It may have been a Sunday night, but with about ten minutes to go before the scheduled showtime, the lengthy line in front of the Ogden Theater box office window certainly made it seem like a Friday or Saturday night. Trouble was, it was at that moment those in line had to be turned away, as the last tickets to the evening's show had been sold and the venue would be at capacity. As unfortunate as that was for those that could not enter the show, it meant those that could had a golden ticket to what was sure to be a great night of music accompanied with the energy of a sold out crowd.
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| American Tomahawk |
The night began with an opening performance from American Tomahawk. American Tomahawk is an indie rock band based out of Los Angeles with Denver ties. They performed as a five-piece band; Adam Halferty (vocals/guitar), Jessie Dixon (drums), Nolan Aldridge (guitar), Sean Foreman (bass/vocals), and brand new member Crisanta Baker (keyboard/vocals). They played a promising albeit brief set of their indie rock, which featured a mellowed Americana, almost modern folk/singer-songwriter type sound with subdued yet punctuated rhythms around an indie rock framework. The band didn't seem completely comfortable up on the big stage but played five songs from their EP, shining brightest on their performance of "Me Vs. The Apocalypse". It was a low-key start to the evening, an interesting way to begin a concert featuring high-intensity bands, but at least the crowd had plenty of energy reserved for the rest of the night.
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| Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. took the stage next, delving headfirst into a high-energy set to kick the sold out crowd into high gear. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. consists of Joshua Epstein (vocals/keyboard/sampler/guitar/bass/drums), Daniel Zott (vocals/guitar/bass/drums) and Mike Higgins (drums). The duo of Epstein and Zott crafts music with such a host of influences, it's hard to peg it into any individual category, but I would describe it as indie pop-rock infused slyly with electronic elements through live looping and clever sampling. The result is catchy songs with memorable lyrics that inject danceability into modern rock songs.
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| Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. |
When it comes to live performance, the energy and intensity of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.'s music increases immeasurably. They began with the first track off of their debut album,
It's A Corporate World, titled "Morning Thought". The album version is one of the more mellow songs in their repertoire, but there's nothing mellow about the way Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. performs live. Donned in colorful fluorescent suit jackets and joined with lighted J-R-J-R's up on stage, they gave the song an arena-like feel by triggering extra samples, rocking out with distorted bass guitar, and really letting Mike Higgins go to town on the drum set. Although they set the energy bar really high with their opening song, they managed to have it climb up higher from there.
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| Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. |
The electro-rock/dance-pop infused "An Ugly Person On A Movie Screen" came next, really getting people to shuffle their dancing shoes on the floor. The dancing continued with "When I Open My Eyes" and was accompanied by an audience sing-a-long with their single "Skeletons". Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. owned the stage with incredible presence and energy as they brought that song to a crescendo with a rock-n-roll style breakdown. The crowd went from a sing-a-long to a whistle-a-long with the performance of "Simple Girl", before erupting into another dance fest with "Vocal Chords". Rocking out continued with the soul injected "We Almost Lost Detroit". The amazing set ended with the performance of "Nothing But Our Love", a usually mellow song made cleverly into a dance floor burner. The Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. album experience is already a fun ride, but it does not compare to how captivating the live experience is. If you like their songs, their live experience will completely sweep you away.
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| Fitz & The Tantrums |
Fitz & The Tantrums came out next faced with the tough task of performing a set that would maintain the energy of the riled up crowd. The six members of Fitz & The Tantrums took their places on stage; keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna, drummer John Wicks, and bassist Joseph Karnes were towards the rear of stage with James King on saxophone/flute, Noelle Scaggs on backing vocals, and Michael Fitzgerald on lead vocals at the front of the stage. Luckily for Fitz & The Tantrums, their brand of revivalist '60s inspired soul made the task of delivering more energy to the crowd an easy one for these very capable performers.
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| Fitz & The Tantrums |
The sweat inducing dance-athon began with "Don't Gotta Work It Out", as the crowd knew exactly what to do once they heard the keyboard stabs and drum beat. The crowd matched Fitz word for word as they sang along with him. "Breakin' The Chains of Love" kept the singing and dancing going. "Winds of Change" got the whole venue swinging their arms in the air, all the way to the upper balcony last row. With Fitz & The Tantrums the crowd's singing and dancing never stopped while the music went on, and the stage presence of the band, especially the dynamic between Michael Fitzgerald and Noelle Scaggs, kept the crowd fed with constant energy.
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| Fitz & The Tantrums |
The only time the crowd stopped singing along was when Fitz & The Tantrums debuted a brand new song, which they said they wanted to make sure would get the 'Denver seal of approval'. Judging by the reaction of the crowd, it seems the mile high city did indeed approve. From there, the sing-along resumed with the band's soul infused cover of The Raconteurs' "Steady As She Goes". The rest of their regular set consisted of almost all the remaining songs off of their album
Pickin' Up The Pieces, performed flawlessly with incredible energy and crowd involvement.
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| Fitz & The Tantrums |
They ended their regular set with an epic eight and a half minute long rendition of "News 4 U", which incorporated both slow-dance and uptempo elements. The building walls were shaking all night, but they shook the hardest when the audience called for an encore. After a short respite Michael Fitzpatrick returned to the stage, asking the crowd if they wanted more and explaining the band was passed out in the back, so if the audience wanted them to return they better call them back loudly as to wake them up. The crowd obliged, nearly blowing the roof of the place with their wails.
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| Fitz & The Tantrums |
The band returned to the stage and performed a sweeping three song encore, starting with a slow song off of their first EP,
Songs For A Break Up Vol.1 titled "We Don't Need No Love Songs". Then they tore into another soul injected cover, this time of Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams". The night ended with another extended song, "Moneygrabber". Not only did the crowd sing along and dance to that final number, but they had every person in the venue get low to the floor and burst up into a boiling dance fest to close out the night - an incredible experience and sight to behold. Overall their set may not have changed much since the last time they were in Denver, but neither did the energy or the polish of their performance. It was still an incredible show having seen them before, and those that witnessed it for the first time will likely have the night lodged in their memories for a long length of time. If you need a little (or a whole lot) of soul in your life, Fitz & The Tantrums will have you covered.
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| Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. |
For those that wanted to keep the party going, the Larimer Lounge was the place to be. After the show concluded, the Larimer Lounge hosted local DJ and founder of
Lipgloss, boyhollow, along with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. to perform DJ sets for an afterparty. The dance party began with boyhollow's set, mixing a smooth set of indie dance songs that got people in the dancing mood. Then Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. took the decks and mixed an amazingly eclectic but highly enjoyable set. Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein left no stone unturned, mixing songs from all over the place - Mayer Hawthorne, Madonna, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Young M.C., The Chemical Brothers, Was (Not Was), Wang Chung, even the Tiger & Woods remix of their own song "Simple Girl". Although some transitions weren't buttery smooth, the crafty song selection brought excitement and smiles to those that came to afterparty, and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to seem them play out another set in the future - such a great way to end an amazing night.
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