, it put a smile on Tiesto’s face as he continued keep the crowd bouncing, screaming, hugging and jumping from one record to the next. I now understood what ATB and Kaskade meant when they said that the New York crowd was ‘totally crazy.” Tiesto appreciated the crowd’s enthusiasm as much as his contemporaries, and at one point he even descended into the photo-pit and began shaking hands and hugging the feverous audience. Brave move.

Surviving the venture into the pit, Tiesto returned to his platform. Rather than continuing to shower the audience with floor-filler after floor-filler, the music took a noticeable down-turn. While some may complain, for me it was a well needed pause to prepare us for what was to follow. However, this tactic may have led some of the audience to think he was winding down. Then as the clock approached the 2am advertised, the Cinderellas of the crowd disappeared from sight and numbers significantly dwindled. However, do not confuse reduced with induced. In fact, just after the small exodus, Tiesto really pulled out all the stops. Fire exploded along the stage while the air glittered with paper shot from nearby canons.

Tiesto then began switching up styles faster than I could recognise. Particularly well executed was the Big Beat sound typical of Amsterdam, taking me back to the large warehouse parties with astonishing visuals of the ‘Dam – a great mix that was repeated at the Hammerstein.

Next came some seriously hard trance, making it difficult for my electro trained body to lock to the beats (although it drew me further and further towards the diversity of trance). My body was lagging behind the moves, but my emotions were tied to Tiesto’s calm control of the equipment in front of him. Then just as my mind was wrapping itself around this amazing new sound I had foolishly dismissed, Tiesto pulled the tempo down and dropped ‘I feel it in my bones’ featuring Tegan and Sarah.  The visuals to match Tiesto’s expertly crafted pop/trance track were immense – watch the video, but if you don’t see it live you are truly missing out.

Another highlight for me was Escape Me, by Tiesto ft. Cc Sheffield. Then came the latest track with the same title as the new Album, Kaleidoscope feat. Jonsi. Jonsi’s poetic voice reverberated around the Ballroom and managed to calm the crazy New Yorkers. As you can see below, many voices soon joined the singer from Sigur Ros.

Even as Tiesto walked off the stage, the crowd was still screaming for more. I stumbled away with the last of the crowd, physically exhausted but mentally exhillirated. Tiesto is at the top of his game, and because his tour is so extensive, no one has an excuse not to catch one of his explosive performances. Although be careful; with Tiesto’s regular podcasts and non-stop touring, you could soon find your musical sphere dominated as he literally takes over the world.

See more Tiesto Kaleidoscope World Tour pictures