Last Tuesday saw one of the summer’s hottest double bills hit Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the first of two nights. The weather was just about perfect, and The Rocks were full to the brim with fans of both Beck and Phoenix.
Beck, Cage the Elephant and Spoon delivered a psychedelic and pyrotechnic marathon of rock music at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre on Tuesday night’s stop of the bands’ Night Running Tour.
The setting was perfect: Red Rocks on a cool night with the massive orange harvest moon hanging low over the Denver skyline and Beck about to take the stage – all the indicators predicted properly what was to come for this anxious audience. Being the second night of two on the Rocks, and a rare two night stand for the tour, the mystery of the setlist was the most overheard conversation before the show and, ultimately, the big prize for all in attendance after it was all said and done.
While Telluride Bluegrass Festival is the granddaddy of music festivals in Telluride, The Ride Festival, now in its seventh year, has quickly become recognized for a diverse lineup and past heavy hitters such as Pearl Jam, Beck, and Widespread Panic. This year’s edition leaned a bit more on the jam band end of the spectrum, featuring headlining sets from The String Cheese Incident both nights of the festival.
Energy was high as fans made their way into the hallowed confines of Red Rocks on Tuesday. There was an electricity in the air even before the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band took the stage to warm up the crowd. Beck was in the house and everyone was on pins and needles in anticipation of what this musical chameleon would bring to the stage. While a light rain threatened to dampen spirits early on, the faithful were not to be deterred and only a few minutes after the music started, the rain drops faded into a memory!
As the sun went down with one last blustery gasp and Red Rocks filled to capacity, there was an electricity in the air despite the fact that the crowd was all beer and joints. But Beck and his band were a different story. They came out of the gate with a kick, opening with the rollicking classic “Devil’s Haircut,” and it was all energy and shenanigans from there as the band rocketed around the stage like flying monkeys on amphetamines for much of the night. Three words: Bottle and Cans.
The 90’s were back in full force on Saturday night at Cervates’ as J2G Live threw their annual 90’s Night party with some of the best musicians in Denver doing the heavy lifting. There were tons of costumes that confused the best of 80’s fashion (Neon) with the best of 90’s (Flannel) and a ton of girls even got their hair crimped for the occasion. It was great to see people getting so into the spirit of the party and it was clear that 90’s Night grabbed a firm foothold in the Denver music scene in it’s third year.
Dave Tipper is a monolithic name in the EDM scene not only for his enormous range and depth, but also the sheer volume of music he has produced in the last decade. He was at the forefront of the Glitch-Hop scene (some call him the Godfather of Glitch) and has been evolving and responding to the latest trends in music. The crowd at Cervantes’ was unprecedented; the venue was swollen with heads and the energy before Tipper’s set was incredible and tangible.