Big Bass Returns to Denver for Decadence NYE 2017
AEG Presents, Global Dance & Live Nation hosted the first night to their sixth annual Decadence NYE 2017 Denver event at the Colorado Convention Center.
The below freezing temperatures put momentum behind guests as they sprinted to the doors in downtown Denver. It was a chilly night in Colorado, but the venue was heated to keep guests mildly warm. I did see a large amount of women and men dressed in scantily outfits during the evening. It made sense in some cases being in the middle of a large crowd.
Event organizers did an excellent job of setting up decorations and sound proofing the venue. I was assuming their would be spill over, or also known as bleeding between the stages with music. Overall, I could not hear one stage when the sound was low on another.
The Colorado Convention Center is 584,000 square feet in total.
When I first arrived I witnessed Space Jesus performing on the Time Vault Stage. It was an energizing way to get the party started. Space Jesus ended his set with a song we wrote with his dad. One of the photographers mentioned that his mother reached out to him following his set. I thought it was interesting and well-balanced that he has such a strong relationship with his parents.
As a member of the press, I searched for the media room and met with some of the people working on press for the event. Organizations from all over the country were on hand to capture this special festival.
Xavier was one of the organizers to the event, and helped show me around. When we were talking I asked him about his role and time with the event. He mentioned that he had been with Decadence since the origin six years ago. Xavier noted that the Colorado Convention Center has always been the home for the event in Denver. I inquired how he felt about the event after working on it for six years.
“After six years Decadence still has my heart.” – Xavier Garrier
A dancer on stage at the Tchami performance at Decadence NYE 2017 Denver. Photo by: Matthew McGuire
We walked around the venue and caught some of the Tchami set on the Time Vault Stage.
The stage area was packed with energetic music lovers from all over the country. Tchami performed from 7:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
One piece to Decadence NYE 2017 Denver that I found unique was the amount of international talent that shared the stage. Several musicians were from Europe, the United States and beyond.
Chicago natives known as Louis the Child took the Time Vault Stage following Tchami set. A youthful audience danced and celebrated the first night of music at Decadence. It marked my first time seeing this act, and was impressed with their range as producers.
The Grid Stage was overflowing with spectators for the Diplo performance. He packed in a large amount of electronic dance music mixed in with pop flavor during his hour set. Aerial silk performers did moves hanging from the ceiling above the audience. It was visual entertaining to match up with the audio experience on stage.
Justice followed Diplo on the Grid Stage from 10:00 p.m. 11:00 p.m. The international duo took the venue by storm with the intense sound style. This marked my second time seeing Justice with the first time taking place at the Voodoo Music Festival in 2009. I enjoyed the differences in their set, and found songs like ‘It’s Tricky,’ ‘Y.M.C.A.,’ and ‘I So Excited’ to be very unique songs to remix during their performance. Browse over a clip of their performance on Instagram below the photos.
Bassnectar was probably the most popular act of the evening with guests lined up in the size of a professional football field. The term ‘rail riders’ is used to describe Bassnectar fans that are diehard about being front row and on the rail for his performances. I have heard negative things about them on social media, but when I spoke and interacted with them, I found them to be respectful, kind and down to earth.
The last set I witnessed on the first night was Gramatik on the Time Vault stage from 12:45 to 1:45 a.m. His style of funk and electronic music kept the crowd dancing late into the evening.
Grab tickets for the second night to Decadence via their main ticket outlet.
