Vertex Festival | Buena Vista | August 5-7, 2015

Brace yourself for a whole lot of FOMO: True to it’s namesake, the first annual(?) Vertex Festival epitomized the term’s definition of “a coming together” by melding a unique community of people with music and camping – a true celebration of all the things we love most about summer. Hosted at the Meadows Farm located within the awe-inspiring Arkansas River Valley, the Vertex website shares the story of former professional kayaker and developer Jed Selby, who bought the 274-acre Cottonwood Meadows Ranch in foreclosure in 2014 with aspirations of developing an annual festival in the open meadow. With major names like Madison House Presents and AEG Live Rocky Mountains on board as co-producers, that dream became a reality this past weekend.

After a stunning 3hr drive southwest from the metro Denver area, we were warmly welcomed by the striking panoramic views of Buena Vista. Although car searches for glass, knives, explosives, and Indian headdresses (luckily we left ours at home) did cause a little bit of a wait, it was nothing absurd, and we were the very first ones in line to enter the festival grounds on Friday morning. Finding our campsite was easy, and the lot sizes gave us plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the scenery.

There were plenty of bathrooms, water stations, showers, and a general store inside the campground that provided all the comforts of home. The festival even had a fully equipped beach known as the BeeVee Beach Club. It had chairs and umbrellas to sun-bathe in, funky on-duty life guards, and hosted a “beach party” every day from 11am-4pm.

Once we got settled and celebrated our arrival with a few libations, it was time to explore the festival grounds. We quickly spotted a favorite local vendor, Shakedown Street, was selling everything from Disco Biscuits dog tags to “Dope on a Rope” Soap amongst others selling their wares within the festival. We grabbed some fried avocado and pork nachos from Nacho Tacos and headed inside.

Immediately inside the gate was the “Creekside Bazaar,” which was bizarre indeed. There was a balloon house, chill zones, and cool little art installations including gnome homes and little keep sakes to take with you throughout the festival weekend. The smaller side stage, La Hacienda, was housed here and provided repose from the heavy bass and large crowds that were to come. To reach the two main stages, Cottonwood Parlor and Princeton Garden, we crossed “over the river and through the woods” to Long Meadow. In the middle of the meadow sat a giant shade tent that was serving local brews from Colorado’s own Oskar Blues amidst the scenic views and soaring tunes.

Perhaps our favorite part of this setting was “Robot Resurrection.” Created by artist Shane Evans, it was a 28ft tall, human-controlled, fire-shooting sculpture made from 95% airplane parts. Robot Resurrection symbolized what humans have become: lifeless metal robots. The artist’s hope was that the installation would inspire reflection upon oneself and be a reminder of the power we hold. Artist Evans statement about the piece was “we need to be reborn to resurrect and create our own system.” A very appropriate message for all that Vertex is aiming to represent with their dynamic new take on festival scene.

Rather than boring you with a vague or overly extensive review of all the performances from Vertex, we’ve chosen to highlight our top 6 sets from the weekend. The festival’s lineup was as eclectic and diverse as the fans in attendance, something that we greatly appreciated. While smaller sets from artists like local Jaden Carlson, Houndmouth, Trout Steak Revival, and Robert Delong were certainly impressive, these top 6 (in no particular order) still take the cake.

Top Performances

Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals

Anderson .Paak has been taking over the music scene by force! His latest album Malibu was released in January and shortly afterwards he was signed to Dr. Dre’s record label, Aftermath Entertainment. He was also featured not once, not twice, but eight times on Dr. Dre’s critically acclaimed album Compton. The Paak-man took us away on a journey with straight-from-the-street intellectual poetry then pounded his way through our souls courtesy of his skills behind the drumkit.

Alabama Shakes

Brittany Howard is one of those people who radiates passion as soon as she steps on stage. Her songs include stories of love, struggle, wonder and bliss paired with her soulful guitar riffs that shake your bones to the core. The groups latest album, Sound In Color, is an album we feel will surely will go down in history. When Howard gets to singing “Give Me All Your Love," you really feel the hunger and desires in the lyrics.

Lettuce

As the only Funk band gracing the Vertex lineup, we had to include Lettuce. We’ve loved this band for a few years now, and for good reason: their sound mixes the essence of funk with psychedelic, bass heavy hip-hop thats sure to get your hips moving. Their stage posse during the festival included Nigel Hall, adding keyboards and southern funky vocals to the mix as they played crowd favorites like “Phyllis” and “Do It Like You do”.

Odesza

Electronic music duo Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight sure have come a long way since we last saw them at SXSW in 2014. Two years ago they had fold out tables with black linens, and a minimal, lacking production when they crushed the IFC stage following Robert Delong. These days its a completely different story! They straight up stole the show with their elevated live beat performance paired with members of the Colorado Symphony and the University of Colorado Drumline energetically bouncing around on stage during songs like “Say My Name” and “IPlayYouListen."

