On Friday, May 15th, Opiuo (real name Oscar Davey-Wraight) filled Denver’s Mission Ballroom with funky, booty-shaking bass.
Born in New Zealand, Davey-Wraight recently made Colorado his home. His fans know that he typically brings the Opulent Orchestra to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre each year. This spring, he chose to switch things up by playing a handful of different venues in the city with sets of different styles each night. On Thursday, he played a throwback set at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom. On Saturday, he played a downtempo set at The Black Box.
For his Mission Ballroom show on Friday, McWavy (real name Sarah McAndrew), TF Marz (real name Marley Schwartz), and Moontricks (real names Nathan Gurley and Sean Rodman) were also on the lineup.
McWavy and TF Marz Get the Show Started
The Mission Ballroom is located in the River North (RiNo) Art District. This unique venue has a flexible capacity between 2,200 and almost 4,000. Doors to the venue opened at 7:00 PM, with McAndrew starting her set at 7:40 PM. This set included live vocals and live instrumentation, including a saxophone to set the tone for the night. She also debuted new music during her set.
People were still gradually filling up the venue when Schwartz started his set. The back tiered seating area was full at this point, but there was still plenty of room on the main floor. Schwartz blends hip-hop, R&B, and bass music to create a distinctive sound. He also founded the Denver-based all:Lo Collective. Abstract visuals flashed on the LED wall behind the decks, and multi-colored lights shone into the venue.
Moontricks Heat Things Up
Originally from Canada, the duo Moontricks took the stage next. These two are no strangers to the state of Colorado, so they arrived to a warm welcome. In fact, a few people in the crowd had mentioned coming to the show just to see this duo. By the time their set started, the venue was full. That being said, everyone had plenty of space to navigate through the crowd and dance.
Gurley and Rodman produce what they call “backwoods bass,” which is a mix between folk and electronic music. During their set, they mixed live instrumentation and vocals with mixing. A couple of notable tracks they played were “Mountains” and “Home.” They also brought out special guests David Satori from Dirtwire and Danny Musengo.
OPIUO Takes Us Home
Finally, it was time for Opiuo! After a short changeover, the excitement in the venue was palpable. “Good evening, Denver!” he said. Everyone in the room was moving and grooving. Hardly anyone had their phones out, which was refreshing to see.
The stage setup was spellbinding. Davey-Wraight was up on an elevated platform in front of the LED wall and surrounded by spaceship-looking industrial panels. Coming out from the centerpiece where he stood were multicolored, swirly light pieces that wove outwards towards the sides of the stage. Then, on the sides, there were light bars on the top and bottom of the stage. These pointed vertical light beams at one another, creating beautiful, wavy light curtains. And of course, lasers blasted into the venue from multiple points.
Davey-Wraight was so excited and happy throughout the entire set, and his energy was extremely contagious. He had an amazing stage presence, keeping the crowd engaged for the rest of the night! A few tracks on hus setlist were “Sneakers,” “SATELLITE” with Wreckno, and “TALA ROCKET,” which he named after his daughter.
At one point in his set, Davey-Wraight paused to share his gratitude for the city of Denver with everyone in the room. “I don’t know if you guys understand what this place means to a lot of people who make and play music. The support here is something else,” he said. He truly took us on a journey, with different sounds, tempos and energies evolving from one track to the next.
All of “My Friends” Hope to See OPIUO Again Soon!
Davey-Wraight’s curated evening at the Mission Ballroom was simply fantastic. There was comfortable room to dance, the crowd was kind, and the production was stellar. Of course, the music was also incredible from start to finish!
Next year, he’ll hopefully put on another headlining show. Whether it’s at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre or another iconic venue in the Denver area, it’s sure to impress.
Opiuo is playing a bunch of festivals this summer. Visit his website for tour dates and tickets!
Photos by Kyle Bocker
