Altitude Music Festival at CU Boulder, 4/28/12
Britt Chester
ALTITUDE MUSIC FESTIVAL @ BALCH FIELD HOUSE | 4.28.12
See Also:
• Altitude Music Festival slide show
• Q&A with Gramatik
• Snowball Music Festival 2012, Day One and Day Two
• CU WelcomeFest 2011
• Sonic Bloom pre-party slideshow featuring GRiZ
CU Program Council and Insomniac Events blew the walls of Balch Field House last night with what will hopefully turn into the annual Altitude Music Festival. Boasting an impressive line-up of local and international electronic dance outfits, the workout received by all in attendance at the Folsom Field flanking venue could easily rival that of any collegiate football team.
By the time Gramatik took the stage, the energy was reaching a fever pitch with shrieks and screams of anticipation. Gramatik has hit Denver several times in the past year, including its recent appearance at the Snowball Music Festival. Last night, Boulder was treated to a concoction of downtempo hip-hop beats that reflect Gramatik mastermind Denis Jaravesic's affinity for chill-out tracks.
New tracks were mixed in, and whereas the production is on par with fellow Pretty Lights Music artists, the sounds show the new direction that Jaravesic is taking. There is an obvious contrast in the tracks: Whereas Beatz and Pieces Vol. 1 keeps things so chill that at any moment you are waiting for mellow freestyle to come milling in over the beat, #digitalfreedom shows the wide-range of samples that Jaravesic pulls from, and definitely hits a lot harder than any of his previous stuff, keeping in line with the current obsession with bass-heavy songs. Regardless, the crowd was ecstatic for the entirety of Gramatik's set, and by the look of the venue, most people came for the duo. It slowly filtered out toward the end, leaving roughly half of what it was for the headliner. 
Britt Chester
Slide show: Altitude Music Festival
MSTRKRFT held the coveted headlining spot for Altitude Music Festival. Following the talents of Zion I and Gramatik, both of whom could easily have headlined this show (and given Gramatik's crowd, probably should have), the Canada-based duo delivered a relatively lackluster set. The music was heavy, production was on point, and the sound flawless, but the energy just wasn't there. Perhaps it was the emptying venue, or maybe MSTRKRFT just wasn't feeling the altitude, but it didn't carry the hype that preceded.
We got the hard and heavy bass lines that seemed nonstop, and heard bits and blips from tracks like "Fist of God" and "Got Love to Kill," but the waning energy really took a toll on the crowd. The front line that swelled the gate looked as though they just got out of marathon sauna session, but the back of the group, which barely reached the soundboard at this point, stood in sway.
Britt Chester
Location Info
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Balch Fieldhouse
CU Boulder Campus, Boulder, CO
Category: General
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