Fan Journal: Bonobo & Nick Murphy (Chet Faker) at Red Rocks Amphitheatre

  • By Matt Donnelly | Wednesday, May 17th, 2017
Fan Journal: Bonobo and Chet Faker at Red Rocks

Ever since my first time visiting Red Rocks more than five years ago, it has been a dream of mine to see a concert there. My older brother lives just a few miles from Red Rocks and I’ve been trying to plan a visit around a concert I wanted to see. Luckily for me, a work trip this week allowed me the opportunity to bring along my wife for the weekend and witness the Bonobo and Nick Murphy/Chet Faker concert last Friday, May 12th. We were joined by ShowClix’s Head of Business Development, Jason Mastrine, and his wife…which was awesome!

We arrived during the second opener’s set, which was the surprising but very cool Innov Gnawa. As their website states, “Innov Gnawa is a young musical collective dedicated to exploring Morocco’s venerable gnawa music tradition.” The group was comprised of six gentlemen, all of them singing with one playing the sintir (similar to a guitar) and another playing the cajon (type of drum). It was a really cool opening act and set the tone for a very different night of music.

The third act, Nick Murphy aka Chet Faker, was my personal favorite because I knew his music most intimately. He was joined by a full band and rolled through his most popular songs like “Drop The Game” and “Talk Is Cheap” while also experimenting with some of the tracks off his new EP, Missing Link, which he released 3 days prior to the show. Halfway through his set, the skies opened up and a mix of rain and hail poured down on the crowd. I have to say, the short storm really added to my first Red Rocks experience!

Last up was Bonobo. I was unsure what his setup would be like and was pleasantly surprised to see that he too was joined by a full band. The icing on the cake was the accompaniment of members from the Denver Symphony Orchestra for his performance – so cool. My wife and I used Bonobo’s set as an opportunity to move around the venue for some different views, which was essential for me as a concert production nerd. Watching roughly 9,000 people dance in the stage lighting with a backdrop of giant red rocks was truly an amazing sight. I’ve seen a lot of concerts in my 30 years of existence but that is one that I will never forget (even with my horrible memory)!