Another crisp night in downtown San Diego and the sound of dance music was in the air. Mat Zo had made his way down south and was set to kick off his own Winter Tour. Being the first stop on his headlining tour, locals turned up en masse to see what this young producer is all about. After arriving inside of Fluxx I was presently surprised by a packed house ready to see what the young producer had in store for us. The club was decked from wall to wall with holiday garb and was looking to start the holiday season off right. Attendees were welcomed in by a house heavy opening set from local talent StirCrazy as they set the tone for the main event.

Playing off of some of the deeper tunes the openers had left off with, Mat Zo picked right up where the openers left off. Some heavy electro synths immediately brought people away from the bar and onto the dance floor. The subtle intro sounds of Madeon’s Icarus accompanied by the in-unison clapping of the crowd led the way for a nice mashup with Jerome Isma- Ae’s Flashing Lights. Expecting to hear mostly trance, I was pleasantly surprised with the track selection that Zo was laying down. The atmosphere resembled that of a club in Las Vegas and the crowd was loving the tempo. A nice transition into Fedde Le Grand’s remix of Zdarlight was unexpected and did a nice job of keeping the crowd guessing.

Moving forward into the night, some deeper house tracks boomed through the speakers. At this point it was clear that Mat Zo was looking to prove a point. This young producer is not looking to be pigeon-holed into a certain genre and was showing just how diverse of a performer he is. A sample of the Cha-Cha Slide mixed with the classic Dirtybird track Tric Trac pretty much epitomized this. Some more recognizable tracks were cycled through and kept the crowd on their toes. The long-winded Deadmau5 track Fn Pig had some crowd members cheering and the classic Eric Prydz Call On Me had the front row jumping as it was nicely mashed together with Mord Fustang’s We Are Now Connected.

As the night was coming to a close the vibe started to slow and all of the trance fans in the building were finally appeased. Mat capped off the night with some of his own productions that the longing crowd had been anxiously waiting for. Tracks like The Sky and Bipolar resonated beautifully on the dance floor and reminded the crowd of his producing talents. After a quick encore and some autographing of posters the night had finally come to a close.

What I Saw: A younger crowd looking to enjoy a true club setting.

What I Overheard: “He is really bringing the heat tonight, I love it.”

What I Have To Say: Mat Zo clearly is capable of stepping out of his comfort zone and taking risks in his live performances.

Word From The Wise: Keep an open mind when seeing young talent and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Event Grade: A-

For more info on Mat Zo’s Winter Tour check out ITAM’s preview here.