G Jones on stage during his set at Mission Ballroom.
Photo by August Smith
Greg Jones, known as G Jones on stage, has long been a titan of the electronic music scene; but when the COVID-19 pandemic began, it put a complete stop to his tour plans. The show this past weekend at Mission Ballroom in Denver marked one of his first live performances in two years, a spectacle not to be missed.
With a heavy hitting lineup of openers including the likes of Redrum, SHADES (a collaborative music project between EPROM and Alix Perez), and Mr. Carmack, tickets for the show sold out within a month of release.
The Mission Ballroom doors opened at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 23 for the highly anticipated show, and the room was packed out by 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom is quickly becoming a staple in the Denver music scene since it opened in August 2019.
G Jones curates every lineup for his tour himself, so it was no surprise the room filled up long before his headlining act. Each opener brought their own unique sound and style to the booming JBLs of the venue, earning cheers from the crowd quickly and often.
Redrum, the first opening act, immediately hurled the crowd into currents of powerful bass and ear tickling percussive riffs, setting the stage beautifully for what was to come.
Next up was SHADES, a powerhouse collaborative project between U.S. based electronic and freeform artist EPROM and Belgian born drum and bass icon Alix Perez. The two combine to form an incredibly unique style of freeform bass with dubstep roots, marked by absolutely flooring bass riffs and carefully curated sound design composition.
Photo by August Smith
Up third was Mr. Carmack, a legendary producer and DJ, whose range of genres and mixing abilities seemed to stretch endlessly and creatively. Carmack displayed a plethora of musical styles such as trap, drum and bass, and freeform bass, ultimately playing the most expansive set of the night genre-wise.
Finally, the headlining act arrived. G Jones’ set was flat out flooring creatively, both in audial and visual aspects. Jones played his trademark “DJ Set”, meaning he selects a mixture of his own original music as well as music from other producers.
When asked what his favorite set of the night was, fellow concert-goer and music buff Colin Kraft immediately replied: “SHADES was by far my favorite act of the night. Everything about their set was awesome to see in a live setting, and I got to hear some of my favorite tracks of theirs also,”.
Moreover, he followed his statement up with a supplementary opinion on G Jones set: “G Jones definitely impressed me in a few ways, especially his mastery of glitch textures and acid-style drums,” stated Kraft.
Another concert goer, Patrick Felberg, favored Mr. Carmack’s set heavily. “Carmack played so many genres of music and blended them so effortlessly, it was a gift to get to see a master of mixing and DJing at work,” stated Felberg.
MFJS Reporter Spring 2022 