Concert Review: Hardwell At The Park

By: Annalysa Vasquez
Hardwell At The Park
Petco Park San Diego
23 March,  2014

What started out as a cloudy, cloudy Sunday turned into a perfectly warm sunny day just in time for LED’s Hardwell An the Park. Lines wrapped around the park as people anxiously awaited to enter to see Dj Mags Top 100 #1 DJ in the world! The gates opened at 2 in the afternoon with people rushing in to claim their desired spots throughout the park. First, opening that days lineup, was Bixel Boys. They played many of their remixes as well as other house tracks, however the sound projection was extremely weak. It was difficult to hear their set over the conversations of new friends being made in the crowd. Following the Bixel Boys was Bart B More. The volume had increased, drawing the attention of every person to the stage. With his unique style of dj’ing, he played every genre from electro house to trance and more. Pumping up the crowd with his energetic set, everyone was ready for the one and only Hardwell!

By the time Hardwell was scheduled to play, the entire park was packed from front to back. However, no matter where you were in the crowd you had a great view because of the grassy hills facing the stage. Known for his intro song “Spaceman” the crowd went beyond wild knowing that Hardwell was coming on stage. As soon as the intro started to fade out, Hardwell appeared behind the turn tables ready to deliver, in my opinion, one of his best sets he’s ever delivered. Playing his own tracks  and  brilliant remixes, Hardwell had the crowd jumping and dancing non stop for his two hours. One of the best moments from his set was when not only the crowd, but people from every building surrounding the park were outside on their balconies dancing and holding their hands up too, embracing the epic sounds of Hardwell. From ages 18 to 58, Hardwell united his audience with the bangers he played. Every time he played a song or remix, whomever was next to you grabbed your hand and just screamed with absolute joy and excitement. The feeling throughout his set was indescribable. Hardwell closed his set with a hardstyle remix of “Spaceman” which pleasantly surprised the crowd. His set had come to an end, and the crowd came to a sad realization that it was over. Not wanting to leave, a majority of people sat in front of the stage in hopes that the end was just a dream and that Hardwell would soon be back on to play. To the crowds surprise, while he did not come back on stage to play, he came out into the crowd surrounded by security to meet his fans. After a few minutes of crazy fans flashing him and throwing kandi at him he disappeared behind the stage and security began to kick everyone out. Even though it was all over, every one walking out had the same expression- a huge smile that radiated happiness. This set will remain in the memories of every person who attended this past Sunday.

If you are unfamiliar with Hardwell and his music, here are some tracks worth checking out: Apollo, Spaceman, and Fifteen.

Also, some festival mixes: Hardwell’s live set from Ultra 2012 and live set from EDC 2013