The last time we checked in to the Masquerade Motel, we were inside Madison Square Garden — one of the most famous venues in the world. At that time, we told you that Swedish House Mafia was the biggest dance music act in the world. After attending the latest Masquerade Motel — this time at Grand Central Park in Miami — we can confirm that is still the case. While it wasn’t quite the gigantic event planned for Haulover Park, the usual cast of characters (NO_ID, AN21, Alesso, and Calvin Harris) was out to support the juggernaut that is Swedish House Mafia, and it all came together in one awesome event that only SHM could pull off.
AN21
We arrived just in time to catch the end of AN21’s set, but he still managed to keep us in the lurch as we eagerly await his and Max Vangeli’s first studio album. (“It’s coming soon!” he promised us.) While we weren’t there for the entire set, what we heard, we liked. We caught the end of “Whisper” — which has been floating around in various forms since AN21 and Max’s Essential Mix — and it only got us more amped for the album. We also got to hear a chilled-out remix of Adele’s “Someone Like You,” which was a welcomed reprieve for the attendees who showed up early enough to catch his set. Bottom line: keep an eye on these guys. Everyone is saying they’re the next generation of SHM, and besides sharing a blood line with Steve Angello (AN21 is his brother), there’s a lot of promise for big things out of this duo.
Alesso
We’ve seen Alesso many times before, and his set here at Masquerade Motel Miami was nothing less than we would’ve expected by the young up-and-coming Swede. Highlights of the set included Porter Robinson’s “Unison,” and his own “Raise Your Head,” before an unknown remix of Coldplay’s “Clocks.” He also played Avicii and Nicky Romero’s “Nicktim” — which is still awesome and needs to be released, like, now — but it was a remix we couldn’t ID of “Wild One Two” that had us really impressed.
He of course played “Pressure” (arguably the song that put him on the scene), but he certainly saved the best for last. Alesso debuted the vocal mix of his latest track, “Years,” which had a lovely vocal that feels like it could go over well not only at a pregame or frat party, but even with your parents. The last time we had a track with those qualities, it came from Avicii. Just saying.
Calvin Harris
What can we say about Calvin Harris that hasn’t already been said? He’s a living legend when it comes to pop-esque house music, and not only can he DJ with the best of ’em, he can sing too! He opened with the classic track “I’m Not Alone,” but updated it and made it harder with the addition of Hardwell’s “Spaceman.”
A small sound snafu cut off the former track for about thirty seconds, but he quickly turned back to a string of his original productions: “Bounce,” “Awooga,” and “We Found Love” were all given airplay and were well-received by the crowd. Just like Dirty South at Ultra, he dropped the “Bullet” “Promises” “I Love U So” bootleg which we are still obsessed with.
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Swedish House Mafia
After Calvin wrapped things up, a white curtain was erected while the quick changeover took place before Swedish House Mafia got into position for their headlining set on night two. Soon enough we were hearing the familiar “Together” intro sequence, and the curtain dropped perfectly in sync with their latest track, “Greyhound.” It was a predictable opening — and the one they used at Madison Square Garden in December — but we honestly wouldn’t have expected them to kick off the night with anything other than their latest and greatest track.
Grand Central Park proved to be a pretty decent venue, and there was ample space to get around and multiple locations to watch from. The stage production was virtually identical to Madison Square Garden’s, with the semi-circular LED booth flanked by many, many more LED screens. The production was certainly impressive, but we would’ve liked to see them push the envelope a little more.
They quickly got down to business, dropping a bunch of familiar tracks that we expected to hear, but they also made a variety of new bootlegs and edits that brought something unique and different to the set. One we were treated to relatively early in was Michael Calfan’s “Resurrection” with Coldplay’s “Paradise,” which was followed up by Deniz Koyu’s “Hertz” and Third Party vs Cicada’s “Feel.” If you haven’t heard any of these tracks in the festival environment yet, we’re sorry — it’s way better than any pair of headphones or speakers. Nari & Milani’s forthcoming (Editor’s note: still?!) “Atom” set the tone much darker, and Qulinez’ “Troll,” and “Antidote” kept the hard bass coming.
The next string of tracked started off with a huge bootleg of “Miami 2 Ibiza” with the “Walking Alone” acapella, which was followed up with Arty and Matisse & Sadko’s “Trio.” They also played the Steve Angello / AN21 / Max Vangeli remix of “The Island,” — one of our throwback tracks we had a feeling would show up somewhere during WMC.
Around 10PM the guys got on the microphone to address the crowd, and said that Miami was “kind of like home” for them, given that it’s the place where they played their first gig as “Swedish House Mafia.” It was appropriate that they played the “Coming Home” with “Aerodynamic” and “Quasar” bootleg afterwards, and then the incredible Third Party remix of “Otherside.” Their own remix of “Every Teardrop” was also played, as was Tommy Trash’s “The End.”
The final sequence of the set featured the lovable Axwell on the mic, who was excited about the two day festivities. “The first day you’re like ‘wow,’ and then the second day, you get to observe the other things,” he told the crowd. SHM finished up the set with a trifecta of new bootlegs, which started off with “One” and the “Somebody That I Used To Know” acapella. (As if the track needed any more validation…) Next was a three-way bootleg of “Save The World” with “Heart Is King,” which was then given the “Punk” treatment to change things up even more. As with most SHM sets they ended with “Leave The World Behind,” but infused it with Porter Robinson’s “Unison.” It was a fresh take on an established favorite, and it worked flawlessly.
Overall, like most SHM events, Masquerade Motel Miami was a big success. Despite getting off to a late start, the guys managed to pull off a huge event with major production value in a very short period of time, and they did it with their usual finesse and style. We can’t beat around the bush and pretend like it wasn’t similar to Madison Square Garden in terms of the setup or the set list (for the mostpart), but being outdoors and not being confined to an enclosed arena brought a very different feel to the event. We’re not sure what SHM has in store for next year — but something tells us they’ll go even bigger. After all, this is Swedish House Mafia we’re talking about.
http://snd.sc/H7t9lm
Great Review of the Event!
They really need to release more music and variate their sets more….
you guys need to check your stuff..Calvin Harris doesn’t have an album called “I created Pop”, its “I Created Disco”…and “I’m not Alone” isn’t even on that album…its on “Ready for the weekend”….
im i the only one who doesnt see the magic of greyhound? i mean its really nothing all that special. but then again i dont really see the magic of deniz koyu’s tung either
I completely agree with you. I LOVE SHM and have really loved seeing them live. But after seeing Axwell DJ an eerily-similar event at Cosmic Opera it was definitely disappointing.
the articles on this blog are such a joke. if they didn’t keep up with most of the popular releases then i wouldn’t even bother coming here anymore.
MSG = Cosmic Opera = Masquerade Motel Miami.
Are you serious that you guys can still say they are killing it, and their shows are still amazing? It’s not only SHM, I’ve been noticing it with almost every DJ, except for Fatboy Slim, and it’s getting pretty disheartening and old.
Unfortunately it’s due to all the politics involved, because there are BOMBS released everyday by young, “no name” DJs which would KILL the crowds at these things.
im thinking they are gonna use the miami marlins new ballpark next year. that would be epic
I wrote this at 5AM and haven’t slept in four days, but I still feel like an idiot. Apologies if this error caused pain or suffering to anyone.
Here’s the thing… I’ve seen SHM multiple times and I’m honestly spoiled by it. Most people are just seeing them for the first time, so they want to hear the hits. This is the reality for most of the big DJs out there in my opinion — Avicii, Afrojack, etc. They have to play the hits because that’s what people want to hear.
Thank you!
welll thats because youre a fucking idiot
Saw them in Sydney at Future Music Festival.
From what you guys posted, it was 95% the same tracklisting in the same order, with a slightly weaker production set in Sydney.Yes these guys are superstars, but their sets are getting so generic and I couldn’t even enjoy their set in Sydney because it was so similar and predictable in comparison to MSG.
Final Verdict: SHM are great, but very easily overhyped.
My two cents.
the songs are very similar apart from greyhound’s synth drop. I enjoy both songs because they help break out the anthem-laden sets of SHM and co
You are absolutely right my friend! There are so many huge tracks out there!
True..but there is no reason why you should play the same set over an over..like Avicii does. There is so much music out there..if the people really love them..then they will appreciate that these guys are bringing new music to them.
Greyhound I do like…Tung I never really found good at all…dont get it. Cant make everyone happy though.
I just wish that the people who write these articles would just truly speak their mind on the issues. (Same music being played). Instead of saying countless good things abt every single act. We know that you guys feel the same way. Yes, we know these guys read and check up on your site..but there is no reason why the truth should not be said. There is always a respectful way of doing it. In the end..I know that they would appreciate it one way or another. If they dont..then they should not be in this business. Stop looking like ball sucking fan boys and start being neutral. No disrespect to anyone who writes on this blog..you guys are doing big things and I have lots of respect for that.
