VNV Nation Brings Their Electric Sun Tour To The Reel Works In Denver

One of the most popular venues in Denver called The Reel Works hosted opening act TRAITRS , an industrial 2 piece band from Canada and the legendary VNV Nation on Thursday night 4/18/2024. Located in the heart of downtown Denver , fans braved the random cold front and waited outside the venue to see VNV Nation do what they do best which was to give an astonishing performance. 

Once inside the venue fans were able to check their winter coats at the coat rack while being greeted with friendly employees and amazing customer services. The venue had three bar areas including one at the skyline upstairs . As more and more people began to fill the venue , the vibe of the entire place felt magical. 

The band TRAITRS opened the show . The duo is a post-punk band from Toronto comprised of Sean-Patrick Nolan and Shawn Tucker who are great friends and work well together .  Their vibe had a type of dark wave that made the goth audience enjoy the atmosphere. You could definitely hear an influential sound that reminded me so much of The Cure. The band did an amazing 45 minute set . They are a band that you’ll want to see over and over as they put on a great show . 

The fans gave a warm welcome to VNV Nation who hit the stage . The band opened their show with their classic hit “Before The Rain”, and played hit after hit such as my personal favorite to dance to called “Control”. As usual, VNV put on an amazing light show full of lasers which is part of their iconic look on stage .

During the first encore , lead vocalist Ronan Harris gave an emotional speech that was geared towards suicide prevention . He invited on stage an ASL interpreter named Dave Blue of Colorado to help perform the song called “ Illusion “. It was really nice seeing so many strangers give each other hugs and just knowing that it is always okay to ask for help if you are struggling with mental help. Ronan’s message was simply “you are not alone”.

During the second encore they played their iconic song “NOVA” which after speaking to a fan named David Mitchell of Denver stated “Back around 2012 when VNV Nation was on tour for their album ‘Automatic’ and one of the stops on the tour was a the Gothic Theater in Denver CO. One of the songs, “Nova” was performed at the show. During the show I had the thought during the chorus “shine, shine your light on me” to turn the flashlight on with my phone and shine it towards the stage. Upon doing this, more people did the same, and more, before long the whole venue pretty much was shining their light on the stage. Ronin explained that after that night, a video was taken during that song and by the time the next concert in Germany, people there saw it, and did the same thing with the lights and had now become a tradition.”  

VNV Nation is currently on tour . They will be performing at this years Sick New World in Las Vegas . This band will leave you wanting more and more . To check out a stop near you please visit https://vnvnation.com/live

Live photos by Ari Tomke for ZrockR Magazine 2024 – All Rights Reserved.