Marshmallow Gun x Sonar Festival

Date : November 7, 2012
Venue : The Ogden Theatre
Location : Denver, Colorado
Line up : Die Antwoord, Gesaffelstein, Paul Kalkbrenner, Azari & III, Tiga, Seth Troxler, Nic Franciulli

Before the Show
I don't exactly remember how I found out about The Sonar Festival but when I saw Gesaffelstein and Die Antwoord in the line-up I knew I had to either go to the event or cover it. So after a couple of emails, I was confirmed to cover the event in Denver. Another event that I was excited for because I've been wanting to see Die Antwoord. They are one of those artists that you have to see live because of their craziness and creativity. Not only I was happy to see Die Antwoord live, I was happy that I am covering my first festival. Until the week of the event, I found out that the event was on a Wednesday. For some reason I thought it was on a Saturday,and not only that, I needed to find a ride to the event and back.
It turns out a couple of my friends are going to see Die Antwoord, they didn't have a ride either but I was still happy cause I wasn't going alone. A couple days before the event I talked to one of my friends who had a car and she told me that she was wanting to go to the event. She agreed to take me back home cause she wasn't planning to go to the event until later. So my friends and I decide to take the bus to Denver. After a long ass bus ride, we decide to get some food because we weren't wanting to wait until 2 am to get food. Because of that, I missed the Nic Franciulli. It's unfortunate that I missed the first DJ but the Calzone Pizza was fucking delicious. We get to the Ogden theater and my friends got in but I had difficulty in getting. There was a misunderstanding between the Ogden Theater's box office and The Sonar Festival's press. I thought I wasn't going to get in but after a few calls and talks with the box office, I was in and ready to cover my third event.

The Event

Dark light suits Gesaffelstein

So I missed Nic Franciulli's set and I apologize to my viewers and his fans. I wish I saw his set so I can give it a proper review. Although I missed his set, I had the pleasure to see Gesaffelstein's set. It was absolutely perfect. I love it from beginning to end. The French producer played some of my favorite tracks like Viol and Control Movement. His style of music definitely stands out from the rest of the electronic artists. The hard hitting sound of the drums with the gothic and terrifying synths makes an absolute perfect combination. He is by far one of my favorite house producers. After his set, Paul Kalkbrenner came on to the stage and played some of his house tracks. I honestly don't remember most of his set because I was busy focusing on the photography aspect but he played the same tracks as Gesaffestien. Once Kalkbrenner finished his set, Azari & III came onto the stage. The quartet played an interesting set. They reminded me of SBTRKT (who I saw at Hard Haunted in 2011). Its a style which I thought was unique. I don't have much to say about Azari & III because I don't like them a lot. I think they make great music but that music isn't my preference.

Die Antwoord! 

But once they finished their set, everyone crowded to the front of the stage because the main act was about to go on. I could tell that everyone came to see Die Antwoord because of their costumes. There were people in face paint and in Die Antwoord inspired clothes. Once they got on and started performing everyone went crazy. Die Antwoord is probably one of my favorite live performers. I've been a fan of their music as far back as 2009 with their track Zef Side. The way they interact with the crowd is insane. They played so many songs in such a short amount of time. One of my favorite tracks that they performed was I Fink U Freeky, Zef Side, and Fatty Boom Boom. During the song Zef Side, Ninja reenacted one of the most memorable parts of the music video where he literally swings his penis in slow motion in his famous Pink Floyd boxers (If you don't know what I'm talking about, Youtube Zef Side Music Video and you will know exactly what I mean). The visuals that went with their set was amazing. They used some of their music videos as the visuals and I thought they went with their performance perfectly.

Tiga being Tiga

After Die Antwoord's performance, literally most than half of the crowd left. I stayed because I was excited to see Tiga. I've heard a lot of his music on Soundcloud and I wanted to see him do a live set. I was pretty impressed. Its unfortunate that a lot of people left after Die Antwoord because he put a pretty good set. I remember being absolutely tired during Tiga's and Seth Troxler's set. I know that they played some really good House and Electronic music. After the event I was dead tired, I got home around 3 am and I had work early in the morning. I knew that I was going to be too tired for work but attending that festival made it all worth it.

After Thoughts
I thought the Sonar Festival was pretty successful. I thought Gesaffelstein and Die Antwoord did a fantastic job. The music was much different from other festivals. Most festivals focuses on Progressive House, Electro House, or Dubstep but this variation of House music was exceptional. I thought Paul Kalkbrenner, Azari & III, and Seth Troxler had okay sets. I'm not much of a House fan because I don't have a tolerance with the sounds and repetitiveness. Other than that, I enjoyed the festival. The people were great and the vibe was chill. People were nice and hanging out with my friends during the festival was great. Also being able to go home after the event and not be stranded until the morning was a big plus. The artists I recommend seeing is Gesaffelstein, Die Antwoord, and Tiga. If you are huge house fan, I would recommend you see Paul Kalkbrenner, Azari & III, and Seth Troxler. I'd like to thank Matt Oliver for helping me with the event. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be able to cover the event.