I don’t understand why people get upset when they play similar sets at DIFFERENT VENUES in DIFFERENT CITIES, around the world. Don’t all artist do that? Besides that, they play what the fans know because it’s what’s gonna get them moving. How many times do u hear that great hit and get goosebumps cause they played it at the perfect moment. SHM does an incredible job at mashing up their own hits and plays them at the perfect moment to get every inch of my body to tingle in joy.
I don’t know what set you all saw or heard, but I was 2 rows from three of the greatest djs of our time period Yeah they opened their set the same way but when they dropped M-3ox feat. Heidrun – Beating Of My Heart (Matisse & Sadko Instrumental Mix) everyone there went fucking crazy. Not only that they had an amazing set up with the gourmet food trucks and not to mention the production was hands down better than any ultra performance. anyone who gets caught up on these stupid details like similarities to msg and saying they are generic is a fucking moron….great review and amazing show
The amount of times DJ’s state in pre-show interviews how they will ‘bring something’ different to the [Insert City] set and then playing a generic set is a joke.
I haven’t even started on how bad SHM were as DJ’s on the night. Yes the tracklist had huge tracks in it, but give these tracks to a no-namer with an identical production set, and the reaction would have been equal.
its cause he took it from steve angello haha
Forget all this.
Chuckie Laidback Luke & Martin Solveig – 1, 2, 3, 4
Damn haters, you’re everywhere. I like to hear what people would say if they didn’t play the same tracks in their shows… It’s sooo easy to complain when you’re sitting in front of the screen and see that they played the “same” set “again and again”. But if you, like myself, only have been to one SHM concert you’re psyched as hell to hear the huge killer tunes that made SHM the superstars they are!
because theyre not a band carrying around instruments actually perfroming tracks live. theyre dj’s with songs on cds and that gives them ability to be more unique and go outside of the box and not perform the same show over and over. when they do its like a slap in the face of their fans thinking were stupid enough to not notice that the show is a reproduction of another one, because maybe they are in different cities but that doesnt mean millions of their fans dont download and listen to their live sets, c’mon now for supposedly the “biggest act” in dance music they should bring new things to the table everytime
Don’t you DA guys get tired of hearing the same DJs and same tracks every night? Expand your horizon a little bit. Hit up the Circoloco party or Loco Dice at Space. Every time I come on here there is a review of Avicii, Afrojack, or SHM. And every review is the same. Same set different location.
Great review guys. Allt he best from toblip.com!
I’m sorry but this review is not setting well with me, Jacob is an outstanding writer and very knowledgable, but he forgot several things that I would like to bring up. Two hours of a Swedish House Mafia set is fairly dangerous for your health, but when they played for 3 last Friday (and on Sat. i assume), it was basically suicide given how much more energy and emotion there was. I went on Friday because I knew how much heat Thomas Gold would pack, and it honestly blew their MSG show (which I also went to) out of the fucking water. I think their start was anything but a slow start! In fact, their first hour might have been the best first hour of any set that I’ve been to. It was all about perfectly building the energy (the way they mixed in “Nammos” was unreal by the way) and considering their set was 3 full hours, they threw quite a bit of pounding, club-driven ID’s at us that aren’t even on the set list from the 1001tracklists site.
I think the reason why people who’ve commented here think SHM used the same tracks was because those are the only ones that Jacob might’ve known/remembered (I’m sure he knew more), so it was pretty easy to relate those tracks with MSG’s set. You gotta keep in mind that they played 3 hours; I honestly thought that there was only like a half hour (which was the 2 hr – 2 1/2 hr stretch maybe) that was reminiscent of MSG. You can tell how much those 3 hours mattered when you compare the ending of masquerade with MSG’s, it was not rushed at all like it was at MSG and there was a lot more closure in the last half hour of masquerade. I’m pretty sure they dropped like 5 or 6 tracks (maybe even more) that we’ve never heard that were VERY heavy, I’ll upload them to youtube soon! They dropped a new Swanky Tunes & Hard Rock Sofa track, NO_ID’s upcoming “Leave A Light On” remix on Axtone, quite possibly Dirty South & Axwell’s new collab with Rudy called “Dreams” and many more bombs I wish I could remember! With their long set, they also did an amazing job in making sure there were no repeated tracks with Thomas Gold and Alesso, whom both dropped shit ton of new fuego earlier that day. I think people are way too critical of them using the same mash ups from MSG. Sure they used like 2 or 3 of the same mash ups (Coming Home vs. Aerodynamic vs. Quasar, The End vs One vs You’ve Got The Love, I Love Bullet Promises ), but those are great fucking mash-ups (they also took “One” further)! Let’s not forget about the most ridiculous remix of Qulinez’s “Troll” that I’ve ever heard. I wish there was their fullset for download. Ahh there is so much more to say…30 seconds of masquerade equaled the last 2 days of ultra that I went to, the enormous crowd/sloppy set up sucked at Ultra compared to the comfortable +21 masquerade crowd, it was incredibly rare to hear just one song going, back to drawing board for Armin and Tiesto because Swedish House Mafia has redefined what a performance (timing, flow, complexity, originality) really is.
