EDM superstar Avicii takes the stage at Rev

Last Thursday night Sweden’s EDM golden boy, Tim Bergling, known more commonly as Avicii, graced the stage at Waterloo’s Revolution Night Club, after his Sept. 9 show was postponed due to scheduling conflicts.

A notably smaller crowd than the thousands that were anticipated during Orientation Week, the neon-clad audience, paying an upwards of $70 per ticket, was determined to get their money’s worth.

Citybang Media, the event planning and promotions company organizing the show, ran a tight ship in conjunction with the staff at Rev — a curious venue choice for such a high profile DJ.

Lineups were minimal and security was on the ball without being in your face. The light show was quite impressive and considering the venue the sound quality was excellent. However, while the event logistics were flawless, the music left much to be desired.

The opener was boring to say the least. His repetitive house set did little to pump up the crowd. Much of the dance floor was empty as people lingered by the bars in anticipation of the main attraction.

The crowd showed their energy-induced admiration with a mosh pit of iPhones and cameras as Avicii took to the stage. Opening with Tujamo and Plastik Funk’s massive hit “Who,” Avicii started his set strong, filling the less-than packed club with his signature brand of dance-inducing electro house music.

Yet, as the show continued, his performance seemed to lack enthusiasm and attention to detail. “Who” became the theme-song of the night, being repeated an upwards of three times.

While tracks such as “Seek Bromance,” “My Feelings for You” and “Silhouettes” were exciting to hear live, they could not make up for the blatant repetition of the two-hour set.

Due to the height of the stage, Avicii could not be seen by members of the audience beyond the first row — or those under 6’1’’. Thick dry ice smoke also made the stage disappear from view, leaving everyone in wonder of who was DJing.

This ghost DJ was unable to connect with the audience, making the show no different from any other night at a club.

The majority of the audience however seemed to eat it u, party rocking until “Levels” dropped at two-thirty in the morning.

Having seen and enjoyed Avicii at Veld, Toronto’s largest EDM festival this summer, I was pumped to hear him play a more intimate show. His performance, however, did not measure up, leading me to realize how much further my $80 could have gone (that’s almost 13 post-bar burritos).