Achieving worldwide fame for his sophomore album Begin Again, on Friday, September 15th German progressive house producer Ben Böhmer premiered his Portraet tour at Shrine Auditorium in Downtown Los Angeles. Selling tens of thousands of tickets on his Begin Again tour in 2022, Ben originated the Portraet series in Ibiza last summer. On Ben’s website it states Portraet “aims to showcase his musical inspirations with carefully selected line-ups.” It’s fascinating to note that Portraet also features a live audiovisual set created by Ben himself.
As thousands of eager fans gathered together to experience his Portraet tour live on its one and only night in the City of Angels, there was indeed something magical in the air. The openers for the evening were eclectic Edinburgh producer Barry Can’t Swim (best known for his remix of Böhmer’s “Revelation”) and groovy jazz-bient producer and DJ Yu Su. Delivering solid opening sets, the energy continued to build in anticipation of the headlining set.
Unlike other shows, everyone in the audience appeared to be a genuine Ben Böhmer fan bringing the vibe to unparalleled heights. An interlude played. The entire Shrine Auditorium seemed to shake with a glorious cry of anticipation. Ben came out to do a small sound check as the crowd continued to passionately shout. It felt like an eternity before Böhmer finally graced the stage.
As Böhmer took center stage, it seemed to be nothing short of a truly visceral experience. Through screams of excitement and emotion, the collective energy of the room filled the space with a cacophony of joy and amazement. Performing nearly a two-hour set that seemed to pass as if only in a few short minutes, the crowd was left mesmerized and absolutely speechless. Performing his all original, ingenious live productions, everyone in the crowd seemed to be there for the sole experience of capturing Ben Böhmer live. No one in the crowd was seen wandering around, rather everyone seemed to dance in place, literally hypnotized by Böhmer’s spellbinding sounds.
Performing live renditions of tracks such as “Beyond Beliefs” and “Erase,” Böhmer delivered a spot on set, playing to his fans both old and new. Although still relatively new to the worldwide electronic scene, Ben Böhmer has proven to be an inspiration to all of us in just a few years. With his Shrine Auditorium show being just one shining example of his utter brilliance, Böhmer has proven himself to be nothing short of extraordinary. With scheduled Portraet tour stops Böhmer in Denver, Chicago, Brooklyn, San Francisco, and Chicago, Ben will also perform at this weekend’s at CRSSD Festival in San Diego, California and Life is Beautiful in Las Vegas, Nevada.
