Photos by Ty Hyten
The Scene: Denver band Tennis’ expeditious rise to the top over the last few years has placed them on huge stages – festivals like Outside Lands and Lollapalooza, and the entire late night circuit – Leno, Conan and Letterman. They’ve recorded with esteemed producers like The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney and most recently Spoon’s Jim Eno. Their albums have received critical praise and plaudits from the blog world, both here and in Europe. So you’d think their homecoming show on the heels of their new release would generate a good deal of fanfare, right? I walked into the Bluebird fifteen minutes after doors to secure a spot for myself and my camera, for what I thought would surely be a sold-out show. I found myself in the company of the staff and no more than ten loosely dispersed people. Feeling unfashionably early, I spent the next thirty minutes across the street at Atomic Cowboy.
Pure Bathing Culture: Opener Pure Bathing Culture traversed the same soundscape as Tennis. Dreamy, distant, reverb cloaked vocals and guitar were stoically delivered as fans poured in. Lead singer Sarah Versprille’s sparkling voice was hidden in the mix at times, but Daniel Hindman’s guitar playing sang with enough resonance and allure to more than convey their message. The Portland band’s new wave grooves, backed with jazzy drums and plucked chords painted the waiting audience into an 80’s movie getaway sequence.
Tennis: Well dressed teenagers pressed in against the stage and the Bluebird, though not sold-out, had collected enough people to spare spouses Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley the alienation of coming home to an empty house. “Can you believe I homeschooled and grew up in Aurora?” asked Moore, the curly haired vocalist and distinguishing member of the group. The band’s reception, both at first and then throughout the night, was warm, but not the kind of warm you expect when a band of their acclaim plays in their hometown after being absent for awhile.
Slightly difficult sound and a complete lack of stage presence left even uptempo songs like “Never Work For Free” feeling played rather than performed. Riley casually strolled the stage with little more verve than his leads. Though I found Riley’s guitar to be much less imaginative and satisfying live than that of the opener, it served its purpose. The clean, cold reverberating lines established the beachy feel that is half of the foundation of much of their sound on their first two albums and part of what made them good live Friday night.
The star of the show was singer Aliana Moore. Her vocals were at times pure, light, unassuming and then she’d slip into her upper register with ease, where she would really shine. During the encore she played a stripped down version of “Bad Girls” which put the spotlight squarely on her vocal talent. A soulfulness that is often masked by her staccato delivery had a chance to breath and the high notes in the chorus were gripping.
Old favorites like “Petition” and “Marathon” came with predictable adulation but material from this year’s “Ritual in Repeat” fared quite well too. “I’m Callin’” was a danceable pop delicacy, nothing short of a Madonna b-side and the infectious chorus of “Timothy” was good enough to bounce around in my head between the next few songs.
The evening was a satisfying but straightforward presentation of some really excellent songs but the experience was undermined at times by lackluster stage presence and muted fan enthusiasm.
Energy: B-
Musicianship: B+
Sound: B-
Stage Presence: C
Lights: C+
Overall: B-
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