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Words by: Nick Boeka | Images by: Matt Blake
Rocky Mountain Crystallization :: 09.12.08 & 09.13.08 :: Denver, CO
 Eliot Lipp - Rocky Mountain Crystallization |
I walked down Welton Street heading towards the familiar atmosphere that makes up both Cervantes' Masterpiece and Quixote's True Blue, thinking I knew what to expect of the weekend. Both venues are located right next door to each other, owned by the same people and definitively the jam friendliest venues in the Denver area. But, upon entering the front doors, something was different, something was better, something was electrified off the register. The two venues had been utterly transformed into an indoor festival, complete with venders, lounge areas and one of the best light shows and setups I had ever witnessed in these two venues.
This weekend, Rocky Mountain Crystallization, the inaugural event thrown by Boogie Down Productions, literally transformed the typically Grateful Dead themed rooms into a full-on dance club. Massive light rigs, including a jaw-dropping LED panel display and cubes, dominated the main stage. Even the smaller stage in Quixote's was retrofitted with many moving and beaming lights. There were live painters, including Kris D, J Garcia, Michael Garfield, Todd Shepherd and Krystleyez, and the always entertaining theatrics of the Kaivalya Hoop Dancers, who used glowing objects, fun toys and even fire dancing to complete the whole visual experience of this unique Crystallization. Throughout the weekend, I overheard comments ranging from awe to disbelief in how well the venues had been decorated and the atmosphere that was created because of those efforts. Each night showcased four DJs per stage, and because they had opened up the middle passageway between the two venues, hopping back and forth was really easy. And JamBase had an opportunity to speak with many of the artists and painters throughout the weekend.
Friday, September 12
Future:Simple:Project
 VibeSquad - Rocky Mountain Crystallization |
Future:Simple is comprised of two talented, up-and-coming artists from Boulder, CO, Raja Ananda and Mikey Fisher. Their set started the event off, and unfortunately before many guests had arrived. Regardless, their style is a healthy mix of the new glitchy sounds taking hold in the electronica scene, adding flairs of dub and breaks. This duo is one to watch in the coming years, and I'm hoping that they can get on the road to start playing more clubs to infect more audiences with their sound.
DJ Space Invader
Here was another act that also met the hardships of starting early in a long scheduled night of acts. DJ Space Invader opened in Quixote's and threw a set mixing elements of dancehall and dubstep. I wandered back and forth between this set and the one in the other room, and found myself being drawn more towards Cervantes', where the action was starting to pick up.
Ana Sia
There were several acts that brought me to Denver from the Bay Area, and Ana Sia was one of them. Her dirty sound is guaranteed to get your ass moving. By the start of her set, the crowd had nearly filled the room, and it was obvious that her draw was bigger than her time spot. She has a way of flirting with the audience, feeling what we want, and delivering via the knobs and buttons in front of her. Her set was very well received and I couldn't stop complimenting her throughout the rest of the night on how sick it really was. With this performance, the next time she comes out to Colorado, I'm hoping that she can be showcased more in a late night or even headlining spot.
DJ Rootz
 BreakbeatBuddha - Rocky Mountain Crystallization |
Tim Bowers (DJ Rootz) is a Boulder native currently living in San Francisco. His unique style and approach to mixing makes him a solid DJ, and when he takes over I know that I'm in for a great set. This evening was no different as Rootz managed to attract and pull listeners from Ana's set and hold them captive with his beats in Quixote's. At this point, the venue was filling up quick, though was still comfortable to move around.
VibeSquad
Aaron Holstein (also of Zilla) began his VibeSquad set just as Ana was finishing, and it was apparent that the Boulder native had a strong draw. The audience in Cervantes' quickly transferred themselves over to Quixote's to provide a packed house for Holstein's set. He fed off the energy and spirit from the crowd, using effects and sonic manipulations to slam the crowd with heavy bass. I had heard that earlier in the evening the subwoofers in that room had gone out, but you could have fooled me as I made my way to the front of the stage, feeling my shirt ripple with each kick drum hit. By the end of this set, I was primed and ready for The Motet.
