Ben Gold at RedLight 31-12-2011 Review

Tang & Ben Gold

Hi everyone,

On New Year’s Eve, I had the pleasure to attend none other than BEN GOLD @ RedLite afterhours here in Montreal. Placed @  #269 on the controversial DJMAG poll, he like many other DJ’s is extremely underrated. But no matter, we know he is good and we are glad to have him without having 15000 other people shoving us back and forth like a rock concert mosh pit.

As some of you know, this is my 3rd time seeing Gold (and hearing ;)) this year. To be honest, I had to make the choice between Resolution with Axwell, Avicii, Dash and Gareth on the 1st vs Gold on the 31st.
Why did I choose Ben? Well for one thing I know I was guaranteed at least a good night with him. As for Resolution, the tickets were way too expensive imo and I am truly not a fan of Emery nor the type of House music Axwell plays. Oh well, to each his own.

Let’s talk venue first. RedLite FINALLY got some new comfy couches… and that’s about the entire positive I can say about that place. Speakers were bad (too loud!), that stage placed right in front of the middle/DJ was horrid (because whoever’s on it blocks the whole view for everyone else) and the clientele is the usual well… let’s just say the usual (creepy stoned/high people). However, they did somewhat improve the lightings… so I guess that is two positives.

So, starting off, his set was from 6am to 10am. OUCH – As usual, retarded hours and tired legs. The beginning of his set wasn’t great I must say. We can tell that he was tired and of course that he’d been drinking. Can you blame him? It’s New Years! Well, regardless, following a few mishaps in mixing and a few questionable song choice 2.5 hours in, the old Gold that we knew suddenly went from 2nd gear to overdrive. Tunes like Coldplay paradise, Koko, The bottle, Punk (If I remember correctly) and many othertop hits dropping one after the other was just too much for my legs but I stayed on and rocked it all out regardless.

I found the set as a whole was a great success with a feel of slightly darker stuff at the beginning, “housy” towards the middle (Gareth influenced I am sure) and all out awesome towards the end. His closing song was none other than Reverie, which I waited for all night long (Yes I would make endless love to that song if it was possible) and I have a feeling that it is definitely one of his favorite too.

All in all, an unforgettable night and a way to kick off 2012

P.S. Go see him if he is playing in your area, you won’t regret it

To give you an idea, here’s a little video from the May 2011 when Ben played at Relite:

 

- Tang