I’m not sure exactly when I decided that I liked electronic music.  When Ricky and I started dating, I quickly found out that he had a love for the genre.  I remember listening to it at his place and thinking what I’d always thought, that it was just repetitive beats that got old quickly.

At some point, I found out that some other friends of mine were also pretty into electronic music and were planning on going to see a DJ that I’d never heard of, Paul van Dyk, at a local club, Talbott Street.  When Ricky found out, he decided to see if he could get tickets.  He writes for IndyConcerts.com and is often given press passes to concerts and show so that he can write about them for the website.  He got passes, and I went with him.  We got there pretty early and laid claim to spots right up in front of the stage.  I remember that once the music started and everyone around me started dancing, I started thinking that maybe I understood now why people liked electronic music.  And maybe, just maybe, I could get into it after all.

Once Ricky discovered that I had somewhat of an interest in electronic music, we started making plans to see more DJs.  At first, I hadn’t heard of many of them, but quickly became familiar with the bigger names such as Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, and Paul Oakenfold.  Now I’ve seen each of them live and even had the opportunity to randomly meet Armin.  I loved his show in Chicago that we went to.  It was a great venue, at the Aragon, and the crowd really got into it.  I can’t help but think that everyone felt a sense of community dancing together to the beats.

When I think back to how I really got to loving this genre of music, several times come to mind.  The Paul van Dyk show at Talbott Street, of course, and the Armin van Buuren show in Chicago.  When we went to Las Vegas last year (my first time there), Ricky had gotten tickets to some clubs.  We didn’t realize until we were there that Paul Oakenfold was actually going to be at one of them, Rain, while we were there.  We jumped on the opportunity to see him mix beats live.  That ended up topping my list of experiences as well.

One show I will never forget is seeing David Guetta at BoMA in Columbus, Ohio.  When Ricky introduced me to David Guetta, I almost immediately fell in love with his music.  Honestly, I think that the best word I can use to describe it is “fun”.  Guetta isn’t for everyone, but if you like to dance, and you just like music that is easy to get into – he’s great.  I have all of his albums on my iPod, and I think I know the words to almost all the songs.  He has become one of my favorite ways to get my day going or as a pick-me-up when I’m in a bad mood.

Armin was probably my first venture into the world of trance.  I remember being at home and trying to focus on some reading I had to get done for school one day.  I had just downloaded one of Armin’s albums, so I started listening to it while I was reading.  I loved it!  The music just put me into a, well, trance.  I can see why it’s called that.  It just got me in the groove, made it easier to focus on the reading.  Great music to play in the background while you are working as well.  I have several fellow programmer friends that I know listen to electronic music while they are coding, and I can see why that is.  It gets you going without being distracting.  It’s almost like a state of Zen sometimes.

So now, I’m hooked.  I listen to almost exclusively electronic music most of the time.  So when I heard that several of my favorite DJs as well as some recent discoveries I’ve made were going to be at a music festival that went all day for two days in New York City, of COURSE I wanted to go.  And so did Ricky.  So we acquired passes, bought a plane ticket, booked a hotel, and later this afternoon will be on our way.  Friday evening is my one chance to see New York City (my first trip there as well), as I will be spending most of Saturday and Sunday dancing my face off to the beats of some of my favorite DJs.

This is only the second year for Electric Zoo, but it has already established a following and appears to be very well organized.  It’s held on Randall’s Island, an island smack dab in the middle of New York, just a ferry ride away from Manhattan.  I can’t wait to enjoy the music with the epic skyline of the Big Apple in the background.  Last year’s festival brought 15,000 people on Saturday and 11,000 on Sunday, with this year even more tickets already purchased!

So I hear I go… only a few more hours until I board a plane and head to the city to meet some DJs, make some new friends, and get my dance on.  Electric Zoo, here I come!

So somehow, last night I ended up going to see Billy Joel and Elton John perform together at Conseco Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis. Not a concert I really would have sought out on my own, but when Allison told me she was looking for tickets, it piqued my interest and I decided to join her, along with Shane. I’m definitely glad I did.

In spite of our effort to get tickets the minute they went on sale, the best seats we were able to get were behind the stage. This turned out to be not such a bad thing, though, as our seats were actually mostly *above* the stage, and we were much closer than those who purchased tickets in the center, but quite a ways back from the stage. Or in Valparaiso, as Billy Joel put it.

The two “piano men” opened by playing together to a sold-out crowd on two grand pianos that lifted up out of the floor of the stage (answering the question I’m sure others had about where the pianos were when we got there). They were joined by six musicians set up in separate panels behind them, playing various instruments such as drums or keyboard. Each of the panels opened to show these instruments and musicians coming out of the floor as well.

I’m guessing that a lot of you may be like me in the fact that you actually know a lot of Billy Joel or Elton John songs, but you don’t know that you know them. The duo came together on a few songs to start off with, such as “Just the Way You Are” and then each took their turn wowing the audience on their own. It was fun to see both musicians who have obviously been entertaining audiences for years enjoying themselves and creating such a fun, comfortable connection with their audience. I doubt there was a single person in the crowd who didn’t feel perfectly relaxed and at ease watching and listening to them.

While we determined that Sir Elton John may actually be the bigger star, Billy Joel definitely rocked the place with his set as well, not only on the spinning (yes, it spun!) piano, but also with his guitar on “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (which I can’t help but hear as “Ryan started the fire” after that episode of The Office) and his microphone antics to the tune of “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me”.

The two ended the night playing together again – the last two songs on which they ditched their accompanying musicians and pleased the crowd with “Candle in the Wind” and, of course, “Piano Man”.

While, like I said, this wasn’t a show I probably would’ve chosen on my own, I’m very glad I gave it a second thought. It was well worth the dollars to see two piano legends perform in front of an admiring audience that just can’t help but sing along.