Review: Sonic Bloom, 6/25/11 | Backbeat | Denver | Denver Westword | The Leading Independent News Source in Denver, Colorado
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Review: Sonic Bloom, 6/25/11

SONIC BLOOM at SHADOWS RANCH | 06.25.11"Taking full advantage of the Funktion-One, Starfire filled the field with towers of sound, and the energy being emitted from the festival's living, breathing inhabitants was rather intoxicating."...
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SONIC BLOOM at SHADOWS RANCH | 06.25.11

"Taking full advantage of the Funktion-One, Starfire filled the field with towers of sound, and the energy being emitted from the festival's living, breathing inhabitants was rather intoxicating."

The second day of Sonic Bloom was ushered in by Jason Hahn of Prophet Massive playing heavy dub beats and breaks to a capacity crowd in the CODome. Encanti joined him on stage for a bit of insanity and Hahn fed off the energy. The two, who have been working together to creating the dynamic visuals for Eoto's tour, took the opportunity to get a little wild as the sun was coming up. Tent zippers began opening up around us as the sun began to paint the Georgetown valley with morning. Some stragglers from Prophet Massive found their way back to their sleeping bags for some beauty rest, as other early risers opted to start the day with some relaxing yoga on the lakefront.

The planned workshops attracted surprisingly large crowds given the times. Rainbow Michael instructed newbies and veterans on the physics of motion with a Poi Playshop, while Jamie Janover gave a chat in the CODome about Unified Field Theory. Essentially, it was an expanded version of the one he gave at the pre-party at Cervantes back in April. The non-music activities ran until about 4 p.m. and culminated with a discussion on sustainable living. Around that time, Denver's J. Wail and Chuck Morris started into their set at the main stage

Later in the evening, David Starfire, a quiet and late arrival to Saturday's press conference, responded to questions in nonchalant way that was almost whimsical. His true voice came out a bit later in his set. Taking full advantage of the Funktion-One, Starfire filled the field with the towers of sound, and the energy being emitted from the festival's living, breathing inhabitants was rather intoxicating.

The EOTO's set was a bit delayed in its start, inspring some folks to head over to the CODome to catch sets from NastyNasty and Love and Light. When The field later came alive when Hahn and Michael Travis took the stage. The pair truly are utilizing every possible technological advantage to create the ultimate live performance. During its performances, the group uses networked monitors that allow for real-time syncing between their laptops. As a result, Hahn and Travis constantly jockey positions in the race to find new beats.

Elsewhere over the course of the evening, Heyoka played a late night set in the CODome. The dude is a machine. Sitting stone faced behind his mixers, he casually sways from screen to controller, dropping hints of bass, before letting loose into a surreal melody, which had everyone swimming in a sea of synthesized MIDIs.

Other highlights from Saturday including catching sets from locals Vinnie Maniscalco and DocType on the Sub.Mission stage in the CODome. The latter dropped an unforgettable sample of "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio that I've yet to hear someone drop in a dubstep set. It was early in the day when DocType was playing, but he definitely gets the warm up award for excellence with his cut selection.

Overall, the second night of Sonic Bloom was challenging to navigate with so many talented acts playing simultaneously on stages. Jogging between the stages became a bit of a hassle with the only route between the two being a nearly one-way bridge at times.


CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK

Personal Bias: David Starfire really blew me away. Random Detail: Everyone was nice. And high. By The Way: It was surprising to me the amount of people who remained stationed at their tent for the majority of the evening. More proof that this scene, runs much deeper than just the stereotypes.

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