It’s no surprise that a show with such a highly anticipated lineup would sell out in advance and have a huge line going down the block before the opener even went on. Pacha kicked the night off with Burns who might not be as well-known as the rest of the boys, but I can assure you he won the crowd over this past Friday night with his “European Se Music”. He started off with some chill house beats just to get the crowd moving and quickly pumped up the Electro dropping a remix of Original Don by Major Lazer that I hadn’t even heard before. Towards the end of his set he raised the heat by playing Nicky Romero’s Camorra who was to go on later in the night.

Calvin Harris received a warm welcome by the jam-packed NYC crowd as he opened with one of his first big hits, I’m Not Alone. Throughout the night he managed to please his mainstream fans that were there for his radio hits as well as the electro house addicts who came out for the hard beats. There was a balance between the pop singles like Bounce with Kelis and the anthems such as The Calling and Save the World that had everyone literally bouncing while joining in a massive group chant. Having seen him live at Electric Zoo this past summer and at Pacha last weekend I have to admit that as much as I love the free flowing space of an outdoor festival, there is something intimate about being in a dark, sweaty crammed room with hundreds of strangers who got their hands perpetually reaching for the ceiling and their feet stomping on the hard wood floors.

Following Calvin Harris was Nicky Romero, a young talent that has been blowing up for the past year, and for a very good reason. He produces heavy synths that he combines with beautiful melodies, creating his very own Dirty Dutch sound. He first gained recognition for his remix of Green Velvet’s Flash and has come out with banger after banger ever since. His most recent tracks are Toulouse, Generation 303 and his collaboration with Avicii called Fuck School, all of which were crowd pleasers at Pacha. Personally he was the DJ I had been most excited about seeing and he did not disappoint. His set was full of energy, even the folks sitting in VIP were up and dancing to his music. Nicky Romero is one of those DJs that can play his own tracks for half of the set and get away with it because there is so much variety.

The night came to a close with Pierce Fulton, an even younger producer/DJ who is only 19 years of age kept the party going until the early morning. Sure, there were folks who left, VIP was all cleared out. I knew of Pierce Fulton beforehand and decided to stay until I couldn’t stand anymore. He did a wonderful job, especially for a young newbie closing for a heavy hitter like Calvin Harris.

It was an amazing night spent dancing to quality EDM tunes. The crowd was lively and the overall energy was powerful. I wouldn’t mind seeing any of the four DJs again anytime soon, especially Nicky Romero.