Sullivin King hits Denver’s Mission Ballroom with Openers Paws, Layz and Blanke & Trivecta
Written By | Colin Lloyd
It is a dark, cold night in Denver. A fresh coat of snow has blanketed the streets and plenty more is on its way making getting to the venue a challenge. A little (or a lot of) snow would not stop the ravers from arriving well before doors, braving the near blizzard like conditions and huddling in line outside of Mission Ballroom. 15 minutes before opening, the line was wrapping around the corner with a steady stream of ravers arriving in the increasing snow fall.
As the doors opened a couple minutes early, the wait paid off and the early arrivers were able to secure their spot at the rail or snag some Sullivan King merch ahead of the sold out crowd without having to wait in the line that later in the night would snake along the wall throughout the building.
See more photos of PAWS HERE
An hour after the first ravers entered, PAWS the Music took the stage and started to get the crowd warmed up. He unleashed a volley of heavy hitters intertwined with the classic and new Illenium bangers to appeal to all the sad bois in the crowd to start getting those necks loose for what was instore later in the night.
See more photos of Layz HERE
Next up was Layz who certainly did not hold back. She kicked things off with high energy and did not slow down once as the first mosh pits started to open up through out the crowd. When her drops hit you could hear the extra Thud as the rail was being rocked, lifting it several inches off the ground as the headbanging commenced, at this point it was clear, no necks were safe in that building that night, and this was only the 2nd set of the night.
See more photos of Blanke and Trivecta HERE
After her was a first of a kind back-to-back with the Ophelia Records Artists; Blanke and Trivecta who played their own hits along with a fair barrage of Seven Lions tracks that made you want to hug your best friend while; giving your neck a break. The two had some truly phenomenal chemistry playing together.
Once this electrifying back to back was over, spirits were clearly high. During the changeover, for what is usually a quieter few minutes of a show, the crowd was singing along to the music playing over the speakers while on stage they were getting ready for the main act, Sullivan King.
See more photos of Sullivan King HERE
Sullivan King came out with a vengeance. With a production fit for a Rockstar, worthy of a king, he had the crowd out of their minds. You could feel the electricity in the air, as the flames burst up from behind him and the cryo shot out from the cross shaped stage. As I said before, not a neck in the building was safe. From the second he walked up to the front of that stage the energy and excitement never ceased. Sullivan King intermixed his tracks with his own live vocals and guitar riffs, and seemed to do it all as he grabbed his videographers camera on one of his several trips to the front of the stage. He engaged the crowd and accommodated their wish as he noticed they were signaling for a Wall of Death.
As Sullivan King’s set was coming to an end the crowd started chanting for one more song. He obliged but with a back to back to back with Blanke and Layz, with plenty of pyro, cryo and lasers all around. Sullivan took some time to note the significance of the night, as he had sold out his biggest headline show to date that had been two years in the making. They capped the show off Blanke doing a shoey (where you drink a beer out of your shoe) to celebrate him having recently moved to Denver.
This was a show that had enough energy to power a city from start to finish, whether it was Paws playing tracks that made you want to cry in your girlfriends arms, Blanke and Trivecta making you want to hug your best friend or Sullivan King who just made you want to throw yourself into a moshpit and break your neck on the rail, it was all summed up by the amount of glee you could feel and hear as people were leaving the venue and waiting for their ride shares in the sub-freezing temperatures.
It is safe to say next time Sullivan King comes to town, invest in some neck braces and hand warmers.
Photos By | Colin Lloyd