Flux Pavilion, with Juicy J, Paper Diamond, Ookay, and Fox Stevenson @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre (9-12-14) [Review]

Review By: Justin D'Amico


If you weren't at Red Rocks Amphitheatre last Friday you missed one of the best shows in recent memory. The line up included a smorgasbord of talent - Fox Stevenson, Ookay, Paper Diamond, Juicy J, and the incomparable Flux Pavilion. All at the one of a kind Red Rocks Amphitheatre, where the wubs are extra wubby bouncing off of the massive rock walls! It was an incredible night.

I knew Fox Stevenson was going to get the honor of opening the show, so I made a point to arrive as early as I could make it to Red Rocks. There was no way I was going to miss Fox Stevenson's performance. The rest of the people also had this realization to arrive early and for the opening set nearly half of the amphitheatre was already full. I didn't know what to expect for a Fox Stevenson performance, having never seen him perform before and with a lot of his music involving his own vocals. Would he sing live, and DJ? For what I saw of this performance he did not sing, but who knows? Maybe he will incorporate singing into his live performances in the future on stage, because he is absolutely amazing in the studio as a vocalist.

Ookay would tag in next on the decks runnin' the trap and keeping it purple as fuck. His set was fresh with some trap remixes and dope hip-hop bangers. By the time Ookay went on the place was packed, the show didn't officially sell out but it must have been very close. No one was slacking off out in the parking lots, it was all business, bumping music off the rocks business.

This was my third time seeing Paper Diamond live, and he is always awesome. Every time I see him he mixes into a song that gets stuck in my head for days. Last time I figured out it was Protohype's "Jelly Roll." Also watching how Paper Diamond mixes his sets is interesting too. He uses a tablet as a mixer, and for a number of other sick bleeps and bloops.

Juicy J was a curve ball in the line up, a straight up old school rap legend in the middle of a rave. He brought a full band with him and they went hard as fuck. Juicy J took us back through time highlighting all the huge songs he has been a part of over the last 20 years. It was pretty cool to go on the trip back into the past with the Three 6 Mafia stuff and all the way up to now with his award winning "Dark Horse" featuring Katy Perry. The set concluded with Juicy J taunting the crowd with a gold chain that he got from Wiz Khalifa. Juicy J was acting like he was going to throw the chain into the crowd. It's probably a good thing he didn't actually do it, but nevertheless it made for a cliffhanger ending to an awesome set.

The crowd pushed together hard and the lights went dim for the entrance of Flux Pavilion. Then boosh! Graphics glowed a giant FP and the people raised their fingers to represent the dub-step mastermind. Always a showman, Flux Pavilion is brilliant in constructing a set. He slowly builds it up and drops the most astounding sounds, probably the illest ever bounced off of the red rocks. There were a number of moments during the set where I was overwhelmed with happiness. One notable moment like this was during the song "Daydreamer" featuring the vocals of Example. The whole crowd sang along, it gave me a chill, so much love in the air. The lyrics are also very inspiring, it was a surreal unifying theme and a great feeling to be amongst so many friends.

Above we see the famous Flux Pavilion smirk, by far my favorite photograph captured at the show. This was taken as Flux Pavilion came back on for an encore where he dropped his superb remix of the DJ Fresh song "Gold Dust." The crowd went insane and some who had headed for the exits came running back to dance to one last song. Like I said, the guy is a true showman, it's always a pleasure to observe his genius.

I will never miss a Flux Pavilion show, he is too good to not see perform live. I want to always be on top of the best new music, and Flux Pavilion has either created it, or he will incorporate it into his set, therefore it's vital to see him perform whenever he comes through town. Big ups to everyone who made this such a memorable night. Especially the artists - Fox Stevenson, Ookay, Paper Diamond, Juicy J, and Flux Pavilion. Red Rocks Amphitheatre is quickly becoming my favorite place for concerts. It very well may be one of the best places to be on the planet. If you have never been there, go peep it for yourself, concert season is almost over!