‘Lord of the Rings’-inspired rave at Cervantes is called ‘incredibly positive night’ leaning on international sounds

The toughest ticket in Denver last weekend was not to the Fan Expo Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, where several big-name cast members reunited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of “The Lord of the Rings” before about 5,000 fans on Sunday.

It was to see where Frodo went next.

Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins in the 2001 film, then moved the party over to Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom, where he and his “Wooden Wisdom” vinyl DJ project hosted “a Middle-earth-themed rave” for a packed house of about 1,500.

Both events sold out. But no one who showed up at Cervantes without a ticket on Sunday was getting anywhere near Wooden Wisdom – that’s the name of Wood’s DJ project alongside the acclaimed DJ Zach Cowie. One who did was Caleb Reed, by day the charming director of operations at French American School of Denver, by night a charming local actor who recently played Patsy in the Town Hall Arts Center’s production of “Monty Python’s Spamalot.”

Reed’s wife, Jessica, jumped at the chance to buy four tickets as a birthday present for Reed, who immediately reverted from 39 to 12-year-old form.

“I mean, the movies came out when I was 12, and they’re perfect,” he said with a laugh. “My best friends and I dressed up as characters from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ in high school. Separate from that, I love fantasy novels, and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is the Big Daddy for me.

“And: It holds up.”

When he heard about Sunday’s dance party, Reed admitted, “I got super-excited.” 

A “Middle-earth-themed rave” is described as an immersive, costume-friendly, fantasy-focused dance party inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.” These gatherings feature electronic music and costumes ranging from elves to ogres. Together, Wood and Cowie have developed a devoted following for their eclectic vinyl-only DJ sets that weave together rare musical gems, disco, beloved classics and deep cuts with a fantasy flair.

The evening, in Reed’s voice:

“People started lining up outside around 5 o’clock. By 8, they were just piling in. It was very communal. It had the same happy vibe as the Fan Expo, with people walking around and high-fiving and taking pictures.

“The opening DJ started at 8 o’clock, but no one was really dancing. And Elijah got there pretty late because of the Fan Expo. He and his partner started at about 10 o’clock. He didn’t talk much. It was a little bit like: ‘Hey, thanks for being here. I’m Elijah Wood. We’re Wooden Wisdom, and here’s music!”

“It was clearly just off the cuff. I would describe the first hour as world music. It wasn’t like drum-and-bass in any capacity, which is what I expected of something being sold as a rave. It was a lot more swaying, and I would say there was a decent amount of older music from, say, the 1960s to the ’80s. There was a little bit of funk, but not necessarily dancey funk.

“It was pretty intentionally international. There was definitely music in different languages. I left before it was over because I had work in the morning, but one of my friends texted me some of the more snarky highlights from the end, when it was a little bit more of what I first expected.

“Again, it was advertised as a fantasy-themed rave night, and at the end, he played David Bowie’s song from ‘Labyrinth’ and a little bit of Enya from the soundtrack before switching over to ‘Orinoco Flow.’ He finished with the ‘Never Ending Story’ theme song.”

I then asked Reed to describe the costumes, and he replied: Basically, everyone was in one. Reed dressed as Gandalf. “My wife was dressed as Frodo,” he said. “My buddy, Danny, was also dressed as Frodo – but with a cloak his mom made him back in 2001.”

I asked Reed what the most impressive fan costume was, and he reminded me that, in this context, “Impressive can take two meanings.”

Indeed.

“I’ll say there was a decent amount of dirty Gollum,” he said with a chuckle. “It was a little bit risqué – like, fishnets and Elvin. There were people who dressed as the tower itself, and that was pretty cool. I liked that. There were glowing lights on their heads. There was a dragon, and her wings lit up.”

Actually, there was one person conspicuously not in a costume: Wood.

“He was just in a T-shirt and jeans,” Reed said.

“In fact, there was almost nothing about the event itself that was actually fantasy-themed – at least not the way I kind of built it up in my head,” Reed said. “There was no patter to speak of, and I would say only minimal crowd interaction.”

As for Cervantes, he added: “I’d never been there, and I’ve got to tell you: Awesome venue. Very cool.”

I then asked Reed to sum up  the overall vibe of the night.

“It felt to me like it drew in a base of ‘Lord of the Rings’ fans more so than dance fans,” he said.

“I thought it was an incredibly positive night, and I think people were just happy to be there, regardless of the rave itself.” 

John Moore is the Denver Gazette’s Senior Arts Journalist. Email him at [email protected].