Swedish House Mafia Live @ Madison Square Garden ~Review, Footage, & Setlist

On December 16^th, history was made. Swedish House Mafia took on The Garden in NYC and “turned MSG into a night club” as Steve Angello tweeted late Friday night. The Swedish DJs came up with the idea to perform at the legendary Madison Square Garden as a joke, but with the help of alcohol that night, one of the members ended up booking it in late summer (RollingStone).

Click here to finish reading Raffi’s review and to check out Justin , Mike, and Jason’s review to the SHM concert.

Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso were the first DJs to headline MSG and they did one hell of a job. I apologize if I sound like a child going to my first rave, but it is amazing to see a crowd full of people dancing to the music of three DJs. Spinner said it perfectly when they stated in their review that “There’s something stunning about 20,000 people bouncing to the music three men of average stature blast out of a few plastic CDJ’s.”

Some of my highlights from the show include when SHM finally dropped Dirty South’s anthem “Walking Alone”, after teasing us with it a couple of times through the night. Right after “Walking Alone”, the Mafia transitioned into “Miami 2 Ibiza” and had Tinie Tempah come out to perform the vocals. Another one of my favorite parts of the show was the transition from Coldplay’s “Fix You” into Alesso’s “Pressure”. Alesso and Coldplay are two of my favorite artists and to hear them mixed together made my night.

The trio will forever leave their mark in New York City history. One after another, they brought giant breakdowns, driving anthems and melodic soundscapes that worked perfectly together. As they continue their tour to Milton Keys in the UK, I can only hope that the experience is the same for all our brothers over the pond.

Let me end my review off by saying I am listening to the set on my Sennheiser Headphones right now (highly recommended, they would make a great Christmas present) and I am mind blown…

–Raffi

We Came, We Got Into College, We Raved, We Loved. Swedish House Mafia is no longer just a house music supergroup in my mind, it’s a name that will forever mark the most amazing experience I’ve ever had – Friday, December 16th 2011 was the pinnacle of my life. I can’t even find the words to describe how I continue to feel about this experience. I’m having a hard time even calling it a concert because SHM completely transcended that. There’s nothing I could possibly say to give this event the justice it deserves, but the best I can do is describe to you the sublime experience I had.

I anxiously made my way to my floor seats as the cheers grew louder. It still hadn’t hit me that I was about to witness history. The lights dimmed and images flashed across the giant screen. Just picture yourself in the crowd of 20 thousand people, counting down the moment for Angello, Axwell, and Ingrosso to drop the beat. All you hear is Clap… Clap … Clap… the sound of 40 thousand hands coming together. And in that moment, you feel insignificant, one speck in a universe of infinity, and yet somehow, you realize simultaneously come to realize how interconnected we all are. The cheer and the claps, they drowned away the worries of the world. The curtain fell and the bass reverberated through Madison Square Garden. Three distinct silhouettes appear and in that moment, you find a certain solace that eludes your daily life.

I still can’t believe I raved with 3 of my best friends the day I got accepted to Vanderbilt University (Class of ’16 baby!!!). Sorry for going off on a slight tangent here, but I want to take this time to thank my best friends, those that were there with me, as well as those who I wish could have made it. I love you all and though I’ll be a distance from New York next year, Nashville is only a plane ride away.

– Justin Liao

“New York, we’ve come a long way, we put a nightclub in Madison Square Garden.” These words will forever be remembered as being the first time a real DJ headlined MSG! I’ve watched the opening act around 10 times already and I find it hard on where to start talking about the concert. I can start off by saying wow, but that still can’t describe the excitement that is still built up inside of me. A week ago I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to go and in retrospect I feel like a fool. I can tell you all, this is the concert of the Century. Between the amazing drops and remixes SHM made a true mark at MSG.

Watching 20,000 people sitting down after being told to prepare for something special, pumped the night up even more. Everyone in the venue blasted up out of their seats when the drop in ‘Leave The World Behind’ hit. The Garden shook and erupted with exhilaration. The light show by itself was a concert of its own. Every aspect of this show was incredible. This relentless show offered a pounding bass, potent synths, and the occasional shoutout to NYC!

I am forced to believe that nothing will ever top this concert. Reliving it would be a dream come true for me and my 3 best friends who witnessed this. This concert will definitely be marked in history.

–Mike

It was the best possible first day home. I just got home from Nashville Friday afternoon, so when Raffi asked me to go to see SHM, I wasn’t really sure if I was up for it. In the end, I decided to because I love Swedish House and Justin just got into Vanderbilt that day (THREE MORE YEARS BABY). SHM has been one of my favorite EDM artists in the past two to three years as I practiced countless hours mastering the clap-clap part in “One.” Also, this was first ever time DJs were headlining a concert at Madison Square Garden. I couldn’t let this opportunity slip out of my hands. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made. From the time I stepped off the train at Penn Station, I could feel the rush and excitement of everyone around me. Once we got to our floor seats, people all around us were giving us high fives screaming how excited they were. There was a giant white screen in front of us. It started with a short little clip that definitely got the crowd pumped. The screen fell and it was mayhem from that point on. The dynamic trio of Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso and Axwell took over. Every song was unbelievable. They even brought out a few guests, which included Tinie Tempah and John Martin (Miami 2 Ibiza and Save the World) that only added onto what was already a great performance. I really can’t find a single adjective to describe this concert and I could go on and on about it. It was definitely the best one I’ve been to and I’m so happy I could be a part of history.

