Hyper Future Tour @ The Ogden Theater in Denver, Colorado (Review) [4/29/17]

Review & Videos By:
jdrightright

Photography by:
Stetsen Colt Mathias


Saturday was as rowdy as I have ever seen The Ogden Theatre get. Rebudz and Reload Productions brought a tasty line-up to satisfy the appetite of the bass hungry. Showcased on the Hyper Future Tour was Must Die, Eptic, and Gentlemans Club, with very special guests Dr Ozi and local legend Shank Aaron. This was an extra special show for Rebudz and Reload Productions being the first time ever at The Ogden Theatre. Great vibes flowed through out the room all night as well as amazing music.

The stage was configured with a number of LED panels which displayed mind blowing graphics. The front of the booth held the main portion of the LED panels and for the most part that was where the band logos were visible. Behind the booth hanging up high were three more LED panel walls, two tall rectangles and another square in the center. On the rear walls a number of tripped out artworks created an incredible visual experience. One such picture that was morphing with the music was a clip of the show Seinfeld, showing Kramer and Newman screaming, it really got the people smiling. Along with the graphical displays were four full spectrum lasers, two on the front corners of the booth, and another two on stands lifted up behind the booth on the left and right ends of the stage. Together these four lasers zapped the whole room with two separate zones. Having such a beautiful production model is nothing new, as Rebudz and Reload Productions always come through with a colorful array to accompany the music.

Starting off on stage was the homie, and very talented producer Shank Aaron. Lately he has been busy getting things going with his own brand Forest Service, showcasing underground Denver sound and more. Shank Aaron did a great job of setting a chill vibe early on with a bit of reggae to begin his set. He was proudly displaying his new custom shirt, and a lucky few patrons were able cop Shank Aaron merchandise for sale in the lobby of the Ogden Theatre. Slowly he would build up more and more until it was all filthy bass drops. He really started to get things poppin around 9pm as most of the people outside in line began funneling in. Shank Aaron got provocative up there and he primed the people for a night of dirty dubstep.

Up next was a very special guest and crowd favorite Dr Ozi. He made a point to let the people know how much he loves Denver. Very complimentary towards the crowd saying, "You guys are the most beautiful crowd ever! I love coming here." Dr Ozi represents the Canadian bass family, and is a part of the label Never Say Die Records. He literally turned the place into a huge mosh pit immediately, throwing straight fireballs of bass into eardrums. Non-stop ferocious drops for his whole set, and the people went ham. Two of the lasers started beaming out and shifting to the music for Dr Ozi's set. You could tell he genuinely loves Denver and that was a heart warming feeling. Before Dr Ozi left the stage he introduced Gentlemans Club with huge props talking about how they inspired him to become a producer.





For the next hour the people were slapped with trap and bass as Gentlemans Club turned it up to eleven. The full band is a trio of very talented producers: Coffi (Lewis Pittham), Soloman (Saul Mountford), and 50 Carrot (Amani Haskins). For this event there were two of the three in the building 50 Carrot and Coffi. Their energy on stage was awesome, it was fun watching them tag team on the decks, and also hyping up the crowd dancing in front of the booth while punching the air. They did a excellent job keeping you guessing the next drop, with last second switch ups. One part I remember was the build to Flux Pavilion's "Got 2 Know" and then right as it would have normally dropped they blended in a mega hard drop. Gentlemans Club also rocked their dope "Bass Cannon" remix, and that went so hard! It was an unpredictable set with a big variety of styles represented in the mix. For Gentlemans Club all four lasers fired up and the full color spectrum was unleashed. I couldn't help but dance and flail karate hands watching Gentlemans Club slay.





This was such a fun night that before you knew it Eptic was taking the stage and he really knows how to make the bass scream. He plays mostly his own music and remixes during his live sets. However he has collaborations with all the best in the game. If it's not one of his tracks he is representing the Never Say Die crew, the Disciple collective, and Circus Records. He got into some Zomboy, Skism, Dodge and Fuski, Funtcase and more. He also mixed in some Flux Pavilion with the classic "I Can't Stop" but this version brought the roof down it was so mean. Eptic is a talented cartoonist as well and it was cool to see his illustrations used for his graphical background during much of this set. That was something I talked to him about in the past, and he has plans to add a full visual cartoon to his live sets in the future. Eptic was on straight inferno mode, and I wouldn't expect anything less from a champion like him. He finished out his hour by giving a big shout out for the closer and friend of his saying, "Who the fuck is ready for Must Die!?"

