Photos by Jim Mimna
The Scene: A brisk night greeted Thievery Corporation as they brought their worldly sounds to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for their sixth headlining performance at the venue. Thievery Corporation is celebrating 20 years as a band and they have built a phenomenal fan base across Colorado with consistently stellar concerts. There was no shortage of early enthusiasm this year as the desperate search for tickets for the sold-out night was ongoing in the parking lot before the show. The best part about Thievery shows is the crowd that travels from across the globe to watch them perform. It’s always a colorful cultural party when this band comes to town and Friday was another positive reminder of the power of their music.
Late Night Radio: Alex Medellin of Late Night Radio has ascended rapidly in the Colorado music spectrum and it was good to see him moving a sold-out Red Rocks crowd with his signature sound. Tyler Unland provides support on drums for the highly potent brew of Hip-Hop centric, organic and old school Electro-Funk.
Emancipator Ensemble: Emancipator Ensemble continues to be that noteworthy electronic artist always opening for others at Red Rocks and most deserving of a headlining spot. Needless to say, with the full band in tow, orchestrator and producer Doug Appling and violinist Lapa (IIya Goldberg) set a perfectly chill mood. They dipped into tracks from 2015’s Seven Seas and the usual classics from Emancipator’s 2006 Soon It Will Be Cold Enough.
Thievery Corporation: I’ve become acquainted with some formulaic Thievery shows over the years. Regardless of whether the sets are similar, the band always delivers triumphant performances that showcase their unbelievable conglomeration of global talent. On Friday we were blessed that Rob Garza and Eric Hilton had some surprises up their sleeves to celebrate twenty years of bringing global fusion to the masses.
From the beginning of the set, the sound was focused on singer LouLou Ghelichkhani’s effortless crooning as the band opened with “Heaven’s Gunna Burn Your Eyes,” and “ Take My Soul.” LouLou has been an essential muse for Thievery Corporation for thirteen years, recording songs on five of their full-length records.
After an extremely mellow opening segment, the crowd was silent and frozen in place. The show then took on an upbeat reggae vibe with “Blasting Through the City,” “Radio Retaliation,” and “Culture of Fear” as Dancehall king Sleepy Wonder brought his energy to the stage and the always exuberant bassist Ashish Vyas AKA HASH bounced wildly in the background.
LouLou returned to the stage for a silky version of “La Femme Parallel” before the band roared to life again for the highlight of the evening, a cover of The Grateful Dead’s “Fire on the Mountain” that brought plenty of jubilant gasps from a zealous crowd.
We weren’t done with classics as the band pulled from two decades of music and social activism with a booming “Amerimacka,” and “Warning Shots” from 2005’s The Cosmic Game.
After exiting the stage to roaring applause, the band returned with “Richest Man in Babylon” and “Lebanese Blonde.” Rob Myers fingers had been magically dancing across the sitar all night but it really took off during the final track of the night.
Thievery Corporation, along with Hip-Hop producer and longtime collaborator Mr Lif, are currently in the studio working on sounds for their new album. It will surely carry their world-fusion to new heights.
Energy: A+
Musicianship: A
Sound: B +
Stage Presence: A –
Set/Light Show: A
Overall: A
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