Paper Diamond was the first DJ I saw, and I didn’t see much of him. What I did see of him I didn’t think was that great to be honest. His short set was just OK to me. He didn’t play long because what was once a very sunny day turned into rain and hail. He started packing his equipment up and in response, the crowd chanted “Rain or Shine!” He didn’t come back on though and we had to wait a while for the rain to stop for Dillon Francis to start his set early.

I’ve seen Dillon Francis twice before this set at Red Rocks. I had a good time both times, but never found his shows to be very exceptional or anything. I wasn’t expecting much from his set this time around, but he proved me wrong.

First off, Dillon Francis is just known to be arrogant. Ask anyone who’s into electronic music and you’ll get mixed opinions of Dillon Francis. Some will say they dig his music; others will say, “Oh, that asshole?” I couldn’t help but laugh through his set when he incorporated his own face into his visuals. He played a small clip of himself at his own pretend birthday party. I thought it was hilarious and I loved his use of popular emojis in the visuals as well.

As for the music, I thought he performed really well compared to the previous few times I saw him. He had a lot of his Dubstep sound in the beginning of his set, but as he eased his way through, he started incorporating his other side “DJ Hanzel”, his deep house alter ego.

Overall, his set was unexpected in a good way and I thought he was a great opener for Zeds Dead.

Zeds Dead’s set was amazing. I’d even say that it was the best Dubstep set I’ve seen. And it wasn’t just Dubstep that they touched into Thursday night. The two DJs masterfully explored other subgenres that night as well. They truly have their own unique style and they successfully showed that at Dead Rocks.

One of the things I like about a DJ duo is that as an audience member, you get to see two friends just go back and forth with creating a sound for the listeners to enjoy. I could feel that fun energy from Zeds Dead and it made the show even that more enjoyable.

The two also seem just very genuine in their love of making their music. They got emotional at the end of their set stating how grateful they were for playing at Red Rocks and that they hoped to come back to perform again. I hope they do!

To put it simply, Loudpvck killed their set. I’ve never heard of them before, but during their set I couldn’t help but think that 12th Planet had a tough act to follow. Loudpvck was definitely more trap than Dubstep, but the bass they produced was fun to dance to nonetheless.

12th Planet went up next. I had seen him at a show before, and thought it was just a really fun time. I wondered how he was going to be at Beta, and I felt the same way this time around too. In my opinion, 12th Planet is very representative of the Dubstep genre. He has a very bass-heavy sound; it would be hard to not dance to it and enjoy yourself. I really respect him as a Dubstep DJ because you can really see it in his sets that he’s having fun and experimenting with his sound. He’s bringing the audience in to have fun with him too.

I love when DJs come together and perform a B2B set. It really changes the energy of the show, and I know their fans enjoy it. Loudpvck and 12th Planet were so in synch with each other, bouncing each other’s sound back and forth. Even though it was a Wednesday night, I wasn’t ready for the show to end. I felt like they just got started!

Bassrush was just a really fun night overall. The vibe in Beta that night was very different from most other nights I go. Since it was a Wednesday night, I really felt like most of the “bros” that usually come out on a Friday night stayed home and Loudpvck and 12 Planet’s fans were in attendance that night. Check them out on SoundCloud if you haven’t listened to them before:

Before I get into that, let’s briefly go over the openers:

jackLNDN opened first and the crowd wasn’t excited in the least. I could only see a few people around me dancing, while everyone else remained seated. I heard someone next to me saying that he was killing her vibe.

Next up was Son of Kick. I felt bad for jackLNDN because once he got off stage and Son of Kick started playing, everyone got up to start dancing. I thought he was pretty good and was a great choice to open for Bassnectar.

Benga came on right before Bassnectar and I had mixed opinions about him. His music was very bassy and fun to dance to. I would have enjoyed it more if he didn’t talk into the mic for basically every song performed. At the end of his set, he even stated that he was going to play one more song, but then ended up talking too much that he ran out of time! Annoying to say the least. But he definitely is a great Dubstep artist.

