It’s safe to say Calvin Harris fans found love in a not-so-hopeless place on Valentines Day. Miami mega-club Story (the amphitheater-like sister club to LIV), played host to Harris and fans turned out in force. Around midnight, a good hour and a half before he took the decks, the crowd outside of Story began to reach epic proportions. As the typical mix of big spenders, VIPs (“Transformers” director Michael Bay and Cedric Gervais among them), and ticket holders trickled into the club, the excitement became palpable. Any time Calvin Harris makes a return to Miami it is sure to be a night to remember, and Story was the perfect venue to compliment his skills.
Story is perhaps one of Miami’s most unique venues, as it is the only club that delivers both an ultra-luxury experience and a raging concert-ready layout. The club is absolutely gorgeous. The DJ booth is completely over the top, flanked by multiple screens and giving way to a large dance floor. Three distinct levels make for diverse experience while socializing or enjoying the show. Several large columns with veins of light running up and down them surround the dance floor and an amazing LED wall runs along the uppermost level. Story is definitely mostly noted for its incredible light show. The main lights, situated over the dance floor, are in constant motion, throbbing, pulsating, and blaring in time with the beat. Standing on the dance floor is incredibly immersive as beams of light blast down around you from all sides. When these lights sync up with the previously mentioned columns and LED wall, it truly is a sight to behold. However, these columns are also Story’s only downside as they can frustratingly obstruct your view of the DJ booth and lights depending on where you are situated.
As the night powered forward, confetti flew through the air and the lights provided a spectacle while taking in the incredible set. Towards the end of the night, the hits started coming almost one after another; “We Found Love,” “Under Control,” and “Thinking About You” were delivered at a breakneck pace. The energy inside Story remained impressively high until Harris closed his set around 4 in the morning -a testament to his ability to deliver a captivating and perfectly paced performance. Overall, Calvin Harris wasn’t innovative or experimental, but he didn’t need to be. Fans were able to experience Calvin Harris’ signature sound, masterfully executed, in a first class venue. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my Valentines Day anywhere else and I couldn’t imagine that anyone in attendance would disagree.
Photos courtesy of World Red Eye.