–Jason Chiu

Listen to the full stream of the concert below…

Download: Swedish House Mafia full set | Mediafire

Set List:

01. Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso feat. Michael Feiner – Together (The Attic Intro Edit) w/ ID
02. Michael Calfan – Resurrection (Axwell’s Recut Club Version) [Axtone] w/ Axwell feat. Steve Edwards – Watch The Sunrise (Acappella) [Axtone] 03. Nari & Milani – Atom [Size] 04. David Guetta & Afrojack – Lunar [EMI] 05. Deniz Koyu – Hydra [Joia] w/ Adele – Set Fire To The Rain (Thomas Gold Remix) [XL] 06. Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso – Calling (Instrumental Mix) [Refune] 07. Feenixpawl & Ivan Gough feat. Georgi Kay – In My Mind [Axtone] 08. Deniz Koyu – Tung! [Flamingo] w/ Calvin Harris – Feel So Close [Sony] 09. Niki & The Dove – Mother Protect (Alex Metric Remix) [EMI] w/ Afrojack – Replica [Wall] 10. Axwell – Heart Is King [Axtone] w/ R.E.M – Losing My Religion (Acappella) [Sony] w/ Ferry Corsten – Punk (Arty ‘Rock-N-Rolla’ Remix) [Flashover] 11. James Blunt – Dangerous (Deniz Koyu & Johan Wedel Remix) [Atlantic] (Axwell Edit)
12. Deniz Koyu – Hertz [Flamingo] w/ Cassius – I Love U So
13. Michael Woods – Bullet [Diffused] w/ Nero – Promises (Calvin Harris Remix) [MTA] 14. Pendulum – The Island (Steve Angello, AN21 & Max Vangeli Remix) [Size / One More Tune] w/ R3hab & Swanky Tunes feat. Max C – Sending My Love [Wall] 15. Arty, Matisse & Sadko – Trio [Axtone] 16. Dirty South & Those Usual Suspects feat. Erik Hecht – Walking Alone [Phazing] w/ Swedish House Mafia vs. Tinie Tempah – Miami 2 Ibiza [Virgin] (Live Vocals) w/ Dirty South & Those Usual Suspects feat. Erik Hecht – Walking Alone (Acappella) [Phazing] 17. Swedish House Mafia vs. Knife Party – Antidote (Vocal Mix) [EMI] 18. Tommy Trash – The End [Downright] w/ Florence and The Machine – You’ve Got The Love (Mark Knight Remix) [Toolroom] w/ Swedish House Mafia – One [Virgin] 19. Axwell feat. Errol Reid – Nothing But Love (Remode Mix) [Axtone] w/ Arty – Around The World [Anjunabeats] w/ Steve Angello – Yeah [Size] 20. John Dahlback feat. Erik Hassle – One Last Ride (Tommy Trash Remix) [Mutants / Big Beat] 21. Diddy, Dirty Money feat. Skylar Grey – Coming Home (Dirty South Remix) [Interscope] w/ Daft Punk – Aerodynamic [Virgin] w/ Hard Rock Sofa – Quasar [Axtone] 22. Nadia Ali, Alex Kenji & Starkillers – Pressure (Alesso Remix) [Spinnin] w/ Coldplay – Fix You [EMI] 23. Coldplay vs. Swedish House Mafia – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall [Parlophone] 24. Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin – Save The World [EMI] (Live Vocals)
25. The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (Axwell & Dirty South Remix) [Infectious] w/ Adrian Lux – Teenage Crime (Axwell & Henrik B Remode) [Axtone] 26. Steve Angello, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso & Laidback Luke feat. Deborah Cox – Leave The World Behind [Axtone] w/ DEVolution feat. Amy Pearson – Good Love (Alesso Remix) w/ Green Velvet – Flash (Nicky Romero Remix) [Relief] 27. Steve Angello & Laidback Luke vs. Robin S – Show Me Love [Ministry Of Sound] w/ Axwell feat. Max C – I Found U [Axtone] w/ Steve Angello – Knas [Size]

Set-list courtesy of BeatMyDay

WATCH THE FULL LIVE STREAM!!!-

Swedish House Mafia at Madison Square Garden, New York 16.12.2011 (Full Set) [exQlusiv.com] from exQlusiv on Vimeo.

Updated Stream*

Live footage from my flip camera, set each video to 720p to watch in HD.

Opening-

Deniz Koyu – Hydra [Joia] w/ Adele – Set Fire To The Rain (Thomas Gold Remix) into “CALLING” by Alesso (yes, that is me yelling da da da duh da da)-