And finally, Bassnectar was up. I immediately became excited when I saw that on his laptops he brought out, there was his notorious Bassnectar symbol instead of the Apple symbol. Super cool.

Bottom line, Bassnectar has an amazing production. I’ve always heard people say that nothing else beats it, and they were certainly right. I was told that Friday night the show was more trippy whereas the Saturday night show was very bassy. Saturday night was in fact extremely bassy. The sound was so intense and I could feel the bass vibrate through my body. I also wish I went Friday night to see just how trippy it was because I felt that Saturday night had trippy visuals on its own. They were very geometric and contained different images with bright colors. All of it went so well with the music and changed as the music changed.

On Friday night, Bassnectar had announced to the crowd that he didn’t care about the new rule in regards to noise pollution for Red Rocks. He said he was going to be as loud as he wanted all weekend and he would just pay the fines. I thought that was awesome and goes to show how much love he has for his fans.

I also loved that he had a singer come up on stage at one point and accompany him in one of his songs. It created a unique feel to the overall production and I think it sets him a part from other artists in general.

The best part though, and I’m sure everyone who attended would agree, was when Bassnectar delivered a powerful message, originally given by Bill Hayes, in which Bassnectar compared life to an amusement park in which we think is real because that’s how powerful our minds are.

Bassnectar’s production is unlike anything you will ever see I think. You can really feel his passion radiate through his music and I definitely want to see him again. My only disappointment was that I wish I went for all three nights. Everyone around me was so happy to see their favorite artist and it made me happy to be surrounded by people with such great energy.

Ishe started first out back on the porch where a BBQ was set up for the audience that night. He set the perfect mood for the rainy evening. His music had a chill vibe to it and towards the end of his set, he incorporated some drum and bass into the Dubstep sounds. Overall, he was a great opener before Dirt Monkey.

Dirt Monkey was up next. He’s a local DJ from Boulder who opens up for headliners frequently at Beta. He never disappoints when he performs. I’m always really excited when I see that he is opening, and I always overhear other people in the crowd excited for him too.

Feed Me came on next and I think the best way to describe him is that he has a lot of variety to what he presents to the crowd. He didn’t just play Dubstep; he incorporated a lot of different electronic genres in his set. I feel like in this way he really appealed to every individual person there.

What I also liked about Feed Me was that I could tell he is really passionate about his work. It made me happy to see him smiling out to the crowd, clearly enjoying what he was doing. I think my favorite moment was when he played his song “One Click Headshot”. And who couldn’t like the infamous “teeth” as part of the visuals.

Feed Me is a truly unique artist and I recommend checking him out on Facebook or SoundCloud.

I wasn’t a fan of Ookay’s performance at Global Dub Fest, and I was disappointed in Yellow Claw’s set as well. For both of these DJs, I felt as if they played very basic songs and at times, didn’t really have good drops either. It seemed that the high school aged kids around me enjoyed it though, so I felt like their set was intended for this age group. The best part about Yellow Claw’s set though was that he had one of the security guards come onstage and participate in a twerking contest with the gogo dancers.

After they performed, someone came onstage and dramatically announced Zomboy to take the stage. The announcer hyped it up very well, because Zomboy was amazing. I don’t even know how else to describe his set, except that.

Zomboy had played some Snails and some well known songs, mixed in with songs from his album ‘The Outbreak’, which came out a few months ago. It was a very well put together set, and he didn’t just “hit play”, as some people criticize DJs for doing. He knew how to mix different sounds in to make each tune sound just right. One thing I found myself thinking was that when Zomboy had his build ups before the drops, I felt 100% confident that his drops would not disappoint. And they didn’t. This is exactly how I felt about Excision as well, who was up next.

Excision performed with Executioner, which is a video and lighting feature that creates 3D images and effects. It reminded me a lot of Datsik’s vortex, if you’ve ever been to a Datsik show. Excision performed within this structure, creating one of the best Dubstep sets I’ve ever experienced.

