Although it isn't bitter cold in Denver yet, the air is beginning to cool. The sun is starting to recede earlier each day and the darkness of night steadily lingers longer. Greenery is getting harder to find, replaced with scarlet, burnt orange, and saffron as the leaves turn. We are in the midst of fall, and the month of October has is here. To me, it's a playfully creepy month - haunted houses, horror movies, crazy costumes - a celebration of all things eerie. That's why I jumped at the chance to check out Saturday night's show at the Ogden Theater, so I could experience music on the first day of October that would conjure up those ideas and usher in the season.
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| Sonoio |
The first act of the night was Los Angeles based Sonoio, the industrial electro-rock solo project of Alessandro Cortini. Not only did he bring gritty electronic music to the Ogden Theater on Saturday night, the way he presented his performance really played into exactly the mood I was looking for. When his set time arrived, all the lights went blank in the Ogden Theater and the room was near total darkness. A shadowy figure in a black hooded jacket crept onto center stage as the speakers erupted with throbbing mid-tempo bass and mechanical drums. The figure stayed low to the ground in a crouched position close to the lip of the stage, clutching a microphone you could barely make out in the darkness.
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| Sonoio |
Soon you could hear vocals, and the microphone chord lit up to reveal Sonoio on stage singing "
Just Me". He was surrounded by vintage incandescent light bulbs arranged around him in a circle, each light pulsing on and off to the beat of the music. Each flash of light only partially illuminated Sonoio so that most of the audience could only see a silhouette surrounded by a mess of wiring, making the stage look like a 19th century mad scientist experiment. It was quite the way for an opener to get the attention of the entire audience, and it worked very well.
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| Sonoio |
Musically, his set featured selections from both of Sonoio's albums highlighting his industrial rock meets electro sound. There were plenty of delightfully creepy yet infectiously danceable mechanized beats and filtered vocals in the songs he performed off of Sonoio's
self-titled album; "
Suck Up Everything", "
Hold On Let Go" and "
Not Worth Remembering". The distorted synths really stood out in "
Can You Hear Me?" and "
Enough" off the album
Red, and my inner Star Wars geek couldn't help but smile when I heard the lyrics "
These are not the droids you're looking for" in the closing song, "
Scientist". Everything about Sonoio's set was completely enthralling, and I highly recommend checking him out, especially for fans of industrial-rock influenced electro.
