Photos by Michael Liggett
The Scene: The line wrapped all the way around the Fillmore Auditorium early last Saturday as Lotus fans made their way to the second show of the band’s two-night run in Denver. Many came early after missing the opener at the Friday show. Many complained about the early door times. As local show-goers, Denver kids are spoiled. We are used to late night shows and set after set of mind-blowing talent and we often forget that different venues have different rules, but if you didn’t know here it is once and for all: a show at the Fillmore is almost always necessarily an early show. On Saturday, the opening act was Zoogma, and many Lotus fans were excited to see the Electric Fusion band perform.
Opener: Zoogma. When Oxford, MS five-piece Zoogma took the stage around 8pm, the Fillmore was sparsely filled, but this was not for lack of interest. Throughout the entirety of their performance, the aforementioned line outside the venue did not waiver–the massive and slowly-lurching masse indicated there were more people outside the venue than inside, and those waiting were none too pleased. Many expressed their distaste for the Fillmore, and complained that they’d paid $35 to see a show they would only see half of. Because of this poorly managed queue, many only got to hear Zoogma from outside the venue, even though they showed up at 8pm, which, in fairness, is a fairly early call-time for a Friday night show. For Zoogma’s part, the futuristic EDM-laced Psychedelic Rock was a perfect match as an opener for Lotus, and they gave a great performance. Though they deserved more of a crowd, Zoogma managed to get the early birds revved up, their own tunes stimulated fans’ appetites, and at some point they played Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller,” which popped everyone’s enthusiasm to the next level–you know it’s a party when they bust out the MJ.
Lotus: At 9:30 sharp, the locally-loved Livetronica group called Lotus made their way onstage to greet a packed house. They kicked off the show with “Kodiak” from their album Build, which was released a year ago this month. The song was a great intro to the evening; it masterfully combines Funk, Rock and Electronica influences and hinted at the Jazzy, Funky and somewhat harder set list laid out for the audience. The opening songs continued to build excitement. From “Spaghetti” they went into fan-favorite “Nematode,” to which the audience responded with an explosion of excitement, and the dance party went into full-swing. The first set continued with the darker and harder “Ashcon,” then “Intro to a Cell” and concluded with “Cannon in the Heavens” off of their late 2013 Hip-Hop infused album Monks.
After a short break, the group regathered onstage for a massive second set which appropriately started with the song “Massif.” From there they offered “Behind Midwest Storefronts,” a song which impressively demonstrates the Mike Rempel’s handy work with the guitar, off the edgier 2008 album Hammerstrike. From there, the band delivered “L’immueble”>”Juggernaut” and “Ball of Energy.” This series provided a great segue into the crescendo of the evening, “Lead Pipe > Machine Gun” (with a short tease of “Get Lucky”) > “Age of Experience.” The night didn’t seem like it could possibly get any better, but when the group returned to the stage, to begin their encore with the smooth and spiritual “Colorado,” a heartfelt moment of silence was observed by the audience and a mutual exchange of love and gratitude was exchanged between the musicians and the crowd. Lotus has a special way of letting their Colorado fans how much they enjoy their company, and they delivered all that on more on Saturday. They followed this heartwarming gesture with “Hammerstrike,” and went out with “In an Outline.” What Lotus did on-stage created a truly “spiritualizing” evening; one that will certainly be remembered by local fans for years to come.
Energy: B+
Musicianship: A+
Sound: A
Stage Presence: B
Set/Light Show: B+
Overall: A-
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