MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY Takes Over Red Rocks
Photos by: Alden Bonecutter
As Summer and the festival season come to an end, it seems as though we are on our last leg of outdoor shows and chances to enjoy the electronic energy under the open sky. One thing’s for sure, there’s no better way to cap off the summer than joining the thousands of electronic music fans who flock to Red Rocks for what has become an annual celebration known as Mad Decent Block Party.
Traveling to Red Rocks for the past two years with some of the most promising and unique talent on the Mad Decent label including the big dog himself Diplo, has certainly made Mad Decent a show you cannot miss. This year’s lineup featured some of today’s highlighted rising stars in electronic music, such as; Mija, DJ 4B, Alison Wonderland, and Ape Drums. Unfortunately the fault I found that Mad Decent fell short was by adding D.R.A.M. to the bill. Adding a rapper to a nearly flawless lineup of electronic talent throws off the entire atmosphere/vibe of a music festival. In my opinion, D.R.A.M would be great in his own show or perfectly compliment a rap lineup, but he doesn’t belong in the midst of an electronic show. It really doesn’t do him or Mad Decent any justice.
The energy at Red Rocks is incomparable to any other venue in the world, but it seems that the Mad Decent crew has found a way to out-do themselves with an amazing lineup and high quality speaker system to finally give Red Rocks the boom it’s been waiting to feel again. Mad Decent’s Crew brought a large PK sound system in addition to The Red Rocks standard Line Array speakers which gave quite a heavy and quality sound that I haven’t heard at Red Rocks since the sound ordinance. But unfortunately due to the use of the loud system the show had to come to an end quite early, stopping at about 10:30 PM.
Overall I was very impressed with this year’s event, Mad Decent has continued to take their shows and artists to new levels and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. We’re sure to expect something special next year with Red Rocks being one of Diplo’s favorite stops on the tour.
Props to Mad Decent for another awesome show at Red Rocks. See you all next year!
