Weaving through Denver Music, Art, Culture, and Life
Live reviews of Denver shows, including both local and national acts.
Great Lake Swimmers’ beautifully sparse folk seemed more than a little incongruous among the torn paper and haphazardly stapled flyers on the walls of the Larimer Lounge last Wednesday night.
The full eight-member band proved as much at the Ogden Theatre on Friday night with a resplendent performance of more than 25 songs that more than wiped the slate clean.
You couldn’t ask for a more apt pairing of bands than Tuesday’s Bluebird Theater lineup of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and Future of the Left — particularly in size. Both feature overwhelming avalanches of pure volume, corrupted beautifully by strong melodies and ferocious rock rhythms. And both have a stage sound that can never be replicated on record.
While last Saturday’s Hi-Dive show was originally setup to celebrate the release of Palmer’s first solo CD, “Postcard,” circumstances cast a sort of pall over it that made it seem more like a goodbye party than a debut.
Now in their 25th year together, the Hoboken trio have a cache of music that crosses and re-crosses genres but always remains within their own style. Their show featured Ira Kaplan’s signature reverb and tremolo-drenched guitar and overloud keyboards supporting his often sparse vocals, backed up by wife Georgia Hubley on drums and vocals and James McNew on bass and guitar.
If you’d never seen Butthole Surfers before last Friday night’s show at the Ogden, then you were treated to a mild spectacle. On the other hand, if this show was a chance for you to revisit the band after their many years away from stages (as it was for me), chances are you found yourself more than a little disappointed. After existing almost entirely upon a reputation for wild, often violent and over-the-top live shows and a general band attitude that matched, their somnambulistic performance that night just didn’t cut it.
If you’re familiar with Radio 1190 (KVCU Boulder, The University of Colorado at Boulder’s independent station) in general, or their weekly Friday afternoon show dedicated to the local scene in particular, you already have a pretty good idea of the significance of this release. “Local Shakedown, Vol 3,” is the third installment of the radio station’s compilation of the best of the local best, and this year’s promises to be the best so far.
Sian Alice Group filled the Hi-Dive last Tuesday with a resplendent sound that coaxed visions of quiet, snow-filled night streets as easily it did hot, tribal raves in the desert. Unfortunately, their tremendous performance was about all that filled the venue, as the crowd was far smaller than it should have been, even for a school night.
