Avicii brought thunder

Fuelled on Monster Energy drink, we set off for Thunder City on Saturday night to catch the Swedish producer's supporting acts, as well as himself. Almost like a scene out of a B-grade horror flick, we cruised through the dark-and-quiet airport industrial area in search of life. A bib-wearing parking attendant suddenly popped up out of nowhere and directed us to a parking bay with ample space - the only problem that materialised was that we realised Thunder City stood roughly 2km away.

Dilemma? Not entirely.

The organisers of the event had hired out several double-decker buses, which could take 300 party-goers in one sitting, from the parking area to Thunder City. Dozens of people were queuing for the next bus to come, so being the ever-adventurous explorers that we are, we opted to take a walk to the venue instead. We were joined in this by loads of other people; some suspiciously stumbling, some doing the walk in heels and others doing walking-group hugs for warmth. As we cut our way through the cool autumn air, we started hearing beats in the distance and a very large excitable crowd.

Goldfish were nearing the end of their set when we arrived at the massive aeroplane hangar, which I'd estimate engulfed a good couple of thousand people. The area outside of the hangar had bars and food stalls that were all buzzing with people. One downside of the bars, though, was the drink price - over R100 for two double brandy and Cokes! Having said that, the venue was a concert-goer's wet dream - the rig, smoke machines, lights and sound were all very impressive. We went into the Golden Circle area and got consumed by the crowd while supporting act, DJ Fresh, stood behind the decks playing uplifting club bangers. His build-up to Avicii was good and after an hour of meeting people and dancing in the hangar, it was time.

Pyrotechnics lit up the building

Avicii exploded onto the stage with his hit Levels, and the pyrotechnics lit up the entire building for a brief few seconds. Thousands of hands (and recording smartphones) raised in the air, girls got up on their boyfriends' shoulders and the hangar transformed into one writhing, rhythmic mass of bodies. Hit after hit, the Swede ensured that each track was harder and faster than the last.

We left on a high, with local DJ legend Dean Fuel playing us out on our walk back to the car.

A big thanks to the organisers for a smoothly run event, the supporting acts for building the hype and, obviously, to Avicii for fulfilling everyone's expectations!

Photography by Stefan du Toit

Article previously published on www.citylifer.co.za