DJ Pumpkin Patch
In the only suspect stage placement of the weekend, I felt that Mike Saltsman's (DJ Pumpkin Patch) set was under appreciated. His sound was more house than any of the other artists, fusing Euro-dance and pop cuts into a non-stop set of up-beat, danceable music. I picked up on influences ranging from Daft Punk to Chromeo, and all of it was mixed with effective precision. This New York area DJ won over new fans this night, and his return to Colorado is expected.
BreakBeatBuddha
 The Motet - Rocky Mountain Crystallization |
Headlining the Quixote's stage was a premier name in the breakbeat scene, Anthony Traynor, aka BreakBeatBuddha. Traynor has been spinning for well over 15 years and is a defining voice in this scene. His set transitioned perfectly from Holsteins, and it was a strategic move that paid off, locking much of the crowd into his groove, instead of allowing them to drift to the main room.
The Motet
The main headliner for Friday evening was the return, or at least partial return, of the full Motet. One of Boulder's favorite bands, comprised of core members Dave Watts, Dominic Lalli and Ryan Jalbert, and joining them this evening was new keyboardist Joey Porter, who absolutely owned the crowd with his Clavinet and Rhodes chops. They also featured a new vibraphone player, whose name I didn't catch, that pulled double duty on synth lead and effects. Let me tell you, for a band that is constantly reinventing their sound, The Motet came out this evening and dropped it so heavy that there wasn't a still body in the entire room. Whereas Watts has typically been the leader, Lalli had an opportunity to showcase many of his new originals, which have more of an electronic edge than the classic Afrobeat sound many are familiar with. If this is any indication of what The Motet will be offering, then my advice is that you don't wait a single second before getting your Halloween ticket for the gig at Cervantes', which will feature the music of the Talking Heads with Kyle Hollingsworth on keys, among many other guest musicians.
Continue reading for Saturday's coverage of Rocky Mountain Crystallization...
Saturday, September 13
If Friday night was all about preparing for the race, then Saturday was like three marathons packed into one. As if the lineup couldn't get anymore solid, a late announcement of a special late night closer kept the party going until well after 4 a.m. and seemed to solidify everyone's plans to either come back for a second night or get their ass there for this once-in-a-lifetime lineup. The buzz must have certainly spread, because on this evening, there was already a solid crowd at the venue by the time the first artists got started.
Goodie
 Eliot Lipp - Rocky Mountain Crystallization |
Ryan Goodman (Goodie), is a member of MFA and opened the show on the main stage with a mashup mix of house themes and pop hits. He described his set to me as an "Ableton mix and match," which is a common software tool that many of the artists were using. I think that the description was an understatement to the smooth transitions and grooves that he was throwing as the crowd began to fill up the room. Goodie has a residency in Boulder at Tahona every Friday and Saturday night.
Rena Jones
After reports from Sonic Bloom this past year, I was really excited to see Jones play. Her approach is to fuse down-tempo and breaks with the sounds of her violin, which she loops, layers and improvises with. Truly more of a musician's performance than the other artists on the bill, she relied on her programming as the base to her musical canvases, using her strings as the sonic paint. Speaking with Jones afterwards, she was really excited to have an opportunity to play again in front of a welcoming Colorado crowd and looks forward to coming back for more. Those of you in the Midwest should keep a lookout for her collaborations with the New Millennium Orchestra, who will be accompanying her on a new project as she flexes her sound even more and incorporates a full string quartet into the mix.
J. Boogie
Justin Boland (J. Boogie) is a Bay Area DJ who has shared the stage with and had his cuts remixed by an impressive list of players in the scene. His set was a complete mix of many different sounds, and his hip-hop influence came through more than any of the other artist this weekend. I thought that his set was exactly what the crowd needed to really get going in the main room, hyping up everyone for what was to come. Most noticeable about J. Boogie is his reach in the music scene. In the Bay Area, he holds residencies, a radio show, produces for Om Records and plays with a full live band, called Dubtronic Science. Also, coming soon, he told me, is a new album ready to drop on the Om hip-hop label, which will feature several MCs and is guaranteed to be booty shaking.
