By Jordan Gonzalez
A soft breeze flowed through and the stars were clear, providing the perfect backdrop for ‘s interstellar obsession. But even as night dropped on Saturday, it would be a few more hours until his mothership officially landed at the mountain amphitheater.
L.A.-based electronic duo Vindata and French disc jockey Tchami kicked off the night and gave the overly-hyper fans something to dance to. Neither artist interacted much, except for the occasional “Red Rocks letap turn it up” and “letap go,” but between their hip-hop remixes and catchy dance beats they caught the crowd’s attention early on.
By the time the aptly-named DJ Mustard hit the stage (his birth name is Dijon) the last of the stragglers trickled in. Mustard turned up the intensity, teasing the crowd to scream and dance by stopping the music periodically. Many of his beats are featured in popular rap and hip-hop songs (he has worked with Tyga, 2 Chainz, Ty Dolla Sign, Young Jeezy and more). Although the fans might not have known it, they were Mustard fans before they even showed up (it also probably helped that he catered to the weed-loving crowd by lighting up a joint on stage).
Afterward, English duo Jack Beats took over, making sure the crowd was occupied until Skrillex finally showed up. During the set, the duo interacted little with the writhing mass of bodies at Red Rocks, keeping them dancing, and doing as little as possible to remind that Skrillex had still not taken the stage.
Finally at about 11 p.m., a giant poster of the happy-creepy alien from Skrillex’s studio album, “Recess,” flowed down, blocking the stage as Skrillex’s crew got the mothership ready. After an arduous five-minute countdown littered with weary whistles and childlike anticipation, the giant poster with the happy-creepy alien logo from his studio album, “Recess,” dropped down and revealed the god of the aliens.
He womped, wooped and blooped through all his hits, from “Bangarang,” “First of the Year,” “Break’n a Sweat” and more from the cockpit of his beloved spaceship, which moved up and down occasionally. It was a never-ending dubstep medley, and fans cheered when they recognized a song (or just a hook). He also played many of his new, reggae-infused hits, along with his remix of the opening wails from “The Lion King.”
During his set, Skrillex flashed images of dancing aliens, monsters and creatures, all in the most pixelated and nerdy fashion. Sometimes it was clips of apocalyptic destruction — a nonsensical flourish to his gratuitous low ends.
With the show being streamed online, Skrillex chose to give the audience a little extra boost near the end of the set. He hosted a screaming contest (“So L.A. can hear us”) and had the crowd jump in unison. Then, he had the fans all sit down and jump when the bass dropped (and did he ever milk it), which made for a impressive visual. “I think this time we can truly jump up to space,” Skrillex said, who seemed to believe his wish could come true (certainly many fans did).
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Jordan Gonzalez is a Denver Post features intern and a new contributor to Reverb.
Shannon Shumaker is a Denver photographer. You can find more of her work on .