I appreciate your comment and the time you took to write it. I didn’t go on Friday because I was at Ultra, so I guess the sets ended up being different. They definitely only played for around two hours on Saturday, from 8:40-10:40.
1001 Tracklists has a tracklist up from night one but not two, and I guess they just had different energy. Unfortunately there aren’t rips (at least to my knowledge) of either show, but Saturday was definitely not 3 hours. Steve had a show at Space andSeb had his Refune party at Amnesia afterwards, so maybe they were just saving up their energy. I heard Steve played till 8AM.
Though most SHM shows do have some overlap, they’re all unique and I have yet to see a bad one. Glad Friday was awesome and more unique, I guess I have to wait till next time.
took the words out of my mouth.
i hate it when people use the ‘word-tour = same set’.
Yes you can expect Coldplay to only PLAY Coldplay stuff and not RHCP – for example. But as a DJ when everything is on CD’s or USB’s on computers on stage, get fucking creative!
well said mate.
Couldn’t agree more with this comment…finally someone knows the deal…
I caught Beating of my Heart live and put it on YouTube, and then the absolute rockstar banger of the night “Miike Snow – The Wave (Thomas Gold Remix)”
Check these out on my channel, what a legendary night and AMAZING veteran crowd (gtwizzy33)
I got Thomas Gold’s “The Wave” remix on film twice. Once at masquerade during his massacre and then later at Mansion that night, check out the video below! Also check out the videos I got of Gregori Klosman, he stole Miami Music Week for me (behind SHM Friday and Thomas Gold). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA_5y_Na7iM&list=UU5iMm_Z5jCZmcRII5m8i5Yg&index=7&feature=plcp
Was deeply disappointed in the set just for the fact that after witnessing the Madison Square Garden it was absolute similar based on track list. I walked into the place expecting the same songs however thought they would throw in a different style with maybe some few classics.
I prefer the version they opened with at Madison Square Garden (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtIfNQKj1eU ), don’t really like the new version..
http://www.1001tracklists.com/tracklist/12161_swedish-house-mafia-at-masquerade-motel-miami-day-2-united-states-winter-music-conference-wmc-2012-03-24.html :)
Tracklist: Alesso @ Masquerade Motel 2012
01.Dúné – Heiress Of Valentina (Alesso Remix) [Nero]
02.Deniz Koyu – Hertz [Flamingo] w/ Porter Robinson – Unison (Knife Party Remix) [Owsla] w/ Alesso – Nillionaire [Refune]
03. Alesso – Raise Your Head [Refune]
03.David Guetta feat. Sia – Titanium (Alesso Remix) [F*** Me I’m Famous]
04.Avicii – Levels [Le7els / Universal]
05.Autoerotique – Turn Up The Volume [Dim Mak] w/ Coldplay – Clocks [Virgin] w/ Matt Caseli & Danny Freakazoid – Raise Your Hands [Axtone]
06.Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso feat. Ryan Tedder – Calling (Lose My Mind) [Refune / Universal]
07.Jack Back feat. David Guetta & Nicky Romero – Wild One Two (Alesso Remix) [White]
08.Deadmau5 – Strobe [Mau5trap] w/ Qulinez – Troll [Size] w/ Swanky Tunes – Together [Mixmash]
09.Dirty South & Those Usual Suspects feat. Erik Hecht – Walking Alone [Phazing] w/ Eric Prydz – 2Night [Pryda]
10.Avicii vs. Nicky Romero – Nicktim [Mixmash]w/ Justice vs. Simian – We Are Your Friends (Acappella) [Ed Banger]
11.David Guetta & Nicky Romero – Metropolis
12.Alesso – ID3 [White]
13.Deniz Koyu – Tung![Flamingo] w/ Basement Jaxx – Where’s Your Head At (Acappella)[XL]
14.Nadia Ali, Alex Kenji & Starkillers – Pressure (Alesso Remix) [Spinnin]
15.Alesso – Years (Vocal Mix) [Refune]
The best concert eva!
martin solveig can suck a dick im sorry ultra 2012 he shit a brick and played horribly
Not all dj’s do that, some ahve more creativity than others, they have the same songs but use them in a different way !
Was here and this was a perfect write-up. Thanks for paying attention to the little things!!