The Global Dance Arena rings in 2015 with Madeon at the helm. (Nigel Amstock/CU Independent)
So long 2014.
On December 30 and 31st, Decadence New Year’s Eve returned to the Colorado Convention Center for the forth straight year to send off 2014 in an extravagant fashion.
On night one at the Global Dance stage, Zedd wooed the crowd with his fan favorites like “Clarity” set to colorful visuals while Paper Diamond, a local act from Colorado, threw down across the convention center at the Bass Arena, much to the hometown crowd’s satisfaction.
As the night progressed, legendary trance producer Armin Van Buuren took the Global Dance stage by storm with repeated chants of “Armin, Armin”. Those who payed close attention to Armin may have noticed the usual black bracelets he was sporting on both of his forearms. The device, called the Myo armband, is a revolutionary interactive bracelet designed by Thalmic Labs in Canada that enables Van Buuren to interact with crowds in previously unimaginable ways. Through many mind bending visual scenes, Van Buuren took us on a journey, showcasing the Myo by beginning with a segment where he flew over the crowd like a majestic bird.
Youtube vid of Myo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnUzueLBtR8
Youtube vid of Myo at Decadence from 6:20-7:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MUCeunGr7Y
Throughout Armin’s set the crowd’s engagement only grew, and once the clock struck 1 a.m., an encore chant erupted. Disappointingly this did not come due to the strict time restrictions of the festival.
After midnight, Bassnectar, a frequent face in the colorado EDM scene, returned to the Bass Arena. Throughout his dubstep-infused set, Bassnectar used his mixing powers to fill the arena with ridiculous drops, alternating with periods of freakishly low frequencies. The combination sent the crowd on a head banging rampage that Bassnectar is known for invoking.
The following night at 11pm, trance vocalist Emma Hewitt performed a live vocal set in front of the big DJ booth. This gave the crowd at the Global Dance arena something different. Throughout her set, Hewitt danced across the stage, eager to get as close to as many fans as possible before she made her exit after a brief thirty minutes of performance.
Thirty minutes prior to New Year’s, Boulder native Big Gigantic appeared on the Bass Arena to send partygoers off into 2015. After the champagne was raised and the hundreds upon hundreds of balloons and confetti greeted revelers, Grizmatik randomly appeared back on stage to collaborate with Big Gigantic, forming Big Grizmatik. Unified, the Colorado locals gave the Bass Arena a uniquely Colorado performance that many will yearn for going into the future.
Finishing out the second night at Decadence, Kaskade, who is frequently named as America’s best DJ, took control of the Global Dance Arena. As his set progressed, more people noticeably filled out the back corners and extreme sides of the crowd, and people became crushed for space.
As the clock passed 2:15, Kaskade sent off the People of Decadence with one final track. The lights flickered on, and the hordes of people departed the Colorado Convention Center, absolutely stoked for whatever 2015 holds
How Global Dance intends to follow up this performance next year is yet to be seen, although as we approach the midpoint of winter, I know many people are looking forward to the summer season. Global Dance will put on its signature three-day Global Dance Festival at Red Rocks, but only time will tell if they can pull together another well rounded group of DJ’s and producers from the different segments of EDM.
Contact CU Independent Photojournalist Nigel Amstock at nigel.amstock@colorado.edu.
