In Bloom 3: Sprung
review by orange peel moses
images by Sean Hartgrove, MLAPhotonix.com & Nevada Lee
We ain’t afraid of no bullets, and we weren’t afraid to prove it this past Saturday night at Beyond and Spy where In Bloom 3: Sprung, Image publisher Greg Bloom’s namesake soiree/S.I.N. appreciation shindig, went off in a big way for the third straight year. Judging by the butter-thick vibe, you’d have thought every partygoer was issued their own complimentary Kevlar vest upon entry. Actually, it was the cocktails that were complimentary, per tradition, in Spy, the event’s official VIP lounge and its primo party real estate for the majority of the evening (no thanks to the half-naked models being airbrushed by Glitter Freckle’s Kelsie Young-Ibarra in Spy’s flirting & foreplay conducive communal washroom;). Aspen’s own DJ Kirk Hartley K.O.’ed the sound of silence with some choice down tempo tunes, conspiring early on with Unvail Candles to set the mood for impending debauchery and warming up the woofers and tweeters for a veritable mile high super group, an all-star jam session featuring Friends in Stereo’s Colin Chapman laying down the laptop dance beats for myself and special guest collaborators—axe tapper Sammy T and fellow melody belter Melinda Dickson. Dickson’s hoop skirt was a bona-fide hit and my “Sunglasses at Night” shades probably got more play than any other single accessory.
As the models began gradually filtering into the adjoining “remodel-in-progress” for the big runway climax, the red-blooded revelers not so surprisingly followed suit. Bloom checked the microphone and graciously thanked everyone he could think of— presenting sponsor Ciroc, then Crown Royal Special Reserve, Bud Select, Peels, Roaring Lion Energy Drink, Scion and the always amazing, never disappointing Ty Tomlinson and his Blanc Salon, whose hair and make-up handiwork was nothing short of spectacular; fashion show producers Veloce, thread providers Cira & Octane, Avelon Entertainment’s dancers and Bloom’s faithful employees were included, also a quick shout out to his visiting old man and spousal unit. Avelon’s break dancers then took turns busting out fly footwork, freezes, backspins and windmills to the tune of Chi Chi's spot on rhythmic embellishment, before wowing the near capacity crowd with some dope partner choreography. Finally, the grand finale had arrived. The hottest of the hotties confidently strutted their dolled to-the-nines/logo-airbrushed bodies out onto Beyond’s main stage and temporary risers. Skin was in plentiful supply and cleavage was peeking out from multiple directions. And it was good. As if the room’s temperature wasn’t hot enough already, one of Colorado’s finest fire spinners—Melinda (not to be confused with the aforementioned singer of the same name)—lit up the platform with some actual flames, giving the girls backstage a bit of a breather. The show’s homestretch was now on the visible horizon. One more jaunt around the catwalk and the entire banging bunch was soon assembled in a single jaw-dropping gang, while Image shutterbugs snapped the last of their shots and onlookers misplaced a bit more druel. After the show, DJ Tommy B let loose with some good old-fashioned four on the floor, but much of the juiciest action migrated back to the more intimate Spy for the remainder of the party.
As In Bloom 3 may be one of the last events in either of the two venues before the approaching dramatic format shift, going out with a bang was the only way to do it. As for the unnamed motor mouth who divulged my stage name’s supposed origin to a smoking cocktailer named Deanna… God, Krishna, Mohammed, Buddha & Sponge Bob bless you :)
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