Live Reports

The Chainsmokers in Brussels: It’s not a show, it’s a party!

After being postponed 2 times, the show of The Chainsmokers at Forest National finally took place this 17 November. Even if it was the last show on an intense European tour, these 3 crazy guys still got enough energy to deliver us a great show! But it wasn’t the case in the audience… Throwback to a sick show but a bit frustrating.

Tonight was kinda a small indoor Tomorrowland. With 2 DJ Sets from Gil Glaze and Taska Black. We didn’t make it in time to catch both of their sets sadly. We were a bit cold but hopefully the audience was ready and now on fire to dance on the many tubes from The Chainsmokers. At least, that’s what we thought…

If you’ve seen live videos from the band – or seen the band live before -, you already knew their shows are pure madness: lights everywhere, fire and all the potential artifices. Tonight doesn’t make any exception. From the first notes of the opening track, High, the party was on! Andrew and Alex arrived first in front of their desk very high on stage, followed by the insane drummer Matt McGuire who became famous thanks to his hundreds of drum covers online and who’s now drummer of the band since February 2017. His energy and crazy mind add a powerful touch to the live shows of the band as he also take in charge a part a the production aspect. Many people came each night especially to see him playing live and we were definitely part of them!

The Chainsmokers @ Forest National – 17 November 2022 // Sarah Velez Herrero for Ctrl Alt Music.

You may not know The Chainsmokers very well but you know at least a couple of their songs for sure: Something Just Like This (not only a Coldplay song), Closer… or Paris. Third song of the show tonight and the first highlight. With some live crazy adjustments, they delivered a strong version of their hit with the whole audience from Forest National singing it. But one thing shocked us: yes, the public is singing; yes, the public know the songs; yes, the public has many smartphones… but why aren’t they moving more than than?! The crowd is still, almost nobody is moving, jumping around and getting crazy in front of the crazy show the guys on stage are giving us. This was for sure the biggest disappointment tonight. But also the only one.

During the show, Andrew said a few times he loved the energy from the crowd: maybe he had a different point of view from the stage or it’s the usual energy. The thing is everytime him or Alex tried to motivate the audience, they responded in a couple of seconds with so much energy. Before singing Closer, they made the public sing in the same way Freddie Mercury did when he was still belong us. Too bad we didn’t get this more often!

Set-list: High, Everybody Hates Me, Paris, Takeaway, Roses, Hope, Beach House, Seven Nation Army, Everytime We Touch, Don’t Let Me Down, Save Yourself, Who Do You Love, Sick Boy, Drum Solo, Testing, The Fall, Solo Mission, Siren, Riptide, Roses, Something Just Like This, New York City, IPad, Closer, Selfie.

During about 1h30, The Chainsmokers proved they’re are one of the best EDM live acts right now! The presence of Matt McGuire as drummer gave of course a big punch in their music, so did they huge production. If the public wasn’t as their best tonight, the band definitely was and we’ll remember this show

The Chainsmokers @ Forest National – 17 November 2022 // Sarah Velez Herrero for Ctrl Alt Music.

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