Trance artist DJ Mars spins life into crowd

  ELI GILL DJ Mars rocks the house at
Westwood Plaza on Wednesday with only a mixer, two turntables and
his signature trance sounds.

By Antero Garcia
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

At 12:05 on Wednesday, Westwood Plaza reverberated pulsating
bass lines and a driving high hat as student interest groups fought
over the noise to promote their various causes.

Outlining the plaza were excited students on cell phones,
calling friends ““ world-famous trance artist DJ Mars was at
UCLA spinning the latest vinyl in his collection.

The stage setup was simple: two turntables and a mixer. A
microphone stood broodingly to the side of the stage, unused during
the entire show. Centered behind the table, DJ Mars was decked out
in a light blue t-shirt, baggy shorts, and a F-8 visor that
surrounded a sea of dirty blond dreads.

The crowd in the beginning was small. It was too shy to approach
the front of the stage, too lazy to dance. With his toe tapping and
his head bobbing, at least DJ Mars was enjoying the beginning of
his set.

It seems there is a taboo about dancing in public here at UCLA.
For most of the set no one was willing to budge. Instead, the
slowly growing crowd stood like statues.

While DJ Mars’ audience directly in front of him was
small, the stairs by both Ackerman and the Wooden Center were
packed with motionless Bruins, gazing at the source of all the
commotion.

It seems there is a taboo about dancing in public here at UCLA.
For most of the set no one was willing to budge.

At first, the music was run-of-the-mill trance ““ long,
drawn-out builds, eventually segueing into another long and
drawn-out build. This was usually followed by piercing synth
syncopations and interlocked bass and drum beats.

As simple and childlike as the music sounds, it sure is catchy
and it makes it damn near impossible to stand still.

At long last, a few daring souls decided they were willing to
dance.

There’s something spiritual in the music’s
simplicity. For the most part DJ Mars’ selection of songs
““ like nearly all trance out there ““ is one basic riff
or pattern repeated endlessly. At least, until a new song is
introduced. It’s the slight variations DJ Mars imbues in his
songs that give them life.

Once a decent portion of the crowd decided to dance in place,
nearly 30 minutes after DJ Mars raised his hands above the crowd,
his head locked in the music’s time recognizing the pleasure
he was creating for the growing community of listeners.

DJ Mars often disappeared behind his table, dancing, dashing
through his backpack, popping back up like a rabbit and sync-ing
his next allotment of noise on a turntable.

Throughout the hour-long set, the crowd would clap and hoot as
DJ Mars, like an ancient sorcerer, would conjure energy out of the
blaring speakers.

After nearly 50 minutes of a mainly still crowd, the base of the
stage was filled with noodling limbs and smiles of delight as
students let go of egos and danced to the cacophony of rhythm. The
dancing taboo had been broken. Shoes were kicked off and bare feet
scuffled to the beats of Mars’ trance.

Sensing the end of his set was near, a smile of satisfaction
could be seen on Mars’ face as he checked his watch for
confirmation, his final trance anthem spinning down.

As the pulsating slid to a melancholy halt, hugs were given out.
Only an overwhelming feeling of positivity was left. For an hour on
Wednesday afternoon, Bruins got an uplifting visit from Mars.