Ferry Corsten - Live At Innercity - Amsterdam RAI (1999)

Martin van Zeelandt / TCD
Sep 23
3 min read

Innercity. An event I truly miss. Not many people might remember it, but it was legendary. It came out of nowhere in 1999, and stayed with us until 2006. They decided to end the concept, as it wasn't making any returns toward the end. It wasn't profitable, and I do believe it didn't sell out. Which is truly a pity, as the one I remember the most, the one that took place on the 30th of December 2000, was probably one of the best events I've ever been to. It was memorable, that's for sure. But what made me go to Innercity?

Well, it was because of two CDs I purchased in 1999. I think I purchased Ferry Corsten's CD first, and then Tiesto. I did loose Tiesto's CD over the years, which wasn't a pity. As Ferry's CD was certainly much better. I kept that CD for years, and played it wherever I was. Such a banger of a CD, and I think that persuaded me to buy a ticket for the event that took place in December the following year. And I'm grateful that I did.

Tiesto started the series, with his recording from the 20th of February of 1999, and Ferry followed. Many CDs would be released after, but they would never be 'live' CDs. I still liked them a lot, but yeah, toward the end, the music changed, and it wasn't my thing anymore. I think the last one I purchased has a rainbow colour theme? Was it the 2005 CD? I can't remember. It wasn't the Trance event we all grew up with. But we had Trance Energy instead, which was great too... until they pulled the plug on that later on...

It is still a very memorable set, and Ferry's selection of records have stood the test of time. They are glorious. Boy, do I miss this Millennium sound Trance anthems. They don't make them like they used to, right?

Rank 1 - Airwave
Vimana - We Came
Luis Paris - Incantation
Gouryella - Walhalla
Der Dritte Raum - Hale Bopp (Nick Warren & Starecase's Jackdaw Mix)
DJ Jan - X-Santo (Transa Remix)
Kamaya Painters - Cryptomnesia
Chakra - Love Shines Through
The Digital Blonde - Electra
Starparty - I'm In Love (Ferry Corsten & Robert Smit Remix)
Force Majeure - Redemption (The Thrillseekers Redeemed Mix)
The Rapid Eye - Alderaan
Jon Vesta - Gull
Soundcheck - Mindrive
L.S.G. - I'm Not Existing
Solar Stone - Seven Cities (Solar Stone's Atlantis Mix)

Wow, another trip down memory lane. Boy, does this make me happy. Glorious late 90s Trance anthems. Who is going to say no to that, right? Such a fantastic list, and the tracks are still extremely solid.

You might have owned this CD, like yours truly, and you might notice that there are remix titles on here. Well, it turns out (after a quick Discogs check) that they never added them to the CD. The actual titles excluded the remix titles, which seems odd. But those were the days. They probably thought to release it as soon as time permits, and to reduce additional printing, let's leave the full title off. Just the artist and the song title. Who cares who made the remix? Well, I do.

But the CD. Well, it's a fantastic CD. Innercity would become this fantastic event, and Ferry Corsten became even bigger than before. Not just a household name in the Netherlands, but globally. We all craved for more Ferry, and the years that followed, he certainly didn't disappoint us. Obviously Innercity gave us the biggest DJ and producer of all time. But I question this. From a producing point of view, I prefer Ferry.

A fantastic CD, and so many great memories linked to it. And to start with 'Airwave', you can't go wrong. You know you've got a splendid hour or so ahead of you. And it's hit after hit. The one that I remember the most, is Vimana's ''We Came''. Such an underrated Trance classic. Yes, ''Gouryella'' is a masterpiece, and ''I'm In Love'' is also a smashing song, and let's not forget ''Seven Cities'', but ''We Came'' is beyond them all.

8 years later they would pull the plug. But 26 years later I am still talking about Innercity. One event series close to my heart. ID&T was thinking of revising it all, but 19 years after their last event... I don't think it's going to happen. Which is a shame. Well, at least we've got this CD. And all the fantastic memories linked to them. And obviously Innercity 2000 for me. The most pleasant memory of them all!