Photographs by Dakota Arsenault.
On Saturday January 17th I had the honour of representing Live In Limbo for one of the final shows at the legendary Guvernment nightclub in our beloved city of Toronto. This super club opened in 1996 and tragically closes with its final show on January 25th.
Comic Gate, the German trance sensation consisting of Nic Chagall and DJ Bossi hit the stage with a flawless set in the Guv main room. Making a memorable entrance at about 1am, the duo kicked off their performance appropriately, with one of their latest singles Start to Feel from the album of the same name. The group played their hearts out for almost 5 hours, with blissful vibes and contagious smiles emanating from the DJ booth. Nic and Bossi seemed to be having a blast up there, showing the love with their arms around each other laughing and enjoying the party. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to hear Cosmic Gate throw in a trance remix of ZHU’s Faded, by DJ Feel, a new twist on a personal favourite for me. Many in the crowd might argue that the highlight of the night was when Exploration of Space hit the speakers, a fan favourite and career-launching track released by Cosmic Gate in 2001.
Phones, phones and more phones lit up the crowd, swaying like lighters as the duo slowed down the pace mid performance, expertly steering the set, you could feel the emotion in the room. It was of course a busy crowd, as it always is at The Guvernment, but no one seemed to let that bring them down. It really is hard to be negative during a trance set after all, with its pleasantly repetitive melodies forcing a smile on your face and a warm sensation through your body that just makes you want to move. From the front to the back, everybody was dancing, jumping up on the speakers and platforms across the venue people claimed a home to show off their love for the music and drift away in the rhythm.
For many, The Guvernment entertainment complex has been a sort of second home. For almost two decades it has served as a place for people from all different reaches of the social world to come out and dance their hearts out to the music they love and it has been a place where memories were formed and not to be soon forgotten. A number of ravers in the crowd celebrated their last night in the super club and that is no small responsibility if you asked me. Cosmic Gate definitely did not let us down, playing a passionate show. Around 4am, The DJ booth lowered down to crowd level giving the performance a more intimate vibe and continued until almost 6am. The party kept on going after Cosmic Gate finished their set with the resident DJ of The Guvernment, Mark Oliver, who finished the night off on one of his last Saturdays after having played nearly every weekend for a 9 year stretch. On behalf of Live In Limbo, myself and many EDM enthusiasts out there, thank you Cosmic Gate for celebrating this end of era with us.
