Pretty Lights :: 2015.12.31 :: Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
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The last two times
Pretty Lights played Las Vegas he performed at a stadium and at a massive outdoor festival, so being able to celebrate New Year’s Eve with the Colorado-based EDM giant at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas offered fans an almost unprecedented level of intimacy with the artist. Enthusiastic devotees lined up in the morning hours outside the venue to crowd the stage, marveling at the sheer volume of production equipment, preparing themselves for what would be an unforgettable evening of dancing, music, and all around revelry.
Although Pretty Lights is already known for over-the-top productions, with his New Year’s setup he took the live experience to a new degree. Confetti cannons, balloon drops, a laser wall, multiple LCD disco balls, a lit-cityscape background, and more flashing lights than could possibly be counted were all impressively featured. There was never a dull visual. The extravagant lighting also allowed the stage — and basically the entire atmosphere of the room — to be fluidly controlled and altered to match the music. Chill moments paired with a cool blue aura, the more high-energy times garnered flashing red and yellow lights. It was a marathon performance that ebbed and flowed with emotion.
All the while standing hunched and hoodie-donned behind his gear, Derek Vincent Smith mixed like a mad scientist concocting strange, new sonic compounds, constantly crossing wires, turning knobs, and tweaking audio to perfection. The performance lasted nearly four hours, including a New Year’s Eve countdown aptly set to a remix of
Europe’s “The Final Countdown.” It was an evening of endurance and energy, the many diehards who stayed through the end poured out into the LINQ, soaked in sweat and covered in confetti, to keep the celebration going.
—Chris Bitonti
Photos courtesy of Leavitt Wells
kabikphotogroup.com