“Undoubtedly the most incredible show of my career to date. To sell out my first Theatre of the Mind with the most INSANE crowd from the start to the last beat was something I’ll cherish forever.”
These are the words Brendan Blatt, AKA Factor B said after his incredible five-hour “Theatre of the Mind” journey at Halcyon in San Francisco last weekend.
Known for his unique style of uplifting trance, filled with beautifully long breakdowns and stunning melodies, fans knew he’d be after their hearts that night. I mean, it was Valentine’s Day, after all.
“Tonight it’s all about new melodies, new sounds, a new concept and a new journey. Tonight we’re going to be pushing the conventional trance ‘Open to close’ into something unique,” Factor B said in a Facebook post.
And something unique it was. The doors opened at 10:00 pm and it wasn’t long until the entire club was packed wall-to-wall with fans ready to experience Factor B’s new concept. It was clear the crowd was in for something special.
“I’m just not ready for an open to close yet.. I feel I haven’t quite earned my stripes; or could I bring anything unique to the table that others haven’t already.. sure, I have the musical knowledge and the ambition - but when I do it, I want it to be something different, something with musical purpose & most importantly something that separates it from being just another ‘Open to Close.’”
This is what Factor B said two years ago, when he was first asked if he wanted to perform an open to close set. With 20 plus new tracks under his belt, he finally felt he was ready to deliver something different, and boy are we glad he waited. He played tracks under his new, unannounced alias, which sounded like everything we love about Factor B, but at a slower BPM. From lush melodies, to moments of pure euphoria—the crowd was dialed in.
On top of the music being incredible, his mixing was flawless. It’s no easy feat to pace yourself over five hours of DJing, but he made it seem like he’d done it hundreds of times before. Once we hit the two to two and a half hour mark, we started getting the signature Factor B uplifting sound.
Fans were treated to favorites like “White Rooms” and “Crashing Over,” as well as some new IDs. My personal highlight of the show was hearing his unreleased remix of Alena’s “Turn it Around,” which I’ve been dying to hear again after experiencing it at the Dreamstate SoCal set with Craig Connelly.
At around 2:45 am, the music ended but it felt like no one had left that club. The crowd cheered for an encore, and we were treated to two classic tracks. One was an ID remix of Solarstone’s “Seven Cities,” followed by Cosmic Gate’s “Exploration of Space.”
Fans were encouraged to not take any photos or videos during the set in order to be more in tune with the music. However, we couldn’t say goodbye without one family photo.
San Francisco is truly blessed when it comes to trance music, and this was no exception. This night will undoubtedly go down in Trance Family SF history as one of the most exciting events we’ve ever had. I think I speak for everyone, when I say “thank you,” Factor B, for choosing to debut Theatre of The Mind in San Francisco. Trance Family SF loves you and we can’t wait to have you back.
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