Her name has never been more fitting; Alison took the crowd into a Wonderland at the Bluebird Theatre on Monday, February 29th. How often do you get to attend a show on a leap day? Well, it’s certainly a fabulous rarity.
Sydney based DJ, Golden Features, took the stage around 9:30 PM and set an effervescent ambiance that would linger throughout the evening. As the dance floor became jam-packed from left to right, Golden Features grabbed the entire crowd’s attention. As he closed with “Telescope”, the crowd playfully danced and fell into a daydream.
As 11:15 PM approached, Alison Wonderland emerged on stage and the roars of the masses reverberated the room. From her remix of Duke Dumont’s “Ocean Avenue” to Point Point’s “Real” to her original “I Want U”, the electricity in the theater didn't skip a beat. Moreover, she is not afraid to diversify her set list by including remixes of her own songs such as BLVK SHEEP’s future bass remix of “Already Gone” or taking song requests via Twitter (how awesome is that).
One of the undeniably magical aspects of her shows is that Alison Wonderland takes time to connect with the crowd. There is something enlivening about an artist who is so open and downright authentic. She expressed that she sings over her tracks in order to tell a story – her story. Her story about life happenstances and past relationships. Before dropping “U Don’t Know”, she voiced that there is nothing embarrassing about being depressed, anxious, or just really fucking sad sometimes. As I look around the room, I watched a section of the crowd squeeze their eyes shut and applaud her emboldening words. She reminded us that we would all find sunshine and with the power of these spoken words, she was able to unite the entire crowd.
Alison Wonderland always comes equipped with her sizable AW cutout letter screen. As the letters changed colors ranging from red, blue, purple, yellow, green, and white, it highlighted the stage and showcased a glow that turned her figure into a silhouette. The strobe lights were in perfect sync with her set. This allowed her to tell her story with the strobe lights corresponding to the mood of each song and each drop. What makes her even more impressive is that she live streams her mixing on stage on two upside down triangle screens.
Closing with Jamie XX’s “I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)”, you could hear the lyrics “there’s gonna be good times” echo throughout the room. With Colorado being one of the last stops on Alison’s The Run tour, Coloradans made damn sure she is welcomed back anytime for good times.
Written by: Kimberlyanne Tan
Photography by: Kimberlyanne Tan