Pretty Lights Returns: Find Out What Went Down At 1st Shows Since 2018

When Derek Vincent Smith decided to take a hiatus in August 2018 after 10 years of sold-out Red Rocks shows and a decade of touring the world, there was a distinct void left in his absence in the music scene. The remarkable sound that was forged by fusing soul music from the ‘60s, psychedelic rock from the ‘70s, funk and disco from the ‘80s, hip-hop from the ‘90s and the electronic sounds that took over the world in the 2000s is just too ambitious in its scope to be pulled off successfully, or with as much ease as Smith himself makes it seem. Quite frankly, there is nothing like Pretty Lights out there.

It was in his absence that it became abundantly clear to the community of fans that there was no other musical project that would be able to step into the role that PL had left behind. Not only the sound either, but the quality of the production, innovation of visuals, and the constant pushing of the envelope that the Pretty Lights Live Band was known for stood the test of time that even in their hiatus no one else was able to fully replicate that feeling.

It was inevitable that in early 2023, whispers of things being worked on started to surface within the community. From innovative lidar-inspired visuals to the venues being talked about in a possible tour, all the way to Michal Menert, the original co-founder of the Pretty Lights project, finally teaming back up with Smith to work on a new album and the resurrection of the band.

All these rumors were suddenly confirmed when, after more than five years of silence, a video was finally uploaded to the PL social media accounts. This video was not only a preview of a new song called “Road To The Stars” in which Smith sings a modified version of Johnny Cash’s verse from “Highwayman” through a vocoder but was also an announcement of a fall tour full of three-day events across some of the most awe-inspiring new venues in the country.

The embers of fandom were instantly reignited in what was about to become the most anticipated music experience within the community. After such a long wait, the four months between the announcement and the first comeback show at the Mission Ballroom in Denver almost seemed to fly by. The Pretty Lights Live Band finally returned on August 4 with original founding members Derek Vincent Smith on analog synthesizers and Michal Menert on keys and guitar, alongside long-time collaborators and band members Alvin Ford Jr. on drums, Borahm Lee on keys and synthesizers and Chris Karns on turntable scratching and samples.

For the visual experience, Greg Ellis, also known as Lazershark (and the unofficial sixth member of the band), once again returned to helm lights and lasers. This newest iteration of the stage production could be seen as more minimalistic, with an array of light bars around the band members onstage focusing most of the spectacle into the absolutely massive screen that took over the backdrop behind the band. It really cemented itself as the windshield from which to experience the journey this spaceship was about to embark on.

Sharing the spotlight alongside Lazershark this time around was Jack Hurley, also known as Anti-Alias, who was responsible for the on-screen visuals throughout the show. Everything from the oscilloscope image displaying the signal from Smith’s modular synthesizers at work, to Eric Mintzer’s 3D scanned lidar mapping of the band filtered through trippy Touch Designer manipulations, or the wild live cinematic footage of both the band and the crowd from Isaac Schultz and Laine Kelly, Anti-Alias perfectly curated the most innovative iteration of the video visual experience that Pretty Lights has put on to date.

A special shoutout must be given to Tomas Morgan of Butter Creations, who piloted the Lucid Stream aspect of the shows to broadcast the concert in real-time to an average of 10,000 viewers per night. The quality of the streams was so wild that it actually became a completely new way to experience the show that was just as cool as being there in person. There were watch parties all over the world interacting not only with each other but with members of the band and production crew.

When the band finally took the stage that Friday night at a packed Mission Ballroom, five years of pent-up anticipation exploded when Smith addressed the crowd to say he had a message he wanted to say with a brand new song. “Omega Children,” one of the new songs he produced with Menert, set off the beginning of the show with a beautiful sample stating “You brought sunshine to my sky when there was rain, you brought joy where there was only pain.” When the horn samples and a funky guitar laid the beat down immediately after, there was no doubt left in the building that the sound we had been missing for so long was finally back, and better than ever.

That was followed by a more downtempo track “Old Corolla” that served as the perfect way to slow things down before Smith decided to play the first classic track from his enormous discography. A topic of heavy discussion in the ramp-up to this event, “Still Night” was a top contender to be granted this honor, being the opener to one of his most critically acclaimed albums, Glowing In The Darkest Night. As soon as the piano intro started playing and those inside the venue realized what was coming next the crowd erupted in cheers. There are few moments as magical as four thousand people screaming the lyrics to a song in unison, and the catharsis of that moment was palpable in the building.

“The Sun Spreads In Our Mind,” a staple track that defined the era of the Live Band in 2016 and 2017 followed soon after. The resonating sample of “We’ve been living in the dark,” building up the crescendo of the song had never felt more appropriate than after five years of absence. In a set that was heavy on tracks from Glowing, there was nothing more appropriate than “Shining Bright Despite the Plight” and “So Much In The Dark” to fill up the rest of the first set.

But it was the last song of that set that stole the show. “Understand Me Now” started playing and it was apparent that as the last song the band played before the hiatus, they wanted to pay homage to such a special track within the community by jamming, flipping and remixing it for almost 20 minutes before taking a break.

The second set started with a surprisingly downtempo intro for “Hot Like Sauce,” a track that’s mostly known for spreading the Pretty Lights sound around college parties across the country circa 2008. Just as unexpected was a rather uptempo version of “Cold Feeling” that set off the dance party that was about to take over for the rest of the night.

It became evidently clear at that moment that the band had spent the last few months of rehearsals deconstructing their own songs and completely changing the mood and vibe before putting them back together. Turning hype songs chill and downtempo songs into bangers was definitely not something I was expecting, but was greatly appreciated.

The highlight of the set was the three-song section that started off when the song from the announcement video, “Road To The Stars” started playing. It seemed like every single person in the building sang the lyrics alongside Smith as if it was a song we had been listening to for years already. This was followed by a rendition of “So Bright,” a song often remembered as the first single from A Color Map Of The Sun more than a decade ago, that was mind-blowingly mashed up with SBTRKT’s “Wildfire.”

At this moment it became abundantly clear that no matter how many times we heard each song, this tour, they were all gonna sound completely different from anything we knew. “Free Stomp,” another new song that instantly became a fan favorite came next. More on the chill side, but very hip hop vibe heavy, this track is the epitome of sample collaging that only producers like Smith and Menert can completely nail so consistently and successfully.

As the encore for the first Pretty Lights comeback show, there was only one song that could rightfully take that spot. A track that many had been waiting to hear live for five long years, one that for a lot of the fan base was the first track that really hooked them into the sound and a lifelong journey, a song that was in previous years the staple of any PL live show, and one that would never again be more appropriate than the first Pretty Lights experience in 2023. “More Important Than Michael Jordan” started playing and the building went wild.

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The second day started off with a psychedelic rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine,” setting the vibe for experimentation right from the start. “How We Do” instantly lit up the crowd right after, an anthem that’s an explicit shout-out to a community that has organically blossomed around the music for almost two decades now. An unexpected surprise happened not long after when the band played “Starfall” from Michal Menert’s debut album Dreaming Of A Bigger Life, leaving the door open to hearing more of Menert’s solo project in the future.

Another track that stole the show was a dark new song called “Time To Build A Home” that is almost reminiscent of what “Glowing In The Darkest Night” would have sounded like if Menert had been there to co-produce it back in 2010. Developing on Smith’s most recent sound style of singing sample covers through a vocoder, “Sound of Silence” was played for the first time ever to an uproar of excitement as the crowd instantly realized this new track was about to become the staple banger during the Spaceship Soundsystem Tour.

The night ended with an amazing half-hour section that featured a few of the most classic Pretty Lights tracks of all time. First off was “Everything In Its Right Place,” a fan favorite from the Radiohead, Nirvana, and Nine Inch Nails remixes that were never officially released. “High School Art Class,” the opening song to Spilling Over Every Side and one of the tracks most personal to Smith himself came next with an amazing downtempo chilled-out portion improvised in the middle. Even more appropriately, the honor of the last song was given to “Finally Moving,” the one song that put Pretty Lights on the map back in 2006 and that has remained to this day their most famous song to date. Those inside the Mission Ballroom sang their hearts out to it before we called it a night.

The final night of the comeback shows started in a completely different and positive way when Smith asked the crowd to kickstart the night off with a quick breathing exercise before jumping straight into “The Time Has Come.” The band soon went into a fully improvised jam around a sample from Sublime’s “Smoke Two Joints” before diving into a “World of Illusion” version that was mashed up with Dr. Fresch’s “Kung Fu” to effortlessly steal the moment as one of the highlights of the show.

“Sunday’s Child,” another new song that samples “Fu Gee La” by the Fugees and “Ring Ring” by De La Soul to create the most dreamy and ethereal vibe that makes you wanna spark a joint with your friends soon became one of the most replayed moments of the night. It’s an amazing experience to find a slow downtempo jam that actually kind of goes that hard and was the perfect segue into “Vibe Vendetta.”

Among the most anticipated songs to hear before the weekend was over was “Keep Em Bouncin,’” another heavy old-school track that the band took the opportunity to shine a light on it by dedicating almost 20 minutes to it and ending this banger by turning it into a downtempo jam.

“Gold Coast Hustle” was turned into an experimental jam that incorporated elements from the Ramones, Beastie Boys and Silk Sonic to effortlessly become a completely different song by the end. A beautiful rendition of “Out Of Time” that used recordings from the Colorado Symphony during its intro also became a highlight moment of the night.

The band decided to end the three-day show with the last single Pretty Lights released, 2017’s “Only Yesterday,” which became the recap video for the Episodic Tour stop in Telluride. Smith introduced the song by mentioning that even though it talks about the ending of things, this new phase of the Pretty Lights experience was just getting started.

There was a very special moment at the end of the show when the band gathered at the front of the stage to thank the crowd, a moment in which Smith usually shouts out the whole crew onstage and offstage that works into putting the show together. This time though, without skipping a beat he handed the microphone over to Michal Menert and gave him the honor of thanking everyone, a moment that emphasized his return to the Pretty Lights project after a long 15 years away.

Smith himself had few words after that, choosing to embrace the community with a beautiful message; “The opposite of addiction is connection, so plug into your community, breathe more air, exercise, and choose love in every moment.”

While the Mission Ballroom shows were above and beyond expectations of what a Pretty Lights comeback would feel like, it was abundantly clear that this tour was going to progressively get better with every stop. For those lucky enough to attend the second weekend in Colorado at the breathtaking Dillon Amphitheater, things were just getting started, and as crazy as it sounds, the Mission was just a warmup for what was about to unfold up in the Rocky Mountains.

In the same way that he started the last day of the Mission, the first day of Dillon was introduced by Smith with another breathing exercise. “Always All Ways,” a favorite from the A Color Map Of The Sun album kicked the weekend off before dedicating a good portion of the set to chill and downtempo tracks from the upcoming new album titled “Chasing Rainbows,” “Regular Priority” and “New Heights.”

“Let Em Know It’s Time To Go” from Passing By Behind Your Eyes came on and those inside the amphitheater realized this was about to quickly turn into a dance party. “B-Rock,” an old track that is very seldom played and almost feels forgotten came next, with the band turning it into a more uptempo and dancey version than how it appears in the album. One of the best moments of the night came next when it effortlessly transitioned into one of the most sought-after Pretty Lights tracks in the whole discography, “Take The Sun Away.”

An open-air amphitheater in the middle of the mountains of Colorado sets the ideal backdrop to a night of live music, and the band did not miss the opportunity to use the venue as part of the visual experience by playing songs about the sun, a recurring theme among Pretty Lights songs, while witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets. The band enjoyed this geographical motif so much that it kept the theme going all three days of the weekend’s Sunset Shows Trilogy.

The second set of the first day developed on the theme with a fan favorite moment from the Gorge Amphitheater Episodic Tour back in 2017 when “Don’t Take My Sunshine” started playing in the pitch dark of night. The only Pretty Lights track that has had to be taken offline due to sample clearing issues during the release of Filling Up The City Skies back in 2008 was “Speaking Of Happiness,” another fan favorite that is always a sleeper hit for people who have never heard this track since its unfortunate removal from the album. Even though this is a song with a pretty sad meaning in its lyrics, it embodies the funk dance party vibe that Pretty Lights has always been known for and there was no better way to increase the energy inside the amphitheater for the rest of the night.

The night ended with what will be remembered as one of the most legendary sections in PL setlist history when the Pink Floyd “Time Remix,” the John Denver “Country Roads Remix,” and the Steve Miller Band “Fly Like An Eagle Remix” were played back-to-back-to-back.

The second day at the Dillon Amphitheater opened with a special “Finally Moving,” which was a rare sight this early as this song is usually reserved for the climax of shows towards the end of the night. Some of the new songs heard in the first set were a couple of new downtempo tracks called “World Is A Cinema” and “YNDIO,” but “Omega Children,” the track that opened the whole tour at the Mission Ballroom was also played much to the crowd’s delight.

“Ask Your Friends,” another song that’s seen as an anthem for the die-hard fans also made an early appearance. “Look Both Ways” and “Still Rockin” were another two fan favorites from the 2010 EP trilogy era that people were hoping to cross off their list of must-haves, right before “Go Down Sunshine” closed out the first set yet again basking in the beautiful sunset that engulfed the venue before dark.

The second set had the perfect balance with two old-school classics from Passing By Behind Your Eyes with “Who Loves Me” and “City Of One,” another couple of songs that don’t get nearly as much playtime in the live setting rotation that they deserve. “Almost Familiar” instantly became one of the most beautiful songs of the whole weekend with its nostalgic but surreal optimism filling the chilly evening breeze. One of the few repeats from the previous weekend was “Understand Me Now,” but the two versions could not have been more different, with the Dillon rendition being ultra-minimalistic and more ethereal in its deconstruction.

Once again, Smith closed out the show with three back-to-back classic remixes to set off a dance party that anyone in town could join by playing a Tommy Steward “Bump N Hustle Remix,” the Ashford & Simpson “Don’t Cost You Nothing Remix,” and ending with the Grateful Dead “Shakedown Street Remix” to cap off the second of three nights at the Dillon Amphitheater.

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The last night of the weekend came faster than hoped, but the crowd was definitely excited to see what tracks had been saved for the last day of the Colorado shows. The first set started on a pretty chill vibe with tracks like “Aimin At Your Head” and “Double Love,” and the band continued on that same feeling by playing a staple of the Analog Future band with “So Gangster,” a track that had not been heard live since Telluride in 2015.

One of the undisputable most hype moments of both weekends occurred when Alvin Ford Jr. stole the show during the drum solo sections of “Color Of My Soul,” a moment that was loudly cheered on by not only the crowd but all his bandmates on stage as well. The band proceeded to play some of their new songs with “Old Corolla” making a comeback from The Mission Ballroom, while also debuting two new tracks “People Drifting” and “Butterfly.”

The rest of the set was filled with two of the hardest hitting hip-hop heavy tracks, “Can’t Stop Me Now” and “Fly Away Another Day,” before slowing things down with “Evening Sun,” a rarely heard track that has been an underground hit with the fanbase, as well as “Samso,” a song that is special to Smith and Menert due to a backpacking journey across Europe they took in their youth. It was during this trip that the vision for Pretty Lights was born and when they began working on their first album Taking Up Your Precious Time.

The last spot of the sunset set was graciously given to one of the most iconic tracks in the whole discography, “Gazing At The Glare,” for which the overcast skies appropriately parted ways and delivered the most beautiful sunset of the weekend.

The final set of the weekend opened with another amazing rendition of “The Sun Spreads In Our Minds” to start things off with a bang, followed by the now iconic “Road To The Stars” track that has become the soundtrack to the 2023 Pretty Lights experience.

“Free Stomp,” one of the most popular new songs came back to the crowd’s delight as everyone collectively fell in love with a new PL song together before the band started an almost half an hour section of improvisational jams that was fueled by Menert’s computer dying three songs into the night.

“The Sound Of Silence” once again made an appearance and automatically became the hottest track of the weekend for the second tour stop in a row. As the evening and the whole weekend was drawing to a close the band came out with a banger version of “Hot Like Sauce,” an appropriate ending for arguably the one song that put Pretty Lights on the map among college kids fifteen years ago. Smith proceeded to enthusiastically shout out all the band members and production crew before thanking the town of Dillon for welcoming us into their little slice of heaven for a wonderful weekend of music in the mountains.

After a five-year absence from the live music world, there was no better way to blast off into a full season of Pretty Lights for the rest of the year than those two weekends in Colorado. It is almost hard to believe it was even better than anything we could have imagined in our wildest dreams. The best part though, is that this is just getting started.

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Source: JamBase.com