[Review] Bingo Players ‘Rattle & Roll Tour’ – Dallas, TX

WOTN Archive

Written by:

Views: 1650

NOV. 19, 2013

Bingo PlayersRattle & Roll Tour’ kicked off in Miami, FL and proceeded to wind its way throughout over 15 states and up into Canada, culminating at the famous Palladium in Los Angeles, CA. With over 30 sold out shows between Oct 10th and November 16th, to say the ‘Rattle & Roll Tour’ is a success is a huge understatement. The ’Rattle & Roll Tour’ has been a long time coming for Paul Baümer & Maarten Hoogstraten of Bingo Players. With the start of their own record label, Hysteria, in 2010 and the release of “Cry” and “Rattle”, their hit singles, the duo from the Netherlands have been atop the charts and aren’t looking to come down anytime soon. Unfortunately, Paul Baümer announced this past summer he’d been diagnosed with cancer and unable to partake in the tour. His fans worldwide send their best wishes and hope for his speedy recovery, Paul is in all of our thoughts and prayers. Maarten, however, was not alone on this tour. He teamed up with the likes of Carl Tricks, MAKJ and Bassjackers, three DJ’s from their Hysteria label.

My introduction to the ‘Rattle & Roll Tour’ took me to the Granada Theater in Dallas, TX on November 7th during a chilly Thursday night. As I walked into the building the first thing that stood out to me was the strikingly huge goddess looking down from the ceiling. She had an owl resting upon each hand, a blazing sun behind her head and a beautiful blue flowing dress. She seemed to be watching over the patrons that come and go within the Granada Theater. The next thing to attract my attention was the huge setup on the stage that was covered with sheets, whatever lay beneath them was still to be discovered. Carl Tricks was already well into his set and the theater was starting to fill in. I hadn’t heard of Carl Tricks prior to this tour, but was nicely surprised with his mix of progressive/electro house.

Next up was MAKJ, the 23 year old phenom who started off racing cars in China at the ripe age of 10. I was extremely excited to see MAKJ because I had remembered seeing him come out next to Hardwell not too long ago at TomorrowWorld during Hardwell’s set Sunday night. When this unknown man had walked out I was left asking myself who that was, well after a little research I found out this was Mackenzie Johnson, better known as MAKJ. When I found out he was a part of the ‘Rattle & Roll Tour’ I was ecstatic. The energy that MAKJ delivered during his set was felt in the crowd as the now packed Granada Theater shook with excitement. Next up was Bassjackers and this Dutch duo was sure to please as the night progressed. Sporting a beanie and a full sleeve of tattoos on his left arm, Marlon Flohr took the stage as the performing artist for Bassjackers. Ralph van Hilst, the second half of the group plays a large part in the production of the music and was not on tour. Marlon truly electrified the crowd in his performance and when he left the stage had everyone wanting more.

Lastly, the headliner of the night, Bingo Players, were about to come out. In between Bassjackers and Maarten coming out, the production cast was busy unveiling what was underneath the sheets that had left us all wondering the entire night. As the sheets were lifted the crowd was left in amazement as we saw a huge set up of what appeared to be speakers stacked atop each other surrounding the DJ booth. Maarten was standing there atop the pyramid of speakers with a smile on his face and was ready to leave us all speechless at the end of his amazing set.

For most, Bingo Players is who we came to see and they were not going to disappoint. Maarten did however leave us with one thing, and that was wanting more, something no one could complain about.  The hits of ‘Cry’ and ‘Rattle’ had the crowd almost in tears with excitement as not a single body in the theater stopped moving the entire set. The light show was remarkable as each drop and hit Maarten delivered the Granada Theater exploded in assortments of light being emitted from the pyramid of speakers. As the show came to an end the groans of those lucky enough to witness this tour in person were audible over the shuffling feet of everyone leaving the building, no one wanted to go home. For those of us who stuck around we were delighted by the fact that MAKJ, Marlon Flohr and Carl Tricks came out and mingled with the crowd, took pictures and signed autographs. The last thing I saw leaving the theater was once again the beautiful goddess looking down upon us—much like a guardian angel watching over all those patrons who entered her halls, beckoning us to come back. The ‘Rattle & Roll Tour’ was a huge success; everyone I spoke to had nothing but great things to say about the performances, the venue and the staff of the Granada Theater. I cannot wait for the next time these DJs back in town.

By Brian Lockhart

Keep your eyes peeled, photos to come.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail