Morgan Page goes 3DM at Best Buy TheaterIMG 8958

Morgan Page goes 3DM at Best Buy Theater

As early as five years ago the concept of production defining dance music was often times left in the hands of the clubs where the DJs were performing. The idea of a traveling tour, complete with its own intricately developed production could in part be attributed to Daft Punk’s pyramid in 2007 and then later redefined by deadmau5’s cube in 2011. Today, production has almost superseded the music as festivals and artists alike set their sights on the visual aspect of the dance music experience. Avicii has his head, Skrillex has his mothership. Creating the full package of aural engagement and visual sensory overload has recently become a critical part of the EDM package. Pushing the boundaries of the visual experience, Morgan Page’s recent North American tour re-imagines the status quo of LED screens and CO2 blasts, amplifying the standard with an impressive 3-dimensional element that fore-sakes the “3d gimmick” and does the medium actual justice.

Tucked away in Manhattan’s Best Buy Theater, the crowd swelled as Audien and Maor Levi set the tone for the evening. Despite being up against a back-to-back Prydz extravaganza, the house floor was packed shoulder-to-shoulder and as Audien’s set came to a close, large text replaced the neon LEDs, urging attendees to return to the lobby to pick up their 3d glasses.  Upon returning to the main room, the LEDs once again lit up in a wave of neon, but this time the large monitors displaced dizzying 3d visualizations that slowly began to amplify as Page climbed the stairs of the stage to assume his role behind the decks. For the next 2 hours, he would conduct a big room electro set rife with his own bootlegs and originals. As the LEDs projected 3d-mapped visualizations that followed the energy of his set, the usual EDM accouterments filled the room. CO2 blasts, lasers, and lights swirled and exploded but were easily overshadowed by the professionally produced three-dimensional mappings. Bubbles floated, tunnels formed, and the crowd was taken on a frantic and high-octane journey through a flawless combination of electronic music and cutting edge visuals.

The Bingo Player’s “Buzzcut” and Nom De Strip’s “Techno Saturday” were met with equally appropriate visuals, entrancing the crowd with its impressive synergy.  The highlight of the night came when Page debuted his brand new original “Against the World,” followed by the most explosive a/v moments of the evening.

The room filled in a haze of smoke and neon strobes while the three large screens morphed into one cohesive element, creating what seemed like a descent into an endless void.  The 3d visualization concept has been done numerous times in the past, but what Page has achieved with his show is something far more refined. Rather than using 3d simply for the sake of using it, he and his team sought to create a fully-realized dance music audio and visual experience — and they succeeded.

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