The ‘Music On’ Experience with Marco Carola and Stacey Pullen [Event Review]

There are times where seeing a legend live is worth more than just hearing it over your headphones or listening to SoundCloud clips of live shows. To be there in person with a crowd of hundreds of people boogying up and down to the rhythm of the night is captivating and impressive to say the least. One man of legendary status takes the cake after I had a chance to see him spin track after track live in one of Miami’s biggest clubs.

Tech house legend Marco Carola has a residency with nightclub Story in South Beach and plays every Saturday night until February 28th. For what is known as the Marco’s “Music On” project, guests are given the full Ibiza treatment with Marco leading the evening into a groove sensation with assistance from an interesting opening act.

With a veteran reputation since his work started in the 90s, Stacey Pullen opened the night with droning beats. Tribal drums, droning bass, dark room vibes crept across the dance floor and took hold of all the feet-moving club goers throughout his three hour set. There some moments I felt his set was just about to end as the music waned away from intensifying motion. But right as I thought it was over, Stacey brought the room back to life with tech house prowess. What this Detroit techno master did as an opening act pumped up the crowd more towards dancing rather than hearing their favorite tune. If Stacey’s objective was to synchronize the nightlife with the music, then he accomplished it with flying colors.

During the end of Stacey’s set, people dancing kept wondering where Carola was. Although the night was young, it was getting pretty late for guests with plans to wake up early the next day. As 2 A.M. passed by, the man of the hour hopped on where Stacey left off without disturbing the rhythm that has been so carefully crafted since the night begun.

From the first track he popped, the crowd was more engaged than ever before. The techno growls snarled through the speakers and the audience demanded more communicating to the DJ with their body language across the floor. He through every sound you could think of at them. Aside from the electronic music, Marco showcased tunes with horns, bongos, piano, and more instruments that sounded close enough to a live band playing near the stage. Either way, the people dancing all around him didn’t seem to mind as long as the music kept playing. The most incredible thing about Marco is his nearly sixth-sense to read a crowd and deliver exactly what they want through minimalistic tech music. He could have tunes that contained angelic builds and lead into devilish drops that would blindside and amaze. He carried on all the way to five in the morning and even though the crowd began to die down, the remaining force ventured further into dance until the final tune played its course.

This is the kind of show that will give you some perspective on where “EDM” sprouted from. Before sub genres like progressive house, dubstep, moombahton, or future house, the world had the music of men like Stacey Pullen and Marco Carola to guide them in dance through the never-ending, global dance scene never knowing the eventual commercial break that would change dance music forever. If you’re able to catch Marco Carola on any of the Saturday evenings he is on the stage, I highly recommend grabbing tickets and making an adventure out of a typical weekend night.

Purchase tickets here: Story – Music On with Marco Carola

Image credit: Story