Since her and partner Nick Sanborn’s last Denver appearance, Durham indie electronic pop duo Sylvan Esso managed to move from The Ogden to a sold-out show at Red Rocks last Wednesday. Sparse hums, zips, bass hits and digital snares gave room for Meath’s distinctive voice, which was as flawless live as in the studio, delivering a surprisingly dancey show
If ticket prices, traffic, and general fanfare were any indication, the arrival of Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour in Denver on Friday night was a really big deal. Taylor had opted to play one giant night at Denver’s Mile High Stadium, rather than two back-to-back shows at the Pepsi Center as she did on her 1989 World Tour, and the size and spectacle of the whole thing felt more like the Super Bowl on Christmas morning than a concert.
Elephant Revival said goodbye to fans with one last show at Red Rocks this past Sunday. A cold rain dumped on the bundled up audience, but they stuck it out and celebrated a night full of Elephant Revival’s earthy, mountain music, full of special guests and old songs.
Humbly deflecting unasked-for requests for songs, English songwriter Jake Bugg guided a packed house through a memorable acoustic set last Tuesday night at the Bluebird. Bugg’s set, though acoustic and played primarily under a single spotlight, was by no means dull. The twenty-four-year-old was preceded by another young UK musician, Scotland’s Nina Nesbitt.
Margo Price has earned her place as one of the most buzzworthy independent country music stars to emerge in the last few years. Late last year, she released her second record on Jack White’s Third Man Records, has played just about every TV show you can imagine, and has been universally praised, often by places that tend to overlook Country Music. Her current tour includes three nights at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird here in Denver.
Last Friday night, Portland’s Typhoon returned to Colorado for the first time since 2014. The packed concert at the Gothic Theatre coincided with the release date of their newest album, Offerings; their first in four years. The band delivered a very satisfying set that had the floor of the theater mirroring the energy on stage. Each song was an exercise in dynamics and percussive anomalies, with gentle verses culminating in chaotic climaxes, made all the more turbulent by the seven piece band.
Saturday night, for only the second time in Coors Field’s history, a major concert rolled in, filling some forty thousand seats in the open air of downtown Denver. The massive stage sat in the center of the outfield, and fans blanketed the field, minus the precious infield. Even to a casual fan, the scale and setting alone was exciting. It had all the grandeur of a show at the Pepsi Center with the charm and comfort of a warm summer night in the open air. Zac Brown Band proceeded to rip through a long evening deep with covers and original hits.
Twenty and thirtysomethings, most dressed in what could be described as mix of “punk casual,” mingled around the Fillmore as Frank Turner sang “Can’t I just spend the next four years at a punk show. Can’t I just spend the next four years getting wasted?” as he opened a cathartic evening of Folk-Punk. This new track, entitled “The Sand In The Gears,” is a call-to-arms in response to the election and subsequent shit-show of Donald Trump.
Sam Beam, better known by the moniker Iron & Wine, returned to Colorado Friday night, in support of his latest album Love Letter for Fire, a collection of duets with singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop. Flannel clad Gen X’ers filled rows of chairs well before the start of the show in anticipation of the intimate evening. The stage was barricaded with a large collection of table lamps of various shapes and styles, creating a house show vibe in the thousand person venue.
Twenty and thirtysomethings dressed in their best flannel filled the historic Paramount Theatre Tuesday for multi-instrumentalist indie-rock wonder Andrew Bird. The show marked the end of a nine week tour and it was incredible to watch the master at work. The night was a river of standard indie rock that readily pivoted to something else entirely its own. Seeing Andrew Bird live is such a refreshing experience. His musical genius, penchant for whimsy, and willingness to play with tempo and sound made his show a memorable musical experience.