On May 16, German electro-reggae band Milky Chance performed on Carnegie Green at DU as part of the DU Programming Board’s MusicFest at May Days.
Milky Chance was originally a duo made up of Clemens Rehbein (vocals and guitar) and Phillipp Dausch (production and drums), but they added Antonio Greger this year for extra instrumentals. Greger mainly played guitar and harmonica at the DU show.
The show started off a little slow both in terms of songs and the crowd’s size and liveliness, but it only got better as the sun went down. A small group was there early, standing at the front of the stage, but most people arrived later.
Students trickled in from the surrounding residences and most likely from the DU lacrosse game that had just finished at Sports Authority Field. By the end of the show, the crowd was big enough that it was worth playing for. Unfortunately, it seemed like just as the crowd was really getting into it, the concert was over.
Milky Chance pumped up the crowd early by playing hit single “Flashed Junk Mind” in the first half of the set and then only continued to pick up from steam. Besides playing their best-known songs off their album “Sadnecessary”—“Sweet Sun” and “Stunner,”—they also performed a new, unnamed song.
“Stolen Dance,” which is easily Milky Chance’s biggest hit, was saved for the end. It was the last song they played before returning to perform an encore after the crowd starting chanting “one more song.” Another hit single, “Down By The River,” made an appearance during the encore, as did a turkey hat that Rehbein eventually threw back into the audience.
All three musicians played well; Rehbein and Greger both took multiple guitar solos and Gregor had multiple harmonica solos. While a harmonica isn’t exactly what one would associate with an electro-reggae-folk band, it works for Milky Chance.
Clouds threatened rain during the entire show, but luckily held off for its duration. The concert had somewhat of a festival-vibe: girls sitting on people’s shoulders, the outdoor venue, the clouds of smoke drifting over the crowd.
The DUPB-organized event seemed to run smoothly for the most part. Trading in tickets for wristbands and food vouchers at the entrance was somewhat chaotic, but the addition of food trucks—Amore Pizza and Fat Green Bowl—was a nice touch.
At the end of the concert, Rehbein declared the show to be “the best first university concert” the band had ever done. Neither Rehbein nor Dausch have attended college, but they were appropriately decked out in DU sweatshirts for the show, which was an unexpected and nice gesture on their part. A chance encounter with the band as I was leaving proved them to be fairly down-to-earth guys—and that Rehbein’s height really does mostly come from his hair.
Overall, the concert was a successful start to May Days, though it was fairly short. A list of the events to come can be found on DUPB’s Facebook page.
Milky Chance’s next Colorado show is this summer at Red Rocks. They will be playing on August 6 with Walk the Moon. Tickets are available on AXS.com.
