LIFE IN COLOR // BORGORE @ BALCH FIELDHOUSE | 2/16/13 Life in Color: Rebirth is new name for the former DayGlow touring party, and the name pretty much sums up just what this party is about. A mostly white-clad crowd piled into the Balch Fieldhouse to see what all the hoopla was about with this the "world's largest paint party." If they were curious to know what it feels like to be a canvas under the deliberate eye of Jackson Pollack, this was most certainly the place to be as hundreds of gallons of dayglow colored paint blasted the crowd from cannons and squirt guns on stage.
See also: - Borgore on why he gets so many naked pics sent to him - Photos: Life In Color slideshow - Dubstep for Dummies, a primer for newly-minted dubstep fans
Due to some travel complications, Seven Lions was unable to make the show, and this resulted in some of the opening sets being extended. Jimmy Burns's set, for example, got bumped to 9 p.m., which definitely wasn't a bad thing for the up-and-coming producer, as the line outside easily stretched out forty yards extending past the gates and onto the sidewalk of Folsom Field by then, and you could feel the tension and excitement building.
Signs posted outside the venue cautioned that due to the amount of paint exposure, they not be able to ride on public transportation after the show, and if this might be an issue, it warned, stand back. To the thousands of students and fans that were filling in the venue, however, this meant nothing. All were dressed in a white outfits and prepared to be splashed.
As soon as you walked in to the Balch Fieldhouse there was a paint-splattered wall set up "Boulder Creatives," a new CU student group, where you could get sprayed with paint and then photographed. There was also a merch booth where you could pick up and array of items -- glowing trinkets and little rave candy pieces to adorn your painted bodies with to paint bottles and T-shirts emblazoned with sayings like "Music Is My Drug" or "Go Hard In the Paint."
The soundtrack for the evening can probably best be described as bro-step -- or can it? That's what a lot of dubstep purists, if there is such a thing, would probably call it. Thing is, though, bro-step might be the dumbest word coined yet to describe a style of music. While it's origin is unknown, it's a safe bet that some disgruntled EDM-elitist most likely coined the word in response to seeing "bros" showing up at dubstep nights. Bros be damned, the music can be good. The beats are catchy, the drops are fun, and the scene, whether sanctimonious EDM-philes want to admit it or not, is fun.
Jimmy Burns and TYR (pronounced "tire") both did great jobs as support for the night. TYR's remixes blended perfectly into the crowd, and he played up until the countdown for the first paint explosion, which was prefaced with a clip touting "Life in Color." For whatever reason, the MC tried desperately to have everyone sit down in order to watch the video. Naturally, this failed, and by the time the commercial for Life in Color ended, the few that did sit down were up and waiting for the explosion of music and paint. Batting a thousand, the MC then asked if everyone wanted make what he described as the "best Harlem Shake video." Not so much, turns out.
Basscrooks followed the countdown, and the name fits the act perfectly. Although the group doesn't have the most original name, its sound fit perfectly with the night and had the whole place going crazy. It will be interesting to see how these artists fare down the line as the genre continues to evolve into a different sound and scene. On this night, though, the tunes fit perfectly.
Borgore closed the night out, and besides the paint melee, this is clearly was what most people were waiting for all night. With a huge following, Borgore has made his mark on EDM by essentially being the dirty boy of the bunch. His songs are so laced with sexual innuendo that it's not even fair to call it innuendo -- it's just dirty. What better music is there really for a sexually charged crowd of new college students who want nothing more than to party their asses off? These music fans aren't here for the complex layers of Ableton samples. They're here for a good party with fun music. They want to smile all night, party with their friends, have a good time.
And if that was indeed the goal, well, mission accomplished.
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