Trey Anastasio Band

Phish frontman Trey Anastasio brought out his band for two unforgettable sets on the last night of the festival. A highlight was father-daughter duo Jeff and Natalie Cressman's performance. Jeff, a longstanding member of Santana’s horn section, alongside daughter Natalie, dominated a cover of Ana Tijoux’s “1977” known best from the TV series Breaking Bad. Cyro Baptista kept the beat via his intricate drum set and an old fashioned washboard as multitalented Jen Hartswick’s powerful voice echoed throughout the meadow during covers of  “Clint Eastwood” and “Dazed and Confused”.

The Show-Stopper: The Claypool Lennon Delirium

This duo put on a mind-bending performance. If Primus hadn’t gone on hiatus in 2016, or if Oysterhead had toured we may have never seen these two dynamic artists come together. This set was easily our favorite of the entire festival. After Lennon's band, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger opened up for Primus, Claypool approached Lennon about doing a recording project and “next thing I know, he’s staying in my guesthouse, drinking my vino and banging on my drums."  Their ‘shroom and wine fueled time together produced the new psychedelic space-rock album Monolith of Phobos. Sean’s melodic/heavy mind-expanding style and Les’ distinctive punk-progressive/hard hitting funky bass is certainly a peculiar and other worldly collaboration; we love it. Our favorite songs from the set were “Cricket and the Genie”, “Mr. Wright”, and an absolutely magnificent cover of “In the Court of the Crimson King” by King Crimson. These two have a celestial existence on stage that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. We even spotted Trey Anastasio watching respectfully side stage.

We feel that Vertex was a huge success considering this was their first go here in the Rockies. They may not have received the turn out they were hoping for, but we're certain we're not the only ones raving after our weekend on Cottonwood Meadows Ranch. We've seen some amazing festivals come and go over the years here in Colorado, but we genuinely hope to see Vertex continue to generate the organic growth they’re looking for to keep this unique festival alive. We see big things in Vertex’s future, and we're beyond thankful to have been a part of (hopefully) many more festivals to come in the beautiful meadows of Buena Vista. Cheers, Vertex! We cannot wait for next year!

Written by Andrew Rios and Kellie Affolder

Bass Center | Porter Robinson | Wu-Tang Clan | Dicks Sporting Goods Park | July 29-30, 2015

Tisk, tisk, Bassnectar. You threw a raging party for your friends while the parents were out of town, and got yourself another noise complaint. Last year the globally renowned DJ was more or less kicked you out of Morrison (read: Red Rocks) due to continual noise violations, and now Commerce City – the neighbors down the street – are saying last weekend’s “house party” felt like a seismic event. It seems that things are not getting easier for the artist despite the new venue, but as the Beastie Boys once said, “You’ve got to fight…for the right…to PAAAAR-TAY!”

July 29th and 30th, Lorin Ashton (known more commonly as Bassnectar) hosted his biggest event to date at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, with attendance over 25,000. The DJ and producer from Santa Cruz had never put on a festival of this caliber, but thanks to the impressive turnout and stellar lineup, we’re sure to see Bass Center return to Denver next year. The event was a unique two day experience featuring two camping villages, food trucks, and extended sets from Bassnectar himself, the weekend lineup also features heavy-hitters Wu-Tang Clan, Flux Pavilion Lupe Fiasco, Porter Robinson, Flying Lotus, AlunaGeorge amongst others.

We arrived on Saturday evening just as Porter Robinson was getting on stage. His set was backlit by different scenes from anime shows, creating a trance-pop vibe that made you feel like you were rising to the skies – only to be dropped down into a crazy real life version of “Dance Dance Revolution.” This American DJ has been making quite a stir in the electronic scene with multiple hits on the Billboard charts since 2010. His album Worlds, released in 2014, is still a force to be reckoned with in the world of electro-house and synth-pop. 

The vibe flipped 180 degrees once Wu-Tang took over the stage. All members except Raekwon and Method Man were in attendance, bringing the audience back to the 90’s by playing songs like “C.R.E.A.M.” and their Beatles vs. Wu-Tang mashup “Release Yo Delf.” They took time to pay their respects to fallen artists by rapping parts of “California Love” by Tupac, singing bits of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as an ode to Kurt Cobain, and finally their friend and former member, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, by singing “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.” The energy and crowd participation during those songs was absolutely incredible! Oh baby, we like it RAW!

Despite the festival’s massive lineup, the headliner was still absolutely the focus of attention. The roar from the crowd as Bassnectar walked on stage was mind boggling. Hearing that many people screaming that loud all at once is something we’ll never forget. Then the bass hit us hard as he opened up with the song “TKO” off his new album Unlimited, the venue rumbling as the words “Hit’m with the heavyweight - make, make the room shake!” poured from the 808’s.