Random Rab
 PANTyRAID - Rocky Mountain Crystallization |
The main stage had been setup to optimize for time, and the DJs didn't disappoint. The stage swapping was quick assuring that there was never a lull in the mood. When Random Rab took the stage, the crowd was primed and all it took was the first few bars of the beat to set the place off. Rab had one of the best stage presences all weekend. He bounced around and queued the crowd for the drop, at one point he was so high energy, he popped himself on top of the DJ table and danced high above the crowd. His set was so captivating that I found myself stuck in the main room, despite the other acts that I wanted to see in Quixote's. Also a Bay Area artist, those near S.F. can check him out in a couple of weeks at Slim's, with BLVD featuring MC Souleye.
Bluetech
Evan Bartholomew is one of the leading creators of the sound that is taking hold of clubs across the globe. Not one to label his sound with typical genre names, Bartholomew described his setup to me, and the way he spoke about his craft made me feel as though this guy really knew the ins and outs of it all. Despite my affinity for his albums, which steadily provide the musical backdrop to my commute to the office, I just wasn't feeling the type of intensity from his set that made me want to stick around and miss Rab's set, although the general word was his set was amazing and the room packed to the brim with beaming fans.
Eliot Lipp
 Pretty Lights - Rocky Mountain Crystallization |
Eliot Lipp is a pioneer in the scene, blending hip-hop and electronic music to create soundscapes that remind you of how all these new types of sounds got their roots. And, when I said that Rena Jones was the only instrumentalist here it wasn't necessarily true. His setup includes a fat bottomed Moog keyboard that is responsible for creating the melody lines that commonly plague my mind in an endless loop. I swear, some of the tracks from his album The Outside sometimes won't leave my inner ear. Lipp was easily one of the biggest draws of the weekend, and his set did not disappoint the hoards of fans that stuffed themselves into Quixote's to catch it.
PANTyRAID
During the soundcheck, there was so much hype for this set from the new group made up of The Glitch Mob's Ooah (Josh Mayer) and MartyParty (Marty Folb), that even Eliot Lipp himself requested to have his set time pushed up, so he could end his set with enough time to catch PANTyRAID. As Rab ended and announced PANTyRAID to the stage, Ooah quickly informed the crowd, "This shit ain't Glitch Mob. This is PANTyRAID!" And he was right! From the second the beat dropped the place was a dance party. Only their third set together, they took the crowd through ass shakers, booty stompers and breaks that had people just straight loosing themselves. At one point, Ooah spoke to the crowd, pushing everyone to register to vote (Headcount was there to make sure that everyone had an opportunity), and then unveiled a new track that they "put together on the plane out there," he told me later. With Obama's DNC speech filling the room with thoughts of change, Marty dropped a mean beat to send the speech into warp drive. By the end of the set, they had rocked the place so hard that even the securest of chastity belts stood no chance, ensuring that every single panty was raided this night.
Pretty Lights
In a last minute announcement, Pretty Lights, the newest sensation to take over Colorado's growing electronic music scene, was added to the bill and allowed to play "until they wanted to stop." Pretty Lights is the superb programming and arranging of Derek Smith, who is accompanied by live drummer Cory Eberhard. The duo had a chance to throw a late night post-STS9 set in Berkeley several weeks earlier, although the set had been reduced to next to nothing and the venue closed down early. This night offered the pair a chance to play a true late-night show that had everyone sticking around until after 4 a.m., soaking it all in. These two are just straight energy. Infusing a combo of sounds yet already inventing a new sound, making something truly original, the sky is the limit for this act. Catch them now before they get huge and are playing larger shows. Your feet and heart will thank you for it.
Being the first Crystallization, I am already anticipating the intensity that next year's event will bring. And if the guys at Boogie Down Productions are going to use this event to set the bar in the scene for what the "whole show" experience is like, then everyone needs to take note because from the first beats to the last flashing lights the whole experience was nothing but a blast.
Video provided by Rocky Mtn Live
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