Chromeo during Funk On The Rocks (photo credit: Andrew Rios/Ultra5280)
Canadian electro-funk duo Chromeo made a stop in Colorado last Thursday for their third installment of “Funk on the Rocks”. This year they had Jamie XX co-headlining the show along with What So Not and Four Tet. The evening kicked off with What So Not, an electronic musical production lead by DJ and producer Chris Emerson. His set had more of an exciting, hard hitting dubstep feel that injected a healthy dose of hype to what was to come for the rest of the evening. What So Not made waves in 2014 when he teamed up with RL Grimes to put together a song called “Tell Me”, and when he performed it live at Red Rocks it definitely brought out the crowds energy.
Kieran Hebden, an english electronic musician better known by the stage name Four Tet, played more of a mellow set, keeping a soft abstract beat that let everyone relax and enjoy time with friends before the two headliners. Jamie XX opened his appearance at Red Rocks with a bang! During the chorus of one of his more more popular songs “Loud Places”, his giant disco ball was hit with lights illuminating the whole stage with him as a mysterious silhouette. Well done Jamie!
Jaime XX's disco ball lighting up the night (photo credit: Andrew Rios/Ultra5280)
When Chromeo took the stage, they were accompanied by heavy guitar riffs from lead vocalist and Dave “Dave 1” Macklovitch. Heavy white beams of light shone upon his chrome guitar reflecting the light back into the venue as he dove into the first song of their set. Patrick “P-Thugg” Gemayel held down the keyboards, synthesizer and talk box which he used on a few occasions to hype up the crowd. These two performers met in Montreal at the age of 15, and 10 years later they’re still touring extensively while making new music. The two jokingly consider themselves the only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture.They ran through all their hit songs with overwhelming crowd participation and it was clear to see why these guys carry such a following. We loved our evening at “Funk on The Rocks”, and are keeping fingers crossed we’ll be able to get funky next year.
-Andrew
