Dirtybird Records’ travelling BBQ made its first ever stop in Colorado this past Saturday, September 12th for a finger lickin’ good time. At 2pm the gates opened and hundreds of hungry house fans flooded into the tailgating lot just outside of Sports Authority Field, home to the Denver Broncos. The vibe from the Denver crowd was palpably tasty and in high dance mode gear, despite the sweltering heat of the midday sun. Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, J.Phlip, Too $hort, Worthy, Justin Jay and Mark Starr are all the necessary ingredients for the perfect day-time get down, with no shortage of tasty beats and BBQ treats.
First plan of action: obtain a hotdog. Second: head to the front of the stage and never look back. Justin Jay was dominating the early crowd of Dirtybird fans. To put it simply, Justin Jay’s set was a funky yet hyphy as hell introduction to an afternoon of bird house take-over. To add a zesty kick of techno to the lineup was Worthy, who got myself and fellow BBQ goers to cheer him on throughout his entire hour-long performance. After Worthy’s tech-nique came special guest and northern California rapper, Too $hort, who rhymed his way through his old to his new and everything in between. He came onto the stage with one resounding statement; bitch is his favorite word. Soon enough the ever-growing sea of people were chanting the word from the front to the back; clearly the party was really starting to pick-up. Who better than J.Phlip to keep the fire burning with some beautifully raw tech-house spun by her beautiful little self? The lone female Dirtybird player made the BBQ extra saucy in warming up the stage for main courses Justin Martin and big daddy Claude VonStroke.
As Justin Martin took to the decks, the once crowded port-o-potties and backed up bar lines were suddenly deserted. Everyone was trying to get a good view of the man that was making the deep house bump throughout Denver. Never disappointing his fans, Justin inspired the utmost wild dancing circles and roars of approval from his crowd. Sticking to what he does best, Justin read the crowd like a book- one thing that sets him apart from your average house DJ. His experience in reading the crowd’s movements has made his sets famously on point. And to that, we thank you. To close out the night was Dirtybird’s founder, Claude VonStroke, who took the last hour of the night and turned it on its head. Dropping “Make a Cake”, his mix of The Chemical Brothers’ “Go” and of course “Big Ten” and “Barrump” made this a classic VonStroke Dirtybird ho-down. In a quick shift in taste buds, Claude decided to take Denverites down to the dirty land of DnB for his last track. What a tastefully grimy way to end the Front Range’s first Dirtybird BBQ. Satisfied but forever craving their next visit.
Written by: Melanie Gordon
Photographer: Lee Potter
Note* All photos used in this article are property of Bass Feeds the Soul