When he first came on, I noticed people looking at each other, giving a smile, and it seemed like they were silently saying that they made the right choice coming to this show. I couldn’t imagine anyone in that crowd being disappointed because Excision’s performance was so intense and proved himself to be the best pick for the headliner of this show.

My favorite parts of his performance was when he added in Bear Grillz & Datsik’s “Drop That Low” as well as “Fuck That” by Skrillex. And who could forget when he played his own song “Robo Kitty” with a robotic cat played out by the Executioner.

Zomboy and Excision are absolutely amazing in the Dubstep genre, and if you can catch them at a show or music festival, I highly recommend it. You won’t be disappointed.

The weather forecast was less than hopeful. It was supposed to be cold and rainy all night. I was bummed out at the thought of that at first, but the rain turned out to be an awesome addition to the production, specifically the lighting.

I have seen Keys N Krates perform a few months ago, and their performance at Red Rocks reminded me of just how good they are. The group comprises of 3 different artists. One being a drummer, another a keyboardist, and the third being the DJ. Their sound includes electronic music with a hip-hop influence to it.

That’s something I really like about Keys N Krates. They stand out well and their style of music sets them apart for other electronic artists. One of their most popular songs they played at the show, and my favorite, showcases how versatile they are in the Dubstep genre:

All in all, Keys N Krates was super talented and I highly recommend checking them out.

Adventure Club was on next and their set was one of the best ones I’ve seen. They jumped right in with some heavy Dubstep and told a story through the visuals with their music. The visuals, by the way, were so creative and super intense. I felt as if I was watching different short films or music videos.

They also remixed a few notable songs towards the end of their set. I felt that by combining both their original songs plus remixed popular songs, it made everyone in the audience happy.

Overall, the best way I could accurately describe Adventure Club’s performance was that it was super fun and entertaining. I felt carefree and forgot I was even dancing in the pouring rain.

Cookie Monsta was up first. To me, his sound is what I envision Dubstep to be. When he first started playing his set, I couldn’t help but think how grimy his sound was. His manipulation of the bass sets him apart from other similar Dubstep artists, in my opinion.

I noticed too that there was never a lull in his set. The crowd was constantly moving, not having to stand around anticipating for a transition into a new song as I’ve noticed happens with other artists. Also, each track in his set differed from the one before it. I know some people criticize Dubstep songs as all sounding the same, but it is safe to say that that is not the case for Cookie Monsta.

My favorite part of his set was when he closed off the night with throwing cookies out into the crowd. My least favorite part was that I wasn’t able to catch one.

Up next was Funtcase, the headliner for the night. To be honest, I personally liked Cookie Monsta’s set better, but I still of course enjoyed Funtcase.

Funtcase’s sound also stood out to me compared to other Dubstep artists in the scene. I thought he had great energy throughout his performance.

Funtcase wears a particularly creepy face mask that I think goes well with the sound he produces. His music is grungy and unique in its own way. Having read past interviews, Funtcase’s tracks have a heavy metal influence to them, which has inspired him to transition his way into Dubstep. His set at Beta had other electronic music influences to it, not just Dubstep solely.

Overall, this show was great. I know Funtcase and Cookie Monsta have performed together in the past, and I could definitely see why. Their sounds complement each other well and they both give Dubstep a good name. I just wish they did a B2B set; that would’ve been sick. I know they will both be performing at EDC Las Vegas, so if you’ve already scored your ticket, I highly recommend checking them out.

I’ve heard great things about Kill the Noise preceding the show from people who have seen him before. Listening to his Kill Kill Kill album as well got me hyped up for the show. Here’s a teaser to check out if you haven’t heard any of the songs from that album yet:

To put things in perspective, Kill the Noise is a part of the record label OWSLA, a label founded by Skrillex. Some of the best Dubstep artists are included on there, so it’s safe to assume that Kill the Noise knows his stuff.

