Armin Only – Intense: Armin Van Buuren in Manila 2014, a Truly Intense Night!

“The music saves my Soul. The beat saves my life. Tonight, the DJ saves my night.”

It’s about time Manila was granted an exhilarating night of top-notch trance as provided by none other than world-famous DJ himself, Armin van Buuren, who was awesome enough to include the Philippines in the Asian leg of his “Armin Only – Intense” world tour. (Photos by Art Oca.)

EAT. SLEEP. RAVE. REPEAT.

The long-awaited event was definitely worth all the hype it spawned, as Armin van Buuren delivered an intense musical experience all attendees can attest to. Armin successfully fulfilled his goal of providing his audience with an uninterrupted journey into his music with his set lasting a whopping 6 hours, spinning out nothing but hypnotic beats and developing rhythms that had the crowd going from start to finish.

MOA arena looking sufficiently packed that night.

One word: Intense.

After being enclosed in a sheer globe for the first hour of his set, Armin finally revealed himself to us and played his album’s title track “Intense.” Definitely worth holding our pee in for almost an hour from waiting!

PING PONG!!!

Bringing his music to life was a theatrical display of dancing and live performances by artists he has collaborated with in his tracks, as well as a good smothering of confetti and pyrotechnics, and a shower of giant yellow “ping pong” balls for his final set.

Trevor Guthrie doing live vocals for Armin Van Buuren’s hit “This is What It Feels Like”

I didn’t know for sure what kept me going that night; all I know was that I couldn’t stop dancing to his music! Proud to say we lasted a good 4 out of 6 hours – on our feet – jumping to his most popular hits at the moment which include “This is What It Feels Like” which he performed live with Trevor Guthrie, and my personal favorite “Alone” with Lauren Evans, who proved to be a significant presence on stage.

I have so much respect for Armin van Buuren’s… endurance!! Imagine standing through a 6-hour set! That’s some insane energy level.

The Dutch DJ and producer, who has been making music for almost two decades now, primarily made himself a fixture in the trance music scene with his weekly radio show “A State of Trance.” Van Buuren’s music, which is a combination of progressive and uplifting trance, has won the favor of a massive number of listeners the world over as evidenced by his being the #1 DJ in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJ’s list for a record of five times. It is apparent that Armin van Buuren is showing no signs of slowing down as he jets off to Taipei and Australia to continue his world tour, while his already large following only continues to grow.

This intense night was definitely one for the books; something we won’t be forgetting soon, when in Manila.