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by TABS

Our headliner for the night, Westend is a fairly known DJ in the Dirtybird scene, having been on the Line up for the Dirtybird music festival for 2019. Originally from New York, his real name is Tyler Morris. Predominantly starting his career with high level mixes, his sets have been said to be on an unforgettable scale. Coming out just very recently with a couple hits of his own, he’s been able to make somewhat of a racket, catching a lot of attention from Dirtybird fans and house-music listeners. A noteworthy song of his that was dropped just recently back in September 23, 2019 — called Friend Zone. It has been said that his music incorporates aggressive low frequencies, and quirky vocals–with top charting releases on Dirtybird, Club Sweat, Box of Cats, Audiophile XXL and IN/ ROTATION (And yes he’s affiliated with all of the above). There’s not much else to say about Westend accept that he’s definitely mysterious and he has a way with music, and that’s for sure. 

Being the first Saturday for people to pop off the new year, as well as is his first set for the year I wasn’t surprised about the amount of people that came out. Not only to show their support for the DJ but mainly to start the year right. Even in that case, the crowd will soon realize on the dancefloor that it would be the best decision they made for their weekend. The crowd was a mix, mostly attendees that consider themselves a part of the Dirtybird “flock”, a loosely-knit community that attends dozens of the label’s music events throughout the year; not to mention those of the Burner community, comprised of Burning Man Festival attendees, and simply people just trying to party or show their support for Westend. In motivation to set the year right there were no bad vibes, which in turn set the mood for a wondrous night in which I personally can say was one of the best performances on my list since last year. 

Halcyon is best known for it’s tedious light set up, literally running throughout half the club–Giving off one of the most intricate light setups I’ve ever seen in a venue yet. Coupled with the loud but exceptional sound system–definitely not the type of venue to leave one disappointed. A new touch though, was the disco balls hanging from the ceiling leaving lights bouncing off the tiny mirrors creating and even beautifuller sight for our eyes. 

Only taking the night after IceCream, and Nyctea, Westend played a little before midnight and even on past the initial time of closing (sometime past 4:30am). A little over a four hour set, Westend gave one of the best performances by far that I can truly say I havent seen from an artist in a while, I personally haven’t gone to see any of his previous sets, but I wish I knew about him sooner because the rumors are true. Setting moods and vibes throughout the night, the transitions were seamless. From party mode, to turn down mode and one last hoorah for the night, this was definitely one for the books–or shall I say posts. Not only that but I wasn’t familiar with many of the tracks that were being played that night, and I can say that I didn’t hear 

one that I did not like at all–some of the best music I’ve been blessed with in a while. One instance I can say blew my mind was when Westend showcased his track Paty Time, that seemed like a simple house beat, that later pulled me in to it’s grooves and just when I was waiting for the drop I was put in a vortex of Drum and Bass, speeding up the rhythm and hyping up the vibes. This was an instance I definitely will not forget when it’s comes to the seamless mix of these two genres, there was definitely an appreciation for this greatly. 

I think I’ve pretty much summed it up, having not only been in the perfect venue for such a show, but the crowd as was pleasant as well having only just met a couple new faces, I was greeted by a lovely lady and her friends to dance with them, when they noticed me and my friend were just sitting. Paired with the amazing performance, and unexpected set for the first Saturday of the New Year (I had no expectations going in), I can say that this was in fact a perfect show by Westend, in my opinion as I never once wavered from this outstanding set. I definitely recommend if you ever get the chance to see Westend live if you want to have your mind blown. 

I give Westend at HALCYON a 10/10 ★★★★★★★★★★ on my scale. 

This was too good of a show. 

Songs played, not limited but including >>>> 

Westend – Excuses 

Westend & John Summit – Detonate [Dirty Bird] 

Westend – Party Time (Drum & Bass VIP) ← My Favorite track 

Felix Cartal – Modd (Westend Remix)