Right off the bat Must Die asked, "Who is ready for some new shit?" It was officially time to break your neck, or at least sprain it. I even saw a girl going so hard that she bashed her head into a dude's nose behind her and she may have broken it! Battle scars are to be expected during a Must Die set. His music straight up electrifies your soul, like some sort of cosmic jolt. At one point Must Die was going so hard that he messed up the mix, and all sound cut out. He got on the mic and said, "You guys gotta forgive me for that one. That was my bad, a genuine fuck up." Then he went right back to blowing minds with raunchy bass. It was hilarious, and of course, we all forgave him. Another memorable moment of the set Must Die asked for all of the house lights to be turned off, and asked the crowd to hold up their phones. An eerie bluish light illuminated the room in a whole new way, twas literally lit. He closed out the night with his remix of Flux Pavilion's "Emotional" and it was just that. I had chills from just how moving Must Die's set was, he is so elite.

This was a historic night for the Rebudz and Reload Productions combined squadrons. Finally for the first time taking over The Ogden Theatre, and they did it just right, like Goldilocks. I'm certain they will be invading The Ogden Theatre more often with how successful the night was. The vibes were indescribable, so many smiles, and infinite friendships bonded by the bass. Shout out to my friend and excellent photographer Stetsen Colt Mathias for his crispy images, he has a way of bringing still photos to life like no one else. I can't wait to see what is in store for the future with both Rebudz and Reload Productions. Follow both on all social media platforms so you don't miss out on any future show announcements and contests. They have been on a rocket ship blasting to the sky, and with every show a new faction of Denver bass crew comes through to share in the enjoyment.

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Bass Works @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom (7/23/16) [Review]

Review By: jdrightright

Photos By: Stetsen Colt Mathias

Saturday was one of the best concerts I have ever attended. The third annual Bass Works, put on by Rebudz and Reload Productions. This show brought together a huge line-up of hard hitting bass pushers. The ticket included Skism, Must Die!, Virtual Riot, Midnight Tyrannosaurus, Pogman, and also !Tyro. It was sold out and a line wrapped all the way around the building at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom leading up to doors opening. The place was electric all night and every performer came through with the fire.




The Masterpiece Ballroom was quickly filled up as those in line made their way inside. A custom stage setup was built in order to add visual effects to go with the music. The stage included three LED panel sections, two on the sides and one large wall in the center behind the booth. They were all linked together so images and designs could be displayed as a large wide single piece, or separated and used for three different images. On the sides the two LED panel walls were left open in their centers and inside the openings lasers were installed. The lasers created a river of light just above the crowd with the fields set to hit the areas between the main floor and the balcony. The graphics and laser operators did a great job adding a visual ascetic to enhance the booming mixes.

Promptly at eight o'clock !Tyro took the stage and he went right to work. This was not your typical opening set, and !Tyro is not your typical producer, he goes for the jugular every time! Heavy bass and only the most choice wubs will do in a live !Tyro mix. He brought out the homie Detrace for a little cameo, they have been working on new music together so look for another sick collaboration single to come soon. !Tyro dropped a bunch of killer tracks, one I remember in particular was "Spellbound" by Eptic. As he wrapped up his set !Tyro introduced the next performance, a back to back set by P0gman and Midnight Tyrannosaurus.


As soon as Midnight Tyrannosaurus took the mic everyone grinned. He started off by yelling, "Yoooo Denver! I'm Midnight Tyrannosaurus!! Where my DOOM fans at?" He was met with a rather loud cheer, the Denver bass fam loves him lots. This was an explosive back to back set in which P0gman and Midnight Tyrannosaurus really showed out. P0gman brought his grimiest bass and Midnight Tyrannosaurus too, combined they presented a well balance dose of dub. Almost throughout the entire set Midnight Tyrannosuarus was hilarious to watch, he had some of the deepest headbangs in the room. P0gman is much more technical, but he definitely made it fun bouncing around to the bass. There were lots of spin outs at the drop faking out the people, but this was just to fire up the crowd even more for the next drop sometimes it was the same drop a second time. This was a monster back to back set that got the place hyped up for more.

