Example // The O2, London, 2012 – Harrison Smith
Springtime in London. A mob of hyped-up teens and excitable twenty-somethings flocked joyfully into the cavernous arena. An audience brimming with anticipation awaited that extraordinary flicker of a moment when the tannoy music gently fades out and the darkness, aside from a few illuminated phone screens, descends.
Elliot Gleave AKA Example‘s 2012 gig at the O2 Arena proved to be a defining moment in the early 2010’s explosion of EDM. Notable for such smash hits as ‘Kickstarts’, Example—at the top of his game—navigated the stage with charismatic energy and wit all whilst effortlessly captivating and enchanting the audience with regular encouraging chants of “Everybody jump!”
From the get-go, Example rocketed through a jukebox of suitably selected hits, soundtracking a thousand-person-heavy ethereal Ibiza rave-like celebration loaded with a pummelling parade of bouncy nightclub-like ambience.
With an encore choice as celestial as the chart-topping ‘Changed The Way You Kissed Me’, Example launched the show to a stratospheric next level. The sweat-drenched crowd was bursting with hedonism and carefree wonder. In that one moment, everyone and everything in the world seemed to be soaring.