Pretty Lights Music at Cervantes
This post is long overdue. A special thanks to Andrew "AC" Lao for his support of Ultra5280 and local music. You are a great friend a talented musician and performer. YOU CRAY!
With multiple DJ sets, a typical Wednesday at Cervantes was a far cry from normal and boring. Four talented DJ’s from the Pretty Lights Music label played well through the night, displaying different strengths and talents that had a little something for each person. Paul Basic, SuperVision, Michal Menert with guest AC Lao, and Gramatik each played at least a 40-minute set, if not longer. Even as talented artists tying to make a living, their albums are free for download HERE. To show your support, donations are accepted and attending a show is encouraged.
Colorado native Paul Basic didn’t let the theft of his Macbook Pro Tuesday night slow him down, with borrowed machines he brought his unique talent while still keeping in good spirits. With a few hiccups and pauses in between songs, Paul Basic (Paul Brandt) brought the beats that laid the foundation for the DJ’s to follow. Donations were taken up in contribution to his new laptop. Check out his album “The Mirror” that dropped late September and show your love for a Colorado native.
Next on the lineup was Supervision, a guy that showed his support for others on the label, mixing their music as well as other familiar songs. You could hear the excitement in the beginning of the set as as it seemed like there was a lot going on, but as the set went on so did the editing and it cleaned up very well. Familiar songs like Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” gave the crowd something to sing along to all while making it his own. He wrapped things up with a Michal Menert song, giving the crowd a taste of what was to follow. Richard Blake Hanson, or Supervision, has shared the stage with some talented artists like Ghostland Observatory, Pretty Lights, Public Enemy, Classixx, and RJD2 only to name a few. Download his album “Telescopic” and you can hear where Supervision draws inspiration from.
Michal Menert tore it up. His attention to detail and his production skills were the best of the night. He understands the concept that “less is more” and knows when to edit; his music is clean and he knows what sounds good, plain and simple. On stage with him Wednesday night was drummer, AC Lao, keeping the rhythm for his set. AC brought something to Menert’s set, he brought life. The drums were real, not mixed, and the crowd was very responsive to it. Menert, with his sweat-soaked hair under his flat-brimmed hat, was nothing less than thankful for his time on stage. With the recent loss of his father, his song “Memories” spoke loudly to anyone that had ever felt the weight of losing someone special.
A Led Zeppelin favorite, “Stairway to Heaven” was used as a segway from Menert’s set to Gramatik’s. Gramatik took the stage and raged it, and the energy never seemed to fizzle as the crowd anticipated the final set. Menert and Gramatik piggy-backed off each other, hopping from one set back to the other. The lights were flashing and the bass was bumping, Gramatik delivered a high-energy set packed with favorites. The DJ’s raged on until 2 am and while the streets were quiet and the weather was chilled throughout the night, within the walls of Cervantes was a loud, sweaty party that lasted for hours.
Amanda