Colorado is a staple for an array of different bass music and that is quite obvious with The Black Box being a venue at the forefront of showcasing talent. Over […]
Colorado is a staple for an array of different bass music and that is quite obvious with The Black Box being a venue at the forefront of showcasing talent. Over the course of their existence, they have been a home for artists like Alix Perez, Degs, The Widdler, Ternion Sound, Caspa, and countless more OG producers. They have always thrown shows that give love to the sounds that have paved the way for many and opened up a world that means so much to many of us. This past weekend was another one of those shows, the beloved Bass Invasion, and it was another evening that will go down in Denver dubstep history thanks to the good people at Sub.Mission, The Black Box and Cervantes.
This year’s Bass Invasion was a duel venue event, hosted by Sub.Mission and between The Black Box and Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. The Black Box lineup included Fathomless, Sicaria, Hamdi, The Greys, and Curly One b2b Aimerie, while Cervantes had Will Holler, Norse b2b Subliminal, SIN7 b2b FROZTWR3CK, Sicara b2b Hamdi, and closing out was Caspa. My friends and I were lucky enough to have tickets to both venues and experience all the magic and madness that went down in one night.
The evening started off for us at The Black Box, doors opened earlier for this event and we arrived closer to 8pm. The music had started in the main room and things were already off to an amazing start. The heavy bass was vibrating and we knew we were in for quite a treat. Fathomless was up on the decks and he knew just how to get the energy going as the main room slowly started to fill up.
The energy was starting to bubble with excitement for what was about to ensue. After Fathomless’ set, Sicaria took the stage and took us on an incredible journey with proper track selection. Throughout her set, her energy fed into the crowd and vice versa, bouncing off one another and pumping even more life into what was already an amazing set. There’s nothing like when an artist is just as happy to be there and perform as much as the crowd is to witness that artist doing what they love.
Following up her set was Hamdi, with his first time playing The Black Box. We knew it was going to be a wild ride and believe me, he did not disappoint. He is a true storyteller when he’s up on the decks, rinsing out a multitude of genres, giving listeners a lesson in the many different UK sounds, and so much more in just one set. That crowd was hooting, hollering, and raving their hearts out, it was one of my favorite Black Box crowds I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of since moving here to Denver. We headed out a little before his set ended to make our way to Cervantes to try and secure a good spot for Caspa.
When we arrived at Cervs, it was already packed wall to wall, but luckily we found a solid spot at the front right side of the stage, directly under and next to the speakers. Shortly after, Sicaria and Hamdi took the stage for their first-ever b2b performance. Everyone went wild and watching the two of them feed off each other’s energy only hyped us up even more and really kept that vitality of the night buzzing. Once their set was over, you could feel the crowds’ excitement begin to grow as it was finally time for Caspa.
Listening to Caspa always brings back the best memories for me and takes me back to my earliest memories of dubstep, being introduced to the magic that this community is based on. His Cervantes set was just like that, he played so many classics like “Where’s My Money,” “Walalangleng,” “Rubber Chicken,” and loads more Caspa staples. Looking around and watching the crowd with both old heads and new ones, all going wild to his soundscapes was a beautiful thing to be a part of. His energy did not stop either, from his gun fingers to his dancing, you could tell Caspa was just as happy to be there as the rest of us were.
Towards the end of his set, he got up on the mic and talked about playing Cervantes side room back in 2009, bringing even more nostalgia to an already magical set and leaving the venue with hearts so full of love. Thank you to The Black Box for having us out and letting us share in the magic of Bass Invasion 2023, we can’t wait for next year!
