Bass Rising @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom [5/7/16] (Review)

Review By:
jdrightright

Photography By: 
Stetsen Colt Mathias


Saturday night was Bass Rising a bash put on by Rebudz and Reload Productions. The setting was Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom a classic venue for a bass family reunion. For this show the electronic label Disciple was showcased with four of their artists: Dodge & Fuski, Barely Alive, Dubloads, and Astronaut. Also one of the bass bosses from Beta, Shank Aaron; and DJ Contest winner LYZ.i were on the ticket. The building was bouncing for this massive display of wub.


The stage was filled with technology strategically arranged to stimulate the eyes. Two side LED panel walls and a large central panel wall behind the booth provided the graphics. Also four lasers in a trapezoid configuration were installed, two were raised and on each side of the inner panel wall, and two more in the front corners of the stage on the far ends of the two side LED walls. The visual display was stunning from all different angles inside.

Rebudz has been running contests where local Denver producers and DJs submit a thirty minute mix for a chance to open a show, and they had a contest for Bass Rising too. The night got started with the DJ mix contest winner LZY.i and he got the mojo going with moombahton, trap, and a little house. Having these contests is such a cool idea to help get the word out on new local talent, and there is so much of it in Denver. The Masterpiece Ballroom had a number of special guests in the house hanging out backstage too like !Tyro, Decadon, DJ Fury, and more.

Shank Aaron was up next and he always shows out. This night was extra special because his brother and fellow producer Wooli was in town. Shank Aaron brought his brother on stage to let him spin some of his new beats. One of the best parts of the whole night was just after this little back to back section with Wooli and Shank Aaron. They were both put on blast by the graphics guy who displayed a picture of the two as young children on the LED panel walls. It was priceless! Shank Aaron dabbled a bit with what he calls his AYOB music folder, it stands for Ask Your Older Brother. He explained to me that it's the OG dirty dub music, and if you don't recognize it then just ask your older brother because he'll know it. Shank Aaron set a strong tone for the rest of the artists to build off of.

To start the quad dose of Disciple artists was Astronaut and this time both of the guys were in town. Astronaut is made up of Dan and Rossy, two very talented fellas out of the United Kingdom. On stage they keep it proper hype and for this set they got into a lot of bass house. Their set was really energetic, it was impossible not to jump around too. Astronaut does a good job with the switch up drops, setting up one song then dropping another, and then switching back to the prior for the second drop. To conclude they mixed together a trap and dubstep outro leading into their label mate Dubloadz' set.

Never have I seen so many finger guns of bass as I saw Dubloadz shoot. His stage presence was incredible, it was rather entertaining to watch his reactions to the drops. For some parts Dubloadz was reminiscent of a mad scientist holding his hands in weird positions as if to gesture, "It's Alive!" On top of his amazing vibe Dubloadz put together a merciless set, just blasted the room with bass cannons. He got a big reaction to his shout out to Virtual Riot, and then he dropped a collaboration track of theirs just recently released called "Juices." Another memorable part of his set was a mega dope remix of the old Metroid theme. Dubloadz was in rare form, or maybe he's always that spunky, regardless he completely crushed it.

Barely Alive was accompanied by the homies Astronaut and Dubloadz to keep the crowd ablaze to start off. This was such a crisp set, every song sounded intense and three dimensional. Barely Alive has a hard, loud, and mean sound that bullies you into dancing. For the majority of the mix I couldn't smile, it wasn't time for smiling, it was time to rage face. Barely Alive dropped some fresh new music, one track was a collaboration with Habstrakt that is still unreleased. This track was a triple hybrid of styles with a trap build, a dub drop, and a house bridge, I can't wait for it to be released. To close out the set Barely Alive got into more of an electro mode which transitioned nicely into Dodge & Fuski.

For this show it was Rob Talbott from the duo Dodge & Fuski going solo. His mix was the perfect closing blend because he had a little bit of everything to throw at you. The very first thing he did was have the crowd prepare for Dan from Astronaut to stage dive for the first time ever. Right at the first drop Dan dove in the hands of the people and he was carried all the way around the room and neatly placed back on the stage. The whole Disciple crew stayed out around the stage for Dodge & Fuski's set. Since the squad was all chilling a bunch of the people in the crowd got signatures from the Disciple guys and free merch too. Rob was hilarious with little commentary on the mic saying things like "Dubstep is too dry," then mixing right into "International Anthem" by Flux Pavilion. He was laughing as he pounded a hardstyle drop that included samples of what sounded like the character Bricktop from the film Snatch yelling, "Put your hands up cunts!" At the end all the guys from Disciple went out for a curtain call and took a fam photo with all the crowd. Rob went right up until 2:00 AM so when the people screamed for one more song he made a compromise. He said, "I'll give you one more sound." Then Rob just scratched the CDJ pad for a split second and cut it. He is a really funny guy and that was a fitting way to give the people just a little more.

The record label Disciple is fairly new going into it's third year, and everyone affiliated is rapidly advancing the game. Founded by Rob Talbott (Half of Dodge & Fuski) and Rossy Burr (Half of Astronaut) back in 2013. Having sprung off the label Never Say Die there was already a solid foundation from which to grow. Ever since conception they have been making music that is consistently topping the charts.











Twas huge for Rebudz and Reload Productions to bring four of the Disciple artists out for a single show! Much love also goes to Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom for accommodating the ever growing Denver bass fam. Big thanks to Stetsen Colt Mathias for providing excellent images of the night. Next up is a stop from the Neckbreaker Tour with Dirty Phonics, Habstrakt, and many more on May 21st at Cervantes Other Side. Stay tuned for future show announcements too, there is a doozy coming just around the corner!

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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.

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