There’s something about a Bassnectar performance that you just don't experience at any other show. The bass tones he produces are so much lower and deeper than anything else; It rattles your innards to the point where your heart almost skips a beat. This bass is so low that neighboring residents living almost four miles away reported that they could hear the music from inside their houses, and that their walls and windows were shaking throughout the night. Talk about being entirely next-level loud! Saturday night’s performance included mashups from a variety of artists like Jimi Hendrix, Missy Elliot, The Weeknd, and Bruno Mars. He even busted out some crazy pyrotechnics with huge flame throwers shooting out atop of the stage as well as right in front between him and the crowd. The end of the night featured the tune of The Doors song “The End”, and was accompanied by fireworks. From beginning to end, Bass Center 2016 was a truly a magical experience. As long as the neighbors don’t complain too much, we can’t wait to see what the notorious bass god has in store for us next year.

Written by Andrew Rios and Kellie Affolder

Gary Clark Jr. | The Avett Brothers | Red Rocks | July 29, 2015

There was just too much good music to be found in Denver last weekend, and the icing on the cake just happened to be The Avett Brothers returning to Red Rocks for their third consecutive year of three nights in Morrison. Since their founding in 2001, The Avett Brothers have slowly built a diehard fanbase across the US, perfecting the art of folk blended rock-n-roll that eloquently captures the base truths of life, love, loss and dreams. As if their loyal fanbase needed more reason to flock to these shows, the 3-day stint featured an array of incredible artists set to warm up the crowd. This year, the support acts were as diverse as could be: world-folk-rock Nahko and Medicine for the People opened Thursday’s show, the burgeoning guitar legend Gary Clark Jr. played Friday, and J Mascis, the solo project of Dinosaur (Jr.) frontman closed the weekend on Saturday.

 

We attended Friday night’s performance and were overjoyed when Gary Clark Jr. quietly entered the stage with his four piece band and hit us with the powerful chords of “Bright Lights.” The Austin native mixes blues roots with contemporary soul and has been respectfully compared to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan - we certainly don’t disagree. This performance highlighted his incredible gift to produce raw guitar solos. When paired with his unmistakable voice, any set with him is worth seeing, but the majesty of Red Rocks only added to the effect on Friday. Performing tracks from his 2012 freshman release Blak and Blu, along with 2015’s release The Story of Sonny Boy Slim, fans were treated to favorites like “BYOB,” “Our Love”, “Shake”, and the rock-n-roll closer “Numb”, chalked full of smashing guitar solos and roaring vocals.

One of the most unique aspects of the The Avett Brothers performances at Red Rocks is they play a different set each night. With over a decade of material they have plenty to pick from, allowing fans a deep look into their discography alongside the hits throughout 80+ songs over the course of three days. Opening Friday’s 28-song setlist was the song “Down With the Shine”, and fans roared with delight and sang along as the sounds of banjo plucking filled the air. Little children adorned with glowsticks and kid-sized band tees played throughout the venue while their parents sang along to “Murder in the City”, “Shame”, and the title track of the group’s release from earlier this year, True Sadness. The album was released in June and produced by Rick Ruben (legendary producer and co-founder of Columbia Records.) True to the group’s autobiographical lyrics, this album brings new life to personal experiences and tales of heartbreak through their signature-style poetic lyrics. The band's most current lineup consists of brothers Scott Avett and Seth Avett playing the banjo and guitar, Bob Crawford on stand-up bass, Joe Kwon on cello, Tania Elizabeth on violin, Paul Defiglia on keyboard/organ and Mike Marsh on drums. 

The group's passion for this specific venue resonated from the stage over the course of the evening, with both Scott and Seth stopping to chat with the crowd, make jokes, and admire the breathtaking views. Halfway through the performance, the band welcomed father Jim Avett to the stage to join in on “Standing in The Need of Prayer”, “Take My Hand Precious Lord”, and “Peace in the Valley”, a wonderful tribute to the family aspect of the group. The show ended with the high energy song “Slight Figure of Speech”, followed by a 2-song encore of “The Race is On”, and “The Perfect Space” from 2009’s highly acclaimed album I and Love and You. The Avetts excel at making you feel all the feels back-to-back-to-back. A show full of love, joy, loss, and everything in between, their music certainly highlights the life experience in a raw, vulnerable, genuine fashion; it’s no surprise their fans are dedicated. With another successful year on the books, we eagerly await next summer’s weekend with the Avett's atop the red peaks of Morrison.

