Saturday night The Black Box hosted a true legend of electronic music; Roni Size. Coming all the way from Bristol, England to lay it down for the bass addicts of Denver. I have been a fan of Roni Size for decades but have never had the pleasure of seeing him. Now he is back on the scene with a new feel and even longer dread locks! It was an excellent night and the people came out to represent the old school hero of drum and bass.
A lot of changes have been made to The Black Box in it's short existence and it's only getting better. Sub.Mission is completely on top of their game they have established a club with completely peaceful vibes, everyone there is instant friends with everyone else. Both rooms are now equipped with projectors to add extra light beams and mapping. In the lounge there is an eye popping 3D display wall, which is now brought to life by perfectly mapped projection images. Then in The Black Box room there are two projectors and a huge white screen that comes down behind the DJ booth. Almost everything affixed to the walls glows with LEDs in the club, and outside there is even more artwork. The merchandise area has been modified a bit as well in order to create more room for vendors to display their awesome works or art. For this show you had a choice of dazzling gems and glass ware in one of the two vending areas. Then a large array of paintings and drawings in the other section, all of which were extravagant. I didn't notice before but when you enter the men's room the mirror is entirely covered in band stickers. Also there's a dope bright green neon sign in the Black Box room behind the bar that reads, "Let's Get Weird." The most notable change is an adjustment of the speaker configuration, now all of the mains hang from the ceiling and this provides a bit more room for the people to dance. The quality of the sound systems in both the Lounge, and the Black Box room are incomparable to any other club in the city, massive bass and very sharp mids and highs.
The Lounge was free for people to walk in and check out, but in order to come into the Black Box you had to purchase a ticket and get a special black light stamp. The DJs in the Lounge did a good job changing it up with some old fashion techno, a bit of bass house, and even a few moombahton drops. It was a good change of pace from the Black Box which was DnB, and Jungle music thumping.
Next up was Shoebox, another junglist with mad flavor. He brought out his own MC to add a bit of a Rastafarian feel to the flow. He was on that "Ba ra pa pa pie" type of spit which I enjoy. He kind of reminded me of the announcer from the video game SSX for PS2 when he was on the mic. Shoebox started out with a very trippy introduction with a ton of bass to your face. The more he went on he got some fast snares going and the people followed along with their feet. Parts of Shoebox's set were so deep it felt like you were in a bass submarine. Slim_r_i jumped back on the mic at the end of the set and got into some more fresh freestyles. Slim_r_i was the perfect host for the night. The room really lit up as Slim_r_i introduced the one and only Roni Size.
When Roni Size first appeared on stage everybody knew it and they screamed with joy. His demeanor up there in the lights was so inviting, it was like you were watching an old friend spin for the first time in a long time. Before he got started he made a point to sign a record one of his fans brought from home, creating an invaluable vinyl. Roni Size had such a big smile it was impossible not to get happy with him looking at you. For the most part he stayed super focused on the task at hand, dropping the filthy, dirty, drum and bass. He, unlike a lot of DJs, doesn't use large ear covering headphones but simply a single ear bud in the left ear. Parts of his set were unexpected, his opening drop was Red Hot Chili Peppers, and he rocked out a Smells Like Teen Spirit drop. He got into some naughty speed garage music too, which I absolutely adored.