What I thought was cool about the Kill the Noise show was that there was fog that was blasted out to the front section. It was so thick that I wasn’t able to see anyone around me, so it was almost like I was there, dancing to the beats by myself. I also thought the visuals for the show were interesting. Usually in any sort of EDM show, you can find some “trippy” stuff going on on the LED screen. However, for this show, not only did he have his logo transitioning into different colors, but he had some live action shots going on, almost like scenes from a movie. It created a unique experience that I hadn’t felt at any other previous Dubstep show.

As for the sound, it was a really great performance, but I was a little disappointed. First of all, his build ups were great. They were really exciting and the crowd loved it, myself included. Even better were his drops. I really feel like he shows off his artistic ability through these. So all of his songs in general were great. The one thing that did disappoint me though were his transitions, or should I say, lack there of. I couldn’t believe how the songs could be great, how it would get built up and then have amazing drops, and then all of a sudden…nothing. Then on to the next song. It was strange and I was surprised that someone so highly regarded both in the Dubstep world and the EDM world didn’t utilize transitions!

Besides this minor mishap, I really enjoyed the show and I still think the guy is really talented. He knows how to manipulate different sounds to his liking, knowing exactly what the crowd wants to hear.

Snails has a large fan base here in Denver, as the show was officially sold out the day of. The venue was packed, with fans squeezing their way to get up front to see Snails himself. I couldn’t believe how crowded it was.

Everyone in attendance had great vibes and great energy. I find that in most shows I go to, the crowd is always great, but of course there’s that one guy who drank too much and is consequently being rude to the people around him. I didn’t find that here at the Snails show. Everyone was there for the music and good times that come from that.

The music he produced at Beta had a very unique and eccentric sound to it. Snails coined the term “vomitstep” to describe his music. The way he controlled and manipulated his sound was unlike anything I’ve heard before. It complemented his name well also. The music could be described as “slimey”, perfect for his DJ name. I also think it definitely differentiates him from other Dubstep artists. If you haven’t heard him before, you should check him out on SoundCloud.

Overall, the music was great, the people were awesome, the GoGo dancers were talented, and the venue was perfect. And Snails stagediving into the crowd at the end of his set was a great end to the night. I highly recommend checking out Snails as well as Beta Nightclub.

Said the Sky was the first to perform. To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of his. His set went back and forth from being Dubstep inspired to that of Big Room House, which I just personally don’t care for. I could also see the crowd wasn’t either during those moments. The audience was there for their Dubstep, which Terravita and Bear Grillz very much is. Don’t get me wrong…Said the Sky is talented and I’m interested in checking him out again, but for this show it just didn’t fit.

Next was Bear Grillz and everything about his performance was entertaining. Bear Grillz doesn’t just perform alone; there is The Duck who completes this dynamic duo.

Bear Grillz and The Duck

And as you can see, he performs in a bear suit. How great is that? I had never seen him before, so before he came on, I wondered if he would sport a bear suit.

Bear Grillz (along with The Duck to support him) was definitely a crowd pleaser. He incorporated popular songs in his set that everyone could enjoy. The people around me shouted words of approval as each of these recognizable songs blared through the speakers. We were constantly moving and dancing to each song, and I don’t think there was a moment where we stopped. And putting it into perspective, he complemented Terravita’s performance very well. I highly recommend seeing a Bear Grillz show. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Terravita was the headliner of this show, and all of the great reviews I’ve heard about them were truly confirmed this night. I really appreciated how unique this group is. Not only did I enjoy the beats produced, but I found the rapping of their frontman to tie everything together.

The drops that Terravita produced were incredible. The crowd members couldn’t get enough of it. It was obvious that based on their reactions, there was an appreciation of Terravita’s artistry. The only disappointment of the night was when someone in the crowd threw himself on stage and danced up there drunkenly. I respected Terravita’s cool demeanor and ability to keep performing, but I wish that security would have taken him off sooner. It certainly killed the vibe momentarily, but Terravita was undoubtedly able to fix this through producing their drops and wobbles.