Written by Andrew Rios, Kellie Affolder, and Maddie Casey

String Cheese Incident | Kamasi Washington | Red Rocks | July 16, 2016

This past weekend the String Cheese Incident (SCI) took over Red Rocks for what's become an annual three-night event. This venue has become a home base for the Colorado band, allowing them to bring a variety of musicians to open up and sit in on their electrifying performances. This year, SCI brought out friends TAUK, Kamasi Washington and Hot Rize for each of their three shows. We were lucky enough to cover Saturday night with the sensational jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington.

When we heard Kamasi Washington was opening this Saturday we knew we couldn't miss it. The Los Angeles born-and-raised saxophonist/composer has been making waves in music after having collaborated with all sorts of artists like Herbie Hancock, Nas, Snoop Dogg, and, Thundercat. Most recently he conducted the strings section as well as holding down the saxophone for Kendrick Lamar’s latest album To Pimp A Butterfly. He was also selected to lead this years Super Jam at Bonnaroo along side local favorites Nathaniel Ratliff and the Night Sweats. His style of jazz has opened up a new window to reach out to new audiences who might not understand the complexities of the genre. Washington released a massive three hour long album last year appropriately named The Epic that was given excellent reviews from top critics.

For those who know and love String Cheese Incident, this show was an incredible showcase. Some of our favorites moments of the night were during songs like “Restless Wind”, “Best Feeling”, “Colorado Bluebird Sky”, “Sirens” and “Desert Dawn”. As we anticipated, Kamasi Washington sat in with the band during their rendition of John Coltrane’s “Impressions”, which carried into “I Want To Take You Higher” featuring Colorado’s very own Sheryl Renee.  Washington also sat in during the second set for songs like “45th of November” and “Bumpin’ Reel." The visual spectacle that SCI showcases alongside their music was nothing short of amazing; reminiscent of a dimensional portal zooming into multiple views and perspectives of the artists playing on stage.

The encore might have been one of the best we’ve seen in a while as Sheryl Renee and her powerful voice returned to stage for a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s mega hit “Dreams”. The end of the night was upon us as the house lights came on, when suddenly Red Rocks transformed into a massive impromptu dance party with band and crew together on stage. String Cheese and friends left us wth some heartfelt parting words from the great Lionel Richie, “Party, Karambo, Fiesta, Forever!” 

Written by Andrew Rios and Kellie Affolder

Umphrey's McGee | Dweezil Zappa | Red Rocks | July 2, 2015

There were a lot of great events in Denver over the 4th of July weekend, but Umphrey’s McGee’s double header at Red Rocks was by far one of the best in town. Over the course of two nights, they shared the stage – and packed the house – with the psychedelic sounds of Sinkane, Dweezil Zappa, The Main Squeeze, and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.

There may have been multiple openers, but Dweezil Zappa’s brilliant performance was hands-down our favorite, despite the unfortunate reminder of the feud surrounding the Zappa family. The Zappa Family Trust has recently forced Dweezil to abandon his established touring name “Zappa Plays Zappa” which he’s used for over a decade. In a mix of retaliation-meets-comedy, the familiar monicker has been replaced by “Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants” and he did just that. He and his band took us back through the decades by playing over 50 covers ranging from Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” to Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” dispersed through familiar renditions of Frank Zappa classics.

Umphrey’s McGee definitely showed the love as they opened up the first set of the weekend with the rock ’n’ roll meets gospel tune “Glory.”  Next they played one of their classic songs “In The Kitchen”, featuring a jam of Johnny Cash’s “Cocain Blue’s” mixed into theballad. Controversy aside, Dweezil sat in with the band, playing guitar during “Utopian Fir” and staying for vocals on his father’s nursery rhyme-inspired song “Muffin Man”.

There was a nice surprise during set break as a fireworks display serendipitously popped up behind the stage like it was meant for the show. As the grand finale was in full force, Umphrey’s made their epic return to stage. The second set came in hot with “Bridgeless”, leading into “2x2” which featured a “Star Bangled Banner” tease as well as Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire.” As if that wasn't enough, lighting designer Jefferson Waful’s full and vibrant light display added to the electrifying visual experience. His imaginative use of every color in the spectrum along with perfect timing make him one of the best lighting designers in the industry – great enough for fans of the group to know him by name. Did we mention he directed Umphrey’s McGee’s rock documentary “Reel to Real?” 

Our favorite part of the night was when the disco-era, funk driven sounds of “Booth Love” erupted from stage. They then transitioned into “Miss Tinkles Overture”, a tune created out of an inside joke about keyboardist Joel Cummins accidentally peeing on his pillow in the back of the tour van during the group’s early years. We last saw Umphrey’s McGee when we rang in the new year with them at the Fillmore Auditorium, and celebrating with them again during this 4th of July weekend was truly an amazing experience. We’re anxious for their next tour announcement, and curious to see when they’ll be returning to Colorado. You know we'll be there, sharing that “Umph Love!”

Written by Andrew Rios and Kellie Affolder