Parade of Lasers @ City Hall in Denver, Colorado (12-20-14) [Review]

Review By:
Justin D'Amico


Crowdsurf Concerts came through huge again with the 2nd annual Parade of Lasers. This year the show was sold out before the doors even opened. Once again Parade of Lasers was held at City Hall in downtown Denver, Colorado.


The line-up was changed at the last minute, but it turned out to be just as hype with Kayzo filling in for Tincup. Going into this show I was not all that familiar with many of the artists, but after hearing their live sets I became a fan of each of them.

PawS got it popping with a nice trap flavor, dropping that grimey bass and snare music. PawS represents Denver, a.k.a. the glitch-hop Mecca, rather well. PawS has played at Beta, The Church, and Vinyl showing off his skills all over town. Next up was Decadon, and he went all out mixing into trap, dubstep, breakbeat, and more. His set was a lot of fun and he represents the more versatile side of Denver. Decadon would debut new music at Parade of Lasers, with a single he calls "Bury The Ratchet."

Kayzo was next and he slayed with a hybrid set. He blended tracks from a number of different sub-genres of electronic music keeping everyone on their toes. LooKas was a new name to me, but he was rather impressive. I noticed when researching LooKas that he is often pictured with a cloud of smoke coming out of his mouth. A perfect fit for the mile high city, and city in the clouds. It was also during the LooKas' set that the lasers started to really get warmed up. Going from simple single color patterns into more elaborate combinations.

For the second annual Parade of Lasers it was crucial to keep an impeccable high standard for lasers. So no one other than Laser Hands would do, and that's who they got. Formerly touring with Flux Pavilion, and behind the scenes at hundreds of huge shows, he is one of the most impressive laser technicians out there. There is no one else who can so eloquently make the lasers dance to the music, while at the same time keeping it interesting with a steady stream of new cues and sequences. There was no pre-programming done for Parade of Lasers, everything was done live with careful timing and a superior knowledge of the craft. Kudos to Laser Hands for another breathtaking live laser show. You can see Laser Hands' next performance on New Years Eve at the Colorado Convention Center for Decadence.

Sound Remedy would close out the night with a monster set. He started off with a more mellow glitch-hop feel, but after a while he got naughty mixing into a lot of different styles including some Zomboy, and more rowdy music. Sound Remedy did a good job with keeping his set unpredictable, each drop was a mystery and often very different from the previous. That's the type of set I really enjoy, having a full hour of trap or glitch-hop can get rather foreseeable and redundant.

Next year don't slack on this special Crowdsurf Concert, get tickets early before they sell out! The Parade of Lasers is a one of a kind visual experience, and a place for top notch producers to show off their skills. City Hall is a killer venue where a couple thousand friends can get together for the annual face melting. Big thanks to everyone who made this show so beautiful, especially Au Hai Hau the mastermind behind the extravagant themed events at Crowdsurf Concerts. Up next for the company is the very popular Trapfest in March, check out the website for early bird tickets. I hope to see you all next year at the 3rd annual Parade of Lasers.