Skrillex Cell Gray Daze Tour
With support from Alvin Risk & Zane Lowe
Venue: Bristol o2 Academy
Date: 16/02/2012
Jon Shorter and Patrick Dear
The Skrillex Cell Gray Daze Tour is ex-From First To Last frontman Sonny Moore’s second global tour as Skrillex, now hitting 11 cities across the UK.
In late 2010, Skrillex took to the global dance arena with his Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP, paving the way for his explosive and unique trademark blend of Electronica, Glitch and Dubstep to take centre-stage in 2011. His hard work was rewarded in December as the BBC announced his nomination for their ‘Sound of 2012′ poll, a week before MTV announced him as their EDM Artist of the Year.
The 12 night UK leg of the tour sees Skrillex perform with a raft of top support acts. We were left nothing-but-impressed as Zane Lowe buzzed around Bristol’s o2 Academy stage whipping the audience up into a frenzy with a mix as manic as his hyperbolic radio style. It’s hard to think up a better segue into Skrillex’s high-energy set.
Taking to the stage with his Macbook Pro and M-Audio Trigger Finger controller, Sonny stood on a raised platform in front of an LED screen backdrop. Maybe stood isn’t the best word – his feet rarely made contact with the ground. Bouncing like Tigger on a double-espresso, he dropped hit after hit, maintaining the pace right to the end.
The sound system held out, doing justice to his signature talking bassline synth’s and the crowd went mental, crying out ‘Oh my god!’ and ‘Call 911 now!’ in perfect unison when the opportunities arose. Blue and green lasers fired from either side of the stage as chart toppers ‘Nero – Promises’ and ‘Avicci – Levels’ were covered in Skrillex’s distinct style. The show neared it’s climax with ‘Reptile’ – a personal favourite, before the final track, a remix of Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites. Everyone, including those lucky enough to be going to the after-party at Lakota, left the building yearning for more.
2012 will be, without a doubt, Skrillex’s year. With his new OWSLA label showcasing new releases from the likes of Skream, The M Machine and Bristol producers Koan Sound, love him or hate him, he’s firmly bedded in with the EDM elite and we can’t wait to hear what’s in store