Next up was a personal favorite, Skism. He is one of the founders of possibly the best dubstep label in the world, Never Say Die Records. He started his set with a raunchy remix of "Like A Bitch" by Zomboy, and everybody put their hands up promptly. Skism is known for his exemplary live mix skills, and he showed those skills off at Bass Works. He puts together brilliant double drops, and for an hour he was just flawless in creating fresh transitions. Skism got into some classic songs like "Experts" and he had an amazing double drop using Flux Pavilion's "I Can't Stop" and another hard banger. One of my favorite things that Skism does is build up to the drop of one song only to switch it up right at the drop with an even better drop. His ability to match up tracks is so elite, everything is put together seamlessly blended. Skism was in boss mode, his set was layed down perfectly, never a dull moment. Huge love for Skism and what he does, one of the greats for sure, in my eyes he is a living legend.

More than anyone else performing at Bass Works the most intriguing for sure was Virtual Riot. He is just now on his very first tour of the United States. This was his first time in the Bass Capital and he was very impressive. Virtual Riot creates a huge variety of stunning electronic music, his productions are incredibly crisp and clean. I have been rocking out to his library of music for a few years now and I anticipated a lot from his live set. He met all expectations with a dynamic live mix jolting the room into a frenzy. Virtual Riot has a clever technique in mixing, he will leak in a little tease of the upcoming track as he is either building or winding down the previous drop. It works well and lets you know what to expect for the next drop. Virtual Riot got into some of his ill drum and bass tracks in the middle of his set as well as some awesome nintendo sounding stuff. He made a point to drop a dubstep remix of the Pokemon theme song as part of his outro section, and that made me smile so big! Virtual Riot will be back to Denver performing at Beta on a special Gravity Friday September 2nd. So if you missed Virtual Riot you have one more shot to see him thanks to Reload Productions. Or maybe like me you want to see him again already, follow the link above for tickets.

Closing out the night was Must Die! He got his set started with some booty poppin music, but soon after he switched it up into hard headbanging bass. Must Die! has a number of label affiliations including OWSLA, Never Say Die, Smog, Firepower, Rotten Recordings and more. He has a lot of style in his productions and in the live mixes he puts together. Must Die! has been on the scene for a number of years now, but for me he really took off after his album Death & Magic dropped back in 2014. Some of the music Must Die! makes can be described as two robots arguing, and I love to eavesdrop on a good robot argument. To close the set Must Die! mixed into his remix of the song "Emotional" by Flux Pavilion. What a perfect way to end the night, because it was emotional, lots of feels were shared with good friends.

Once again Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom provided a wonderful setting to get sweaty with the Denver bass family. Rebudz and Reload Productions really overdid themselves with this line-up! The show sold out before the event, and if you ask me I'm surprised it didn't sell out earlier with how much firepower they came with! Stay on top of the Rebudz and Reload Productions social media outlets for future show announcements, I heard there is a doozy coming up! Big love to everyone who made this such a badass show.

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Bass Control @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom (11/28/15) [Review]

 
Review by: jdrightright


Saturday was a night to remember at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. Rebudz and Reload presented a massive line up for the Denver bassheads. The show sold out from walk up sales shortly after doors opened, so a lucky few were able to sneak in getting tickets at the last minute. This show brought out Fractured Silence, Mizer & Goetz, Dirt Monkey, LUMBERJVCK, TrollPhace, and MUST DIE! The place was bouncing to gigantic bass the whole time and loving every minute.



A custom stage setup was installed for Bass Control using a Mylar wall as a mirror and a pair of lasers. It was a neat configuration in which the lasers were aimed away from the crowd and into a reflective wall. The lasers would then bounce back and create a stream of slightly diffused laser light over top of the crowd. Reflected lasers would also bounce another time off of the giant disco ball and spread out into more beams.

A lot of bonus producers from Denver were present at Cervantes on Saturday night too. No one was gonna miss this show if they were able to get downtown. Among the crowd were producers: Decadon, Vinnie, !Tyro, Shank Aaron, and probably more I didn't see. For Bass Control everybody was in the house and ready to dubstep before it was even ten o'clock!


