Icelantic’s Winter On The Rocks returns for its 5th year, bigger and better than ever. With a monumental blizzard just a few days away, what better way to kick off the opening of the 2016 Red Rocks season that with a little Half Color, Big Grams, and of course, Adventure Club.
Despite the warm daytime temperatures, everyone came prepared for the imminent blizzard in their best snow gear; from snowsuits to onesies, and plenty of clothing I would have frozen in. It is typical of Coloradans to wear shorts and flip flops when the temperature breaks 40, and as I pulled into the south parking lot of Red Rocks, we were sitting right on that threshold. Yes, I saw plenty of shorts, only a few flip flops though.
First up we had the duo of Paul Basic and Michael Menert, blending the live electronica atmosphere with funk and uptempo beats to keep the crowd engaged. Michael Menert frequents the Denver music scene and along with the likes of Late Night Radio, Gramatik, Pretty Lights, and Eoto, holds a special place in the hearts of all those that attend the rocks. Paul Basic brought the sauce on a chilly night as the pair lit up the rocks and led the perfect segway into the Icelantic Winter Fashion Show.
Taking a break from the music, Icelantic brought out a makeshift runway and allowed models across the stage to strut their stuff and rep the Icelantic brand of clothing. Men and Women, some scantily clad, turned their best pose for the cameras as the crowd loved the break from music. Certainly something I didn’t expect to see, the fashion show brought life to the party and helped keep the crowd entertained in between sets.
It was on to Big Grams and with Big Boi and Phantogram taking the stage, it seemed as though the mega genres of hip hop and electronica were going to collide and produce something amazing. Phantogram laid down some amazing beats with his push pad while Big Boi kept the crowd engaged and with the music, dropping verse after verse, giving us all a chance to sing to some throwback Outkast.
The time had come for Adventure Club to take the stage of the 5th annual Icelantic’s Winter On The Rocks. Another frequent visitor of Colorado, the Canadian duo Adventure Club was set to hit the stage of Red Rocks with the heavy dubstep and melodic elements that we have come to recognize and feed off of. With Denver being the bass capital, I predicted plenty of dubstep and trap to please the crowd, and I happened to be right.
This was definitely not a bad thing as the duo amped up the crowd with heavy dubstep and smooth transitions into some of the more popular trap songs of today. A few remixes of Jack Ü and more than a few of Adventure Club’s originals such as “Crave You” and their latest single “Limitless”, there was plenty for the crowd to both sing at the top of their lungs to, and headbang their frozen faces off too. I definitely enjoyed the variety, while it seemed only the sound was lacking, due to the noise restrictions put on to electronic concerts. It seemed as though it was just something we would have to deal with, and if you stayed towards the lower numbered rows, you definitely felt, and heard all of the frequencies. It was certainly a treat to end the first month of 2016 and kick off the beginning of Red Rocks season with Adventure Club at the helm of the ship. Headbang-worthy drops followed by the bass-filled trap verses, Adventure Club reminded us just why we love the rocks so much on a chilly night in late January. Check out the pictures in the gallery below as you might be in some of them!
