To continue his ‘United We Are’ Tour, Hardwell united his fans in San Francisco and delivered two unbelievable performances only he particularly could. Hardwell’s Saturday show quickly sold out as soon as tickets became available to the general public, which led to the decision of adding another show the day before. Thus, Bay Area fans felt ecstatic for this treat of having two shows from the Dutch superstar.
The two-time #1 DJ comes back to San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium once more after visiting the same exact venue last year. Hardwell was in the process of finishing up his ‘I Am Hardwell’ Tour a year ago, having his best friend and fellow Dutch DJ, Dannic, to open for the show. This time, Hardwell brought along Revealed Recordings resident Kill The Buzz to boost up the crowd’s energy and get everyone’s feet moving.
Of course, as an opener for such a high-caliber DJ, you absolutely have to deliver and Kill The Buzz did just that to warm up the audience. While playing some of his own tracks such as “Dreamin”, Kill The Buzz shakes the entire auditorium with other massive electro house tunes from a variety of artists. The sold-out crowd surely loved his set after successfully getting people’s hearts pumping and hyping Hardwell’s ere long appearance.
After the short intermission, the bone-chilling intro kicks in, sending the message behind ‘United We Are’. Everyone soon becomes amazed by the futuristic-looking stage and the set’s beautiful visuals and flashing lights. The title track of Hardwell’s debut album then begins with its astonishing synths penetrating through everyone’s ears. As soon as the Dutchman presented himself, the crowd went wild and prepared for a long night of listening and dancing to some Hardwell music.
For his set, Hardwell played a variety of music, ranging from the best electro house tracks to progressive house. Being in the hip hop-oriented Bay Area, Hardwell appropriately dropped a couple of hip hop songs such as Drake’s recent hit “Hotline Bling”. His set consisted of numerous mashups, namely those with his own tracks such as ”Dare You”, “Young Again” and “Never Say Goodbye”. He inevitably played his hits “Apollo” and “Spaceman” and songs from his album including “Don’t Stop the Madness”, “Colors”, and “Follow Me”, which got everyone singing along and jumping as high as the Golden Gate Bridge.
One particular breathtaking moment to highlight is when the crowd brought out their lights and waved their hands around as Hardwell was playing his remix of Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars”. He played a couple of tracks from his fellow DJ’s as well including “Poison” by Martin Garrix and “Secrets” by Tiësto and KSHMR. Unreleased tracks were also dropped in his set with one specific track being W&W and Kenneth G’s remix of Adele’s “Hello”.
Overall, people definitely got their money’s worth as Hardwell provided two unforgettable nights in San Francisco. Despite playing the same tracks from his sets in Ultra, Tomorrowland, and Amsterdam Music Festival, Hardwell did mix in some new music to keep his set fresh. Along with the lively rave atmosphere inside the auditorium, it was quite an awesome experience being in front of this EDM icon who reminded us music lovers of how truly united we are.
Next up, Hardwell is bringing his ‘United We Are’ Tour to Manila on December 18th. Tickets can be purchased here.
