First, let’s dispel the misconception that being a DJ/producer is easy. “He just comes along, pops in a USB stick, and clicks Play.” He is the highest-paid performer for a reason – he leaves nothing to chance. This includes the pre-performance promotional activities as well as the sound rehearsal. Calvin Harris makes his job look easy on stage in front of tens (sometimes even hundreds) of thousands of people. That’s only true when the five-hour-long sound rehearsal goes perfectly!
The bridge looked possessed. Hordes of people were crossing it all at once. It was clear who was the biggest star of the moment! His intentions were clear from the first few minutes of the set already! He came to deliver a career retrospective. And what a career it is! An unprecedented one! His new album will come out next week, but he wanted to remind Petrovaradin that he is, first and foremost, a DJ.
Did he really play “Animals” as an intro? How exactly did he remember the song “Destination Unknown“? Aha… He played a few dance songs he didn’t make because he can… A show of force. College approach. At the same time, he performs like someone a lot younger, but then he plays a hit that he produced, and you know there’s a reason why he is where he is, as well as why the Main Stage of the EXIT Festival was packed during his performance. And he’s wearing a white t-shirt. There isn’t even much scenery. Sometimes, smoke hisses before him at the perfect moment and the lights come on.
Will he play old songs, or will he promote his new album? Will he lean towards electronica or go for proven hits? You could hear these questions while walking across the bridge and being offered rakija in test tubes.
Is it just me, or did the left side of the stage respond better to “Blame It On Me”? How loudly the crowd sang that chorus! I don’t know how the VIP section didn’t collapse while he was playing his songs with Dua Lipa. The entire Survivor crew stopped taking photos so they could dance to the beat. Gaga Mićalović didn’t have to worry about that.
“Put Your Hands Up For Detroit“ is a big hit, and we thank Calvin for the reminder, but it can’t compete with the remix he did for Florence and The Machine. People were singing “I Need Your Love,” but they probably tore their vocal cords when Calvin took the microphone himself and said “BABY” for the entire Petrovaradin to respond with “This is what you came for“.
He is the music of today. That’s why we owe a debt of gratitude to EXIT. Not only is he at the peak of his fame, but he is so above everything that we can feel a lightness in his existence. A historical moment. It was evident that he didn’t come here because he had to, but that he needed this. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back on tour with the energy he got from the crowd.
Calvin is the ideal Exit headliner. He summarised the previous decades of music while indicating which way we are going all at the same time. This is where we are. I can’t wait to see where we’ll go.
Written by: Vojkan Bećir
