In this writer's personal opinion, this past Labour Day long weekend bore witness to one of the best shows to land in Calgary in a long, long time. Hitting Tantra in Calgary Sunday night was none other than prog legend Nick Warren and trance powerhouse Rank 1.

Musically, one might have thought this to be an odd combination of headliners, especially with the pounding trance styles of Rank 1 lining up before the deeper sound of Nick Warren, but sometimes what seems strange at the moment can often work out to be pure wizardry; and this night was no exception.

Arriving at Tantra just after 10pm to a club lined up down the block was already a sign that this night would be something else, and walking into a full room bouncing with big beats reassured that feeling. The man that is Rank 1 was manning the booth like an unforgiving soldier, dropping a relentless set of progressive trance tipped off with some memorable classics such as Cafe Del Mar and more, winding up the floor into a frenzy at various moments. However, intelligently keeping with the proceedings of the night, the pace slowed and the intensity backed off just a bit, acting as a perfect prelude to Nick's set, then away things went from there.

For the last two and half hours of the night, moving through everything from minimal techno to screaming progressive, Nick brought Tantra to it's proverbial knees; proving again why this guy is one of the master's and is always called upon by Global Underground to put together those classic compilations that everyone owns at least one of.

Mind-blowing to say the least, seamlessly journeying from the latest tracks by wonder-kids like Canada's Deadmau5 to superb classics that could only be found on the earliest Platipus compilations, this set was one for the ages. As my good friend and seasoned music lover Rusty pointed out, this was the best set from Nick he's ever seen; and that includes other shows he's attended in Toronto and beyond.

All in all, as a unabashed prog-lover myself, it was a fantastic night to be a part of from the start all the way to the finish where the last track, to the liking of Calgary's rockstar personality, was that overplayed but always outstanding remix of the Killer's Mr Brightside.

The last word? I would definitely recommend to anyone in cities that Nick's hitting in the near future to attend, because he was on fire Sunday night!!

This shows gets a very big and deserving 10/10.

Some photos: