As many of you may know, the music genre known as dance/electronica is not that popular in Pueblo. However, like soccer is to sports, dance/electronica is one of the most popular genres of music that can be heard around the world.

Trance, house, jungle, drum and bass are many forms that are associated with dance/electronica. Some just call it techno, some find the beats to be repetitive, and some find it to be just noise. To others, it’s a lifestyle.

I had the opportunity to see a progressive house DJ this past week. This DJ is considered as one of the best in the world. He has performed in front of crowds of hundreds to thousands to millions, all around the world. He is known to the world as DJ John Digweed.

Digweed performed in front of hundreds this past Thursday at Beta in Denver. Beta is located on 19^th and Blake streets, just around the corner from Coors Field, and has three levels.

Some say Beta has the first and second best sound system in the nation and the third and fourth best sound system in the world. I admit, I was quite skeptic. I had to see it to believe it, or should I say, hear it to believe it.

DJ Kostas, a local artist, opened for Digweed. Kostas’ set was about two hours, and there were only a few people in the room during his set. When you go to a concert, no matter what kind of music you listen to, there is hardly anyone in the venue for the opener.

At 11:15 p.m. DJ Digweed was ready to go on. There was so much silence in the room that you could hear a pin drop clearly no matter where you were. The silence lasted for only about a minute or so. All of a sudden, Beta was packed. The music came on and the club patrons chanted in harmony, “Digweed! Digweed! Digweed!”

Go-go dancers performed on platforms on each side of the DJ booth. Dressed in skimpy outfits, they danced as if no one was looking. The crowd knows when a beat is about to drop and they jump together as though it was rehearsed.

Lasers of blue, green, pink and purple shone throughout DJ Digweed’s entire set. A screen displaying images including DJ Digweed’s name and picture, random pictures of people, and abstract art were shown.

Four silver speakers made by Funktion-One stood about 10 feet tall in each corner of the dance floor. They looked more like Transformers than speakers. The sound that came out of them was very clear and crisp. Now I am a believer. Beta has one of the best sound systems in the world.

When I go to concerts, the first thing I look for is the merchandise table. All I want from a concert is a T-shirt to preserve the memory. I didn’t find one that night and was upset; I really wanted a John Digweed T-shirt.

I ended up getting something better to preserve the memory. The entire night, I stood right beside the DJ booth. I wrote a message in my phone and I showed it to John Digweed’s manager. After all, it is a club and it can be quite loud.

My message read:  “I’m doing a monthly article for my college newspaper on the concerts I attend. I was wondering if I can get a close-up picture of me and with Mr. Digweed after his set.”

His manager read it and gave me the thumbs-up. Not only did I get close-up pictures of John Digweed, I ended up getting a picture with him and an autograph.

My friends and I got home around 5 a.m. and my first class started at 10 a.m. It was all worth it, and I can’t wait to bring you another exciting concert review for next month. I’ll write two concert reviews for October to make up for December. After all, the semester might end before I go to a concert and the roads are quite slick around these parts.

Tune in for my review on another world-renowned DJ known simply as Sasha and the smooth sounds of Jason Mraz.