Last weekend Telluride, CO ushered in a special event that couldn’t come soon enough for PLM fanatics all across the country. Ever since its announcement in February, the small straight-out-of-a-storybook town of 2,500 set out to welcome in the devoted fans of Pretty Lights and all the vibes that come along with the record label. One aspect of the weekend that became abundantly clear as the date neared was how difficult it was to make the pilgrimage to Telluride. If you weren’t a Colorado native, your options were either: fly into Denver and make the six hour drive, fly into the tiny airport of Durango and make the two and a half hour ride, or fly into equally small Montrose for the hour and a half long trek to the remote town.
What this ensured, was that every single soul in attendance for the weekend wanted to be there and was insanely dedicated to the cause. Not that there needed to be any convincing for a landmark event like this, but it seemed in every direction you looked, you were surrounded by eager, loving fans who have been crossing off each passing day on their calendar. What I’m trying to say, is that it was simply impossible to just stumble into Telluride and decide to attend this two night event on a whim. You had to make a concerted effort to be in attendance, and the feeling was tangible.
What we were all witnesses to over these two nights, were in my mind, the best two sets I’ve ever seen from Pretty Lights. Once steadfast in my preference for the DJ set, I’m now forever converted to a lover of the PL Analog Future Band. Watching Derek be the quarterback up on stage…orchestrating the band, seeing the flowing conversation on the personal stage mic so every member knows what the other is doing…it was very much like watching a finely tuned machine in action. Not missing a beat and being on the same page at every turn, at every impromptu live edit, you’d swear this group of musicians were touring together for 20+ years.
Seamlessly grooving through track after track of PL gold, the live band played three hours each night, minus ~20 minute set break. Starting it all off with “Gold Coast Hustle” (now a personal favorite) and ending the weekend with “Yellow Bird” into “We Must Go On”, it was abundantly clear Derek and the band had a theme/message they wanted to stick to for the special occasion. Every song went with the last, blended perfectly, and contributed to the story Derek and his compadres were trying to tell.
We could be here all day talking about the non-musical side of the weekend, but it was truly the extracurricular activities that made the weekend what it was. Camping in Town Park was nearly a vacation in itself; it was as if you weren’t camping at a festival. Instead, you were on a weekend camping trip with your friends in the Rocky Mountains and also happened to have two nights of PLM to look forward to. From the free gondola rides to the top of the mountain, to the extremely pleasant townspeople, to the jaw-dropping setting, it all blended together to form a feeling unique from anything I’ve ever experienced.
It’s rare when expectations are exceeded when they’re placed so high, but all in all that’s exactly what was the case. Derek was on point, the band was on point, Lazershark blew minds, and the town of Telluride played the role of host as wonderfully as anyone could’ve hoped for. A big thank you to the town of Telluride, DVS, Adam Deitch, Borahm Lee, Eric Krasno, Brian Coogan, Eric “Benny” Bloom and Scott Flynn for their performances on stage and for making this a possibility. With any luck Telluride 2016 will come to fruition, and you can be sure we’ll make the trip all over again.
(all photography credited to Djivan Schapira of B.a.D Photography)
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