Gareth Emery – LifeLight: Fantastic Pod Concert Experience

I was really excited for the Gareth Emery pod show at Rawhide. It had been awhile since I last went to a pod show. I had a lot of fun at the last one I went to.

My friend and I walked into the venue, and surprisingly, security was a breeze. It seemed rather quiet as we went in. I suppose it was due to the fact that there was another event on that same night. Nonetheless, we were in high spirits! I was especially excited to see Jason Ross. The pods were set up in an organized fashion, so we managed to find our pods quickly and easily.

I love rave fashion, and there was a mixed crowd of people in normal clothing and some in ravewear. I noted a lot of people in bold black and white Illenium jerseys.

Nurko was playing; to our surprise, he was playing a melodic dubstep track. The night had a mostly all-trance lineup so I was a little taken aback. Nonetheless, his visuals were bright and colorful and matched the mood of the future bass he played.

Jason Ross then took the stage. He began his set with a song with enchanting, breathy vocals. Emblazoned on the screen, his logo stood out in black and white. His set was truly a journey, with ups and downs and changing rhythms and sounds. I especially loved how he played my favorite song, ‘Higher Love.‘

The production was pretty good. Laser lights in blue, purple and pink streamed out above us and added to the festive air. The sound was decent as well. I was a few rows away from the very front of the stage and didn’t feel it was overly loud.

Finally the headliner, Gareth Emery performed. He played many crowd favorites. Judging by the looks on the faces around me, he struck a chord in people’s hearts by sticking to what was true and familiar to the trance heads. Talking to us, he had a thick British accent that was simply charming. One of his final songs was his track, ‘You’ll Be OK‘, that he played alongside his music video. It was very touching. At the end of the show, he thanked the crowd profusely for being there and supporting live music.

Trance was a genre that grew on me. I never liked it but my friends took me to a few shows (pre-COVID) and I’d grown to love how emotional and touching the music was.

Overall, it was a great show, but it signaled the last of the pod shows, I hoped! With the ease of restrictions with COVID, I can’t wait till we are able to return to the original dancefloor once again.