Starting off was Fractured Silence a young DJ from Denver. He put together a great set and immediately set a tone that the night was going to be full of grime and heavy bass. Next to the stage was duo Mizer & Goetz and they knew what to do; kick out the wubs. This was just a taste of what was in store for the night.

Colorado's own Dirt Monkey went on just as the final tickets were sold for a capacity crowd. If anyone knows how to fire up a packed house it's Dirt Monkey, it comes naturally to him. I am always impressed with how Dirt Monkey will mix in between glitch-hop, drum and bass, moombahton, trap, and his own brand of dubstep. He pounded out some of his classics like "Imperial March" and he dropped a live remix of Rianna's, "Better Have My Money." Plus Dirt Monkey incorporated a bunch of brand new songs in his mix too. Having a guy like Dirt Monkey represent the booming Colorado bass scene is awesome because he's ultra creative and always representing for the hometown fam.


The next face-melter was LUMBERJVCK a California guy and the leader of the JVCKSQUAD. He put down an extra naughty set of mostly hard dubstep and trap. The crowd responded to every drop and a lot of the bass was pushing hard at the people with a powerful force. One song in particular that stood out was when LUMBERJVCK mixed in Drowning Pool's, "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" and the audience screamed the lyrics along with him. LUMBERJVCK didn't play anything chill, so we all just went hard as fuck for an hour along with the bass.


TrollPhace started off by loading up an array of heavy artillery. Then he jolted the room up another level with nasty trap and dubstep. His set was very sneaky, TrollPhace used the build up for one song and then right at the drop mix into the drop from a different track. Some of these quick drop transitions were completely unexpected and it kept the crowd guessing what might be coming next. TrollPhace was incredible live, he has an excellent ear for mixing two totally different songs and uniting them with a sicko drop.


The perfect opening song "Gem Shards" was how MUST DIE! got started. He has so many good machine guns and wubs in his live mixes. The place was bumping rather hard, and it was getting super hot with no one wanting to go outside for fear of missing out. At one point MUST DIE! was going so hard he had to take a knee and drink some water. He addressed the crowd after having a head rush from standing back up by saying, "I almost just died!" That would have been insane, but it was just a reaction to the altitude and the steamy hot room packed with humanity. MUST DIE! is totally on top of the dubstep game, and his musical ability is why he has connections with all of the biggest and best record labels in the industry. A good blend of hard songs and a few more melodic builds kept the room hypnotized until the very end.

This was honestly an overwhelming display of talent that Rebudz Denver and Reload Productions brought together for Bass Control. Also at a cozy venue, Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, with a good size room and great vibes. I can't wait to see what is in store for the future events put on by both Rebudz and Reload. I have a feeling they will be epic, as always, because that's just how it's done in Denver.

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MUST DIE! - "Project Ghost" - Song of the Day - [6/26/15]

MUST DIE! has one of the hardest songs out there with "Project Ghost." From the album Death and Magic comes a mean dubstep song that is sure to stick in your head for a while. No time is wasted getting to the drop, just a few samples from a speak and spell and then boosh! MUST DIE! will be a Beta Nightclub tonight in Denver along with LAXX and SKisM for a huge Never Say Die Records throw-down.

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MUST DIE! Releases New Album, "Death & Magic"

The long awaited MUST DIE! album release is finally here. "Death & Magic" is out now everywhere and it does it all. This 10 song collection of brand new dance floor bangers is one that must be added to your library. With the overall genre being Dubstep, we are taken on a wobbly adventure through the ears of MUST DIE!. After listening to the whole album, it came to my attention that OWSLA was the only home for such an album. Enduring a long journey, MUST DIE! has expressed that he is here and more ready than ever! Listen below and get your own digital copy of "Death & Magic" on iTunes here.

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Zomboy - "The Outbreak" - [NEW ALBUM]

It's here! The new Zomboy album The Outbreak just dropped today through Never Say Die Records and it's incredible! The Outbreak is ten tracks, all bangers, with a few special guests and collaborations including - Armanni Reign, MUST DIE!, and vocalist Rykka. Zomboy shows his versatility on this album going into some breakbeat, trap, and trance formats at times. Although Zomboy always ends up coming back to his bread and butter, the hard electrifying beats. The whole album is available to listen to streaming through soundcloud embedded above. To buy The Outbreak go on iTunes by following this link here.

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