NW – Illenium at the Cuthbert Ampitheater
I haven’t been to the Cuthbert Ampitheater in over a year since my very first event there
I was excited to go back as the amphitheater was in the center of a beautiful courtyard. For my reunion with the venue on Friday, May 18th, I was able to see some of my favorite artists, Big Wild and Illenium. The last time I saw Illenium was back in November when he was on tour and shortly after at Lost Lands. After being blown away twice before, I knew I couldn’t miss Illenium.
The traffic to Eugene, Oregon was really backed up and we weren’t able to make it to the event until right at the start of Big Wild’s set. He started with a delightful remix of All My Friends by Snakehips which was the perfect song to walk in on. There was an array of colors surrounding a sphere that proceeded to blink and transform into different shades. My favorite moment was when he played Show Me and sang along with some of the tune. When the drop of the song came, there were explosions of vibrant hues on the screen that could almost imitate galaxies. Or when he played When I Get There, the entire crowd started getting down to the funk of the bass. I was sad that he played the version of Aftergold without Tove Styrke but it also made it fun to terribly sing the lyrics with my group.
Illenium started his set right as the sun started setting. The intro started with a phoenix rising up from its ashes and soaring with a trail of flames across the screen as Crawl Outta Love played. He then stated “If you love that vibey shit let me see those hands in the sky!” as he hit the drop for “Where’d You Go” with amber lights flashing and golden clouds floating across the screen.
Sound of Walking Away began shortly after blending the two songs together and dropped his new mix with 1788-L – Sound of Where’d U Go. Green lights engulfed the crowd as flashing strobe lights followed suit with dubstep that could melt the face off of any prime head banger. One of my favorite moments had to have been when he played his remix of the Chainsmokers Don’t Let Me Down and everyone in the crowd unified together and sang the lyrics in perfect harmony.
The highlight of the night had to be when Illenium played his and Excision’s song together for the first time ever live,
“I’m playing this because my friend Excision will be playing this at EDC Las Vegas tomorrow”
I remember him saying as gold poured over the screen as a soft voice harmonized and a drop exclaiming,
“Is it stupid that I love you?”,
and gold lights illuminated the sky. This show proved to be one that no Illenium in the Pacific North West will want to have missed.
-Jeffrey Davis
Courtesy of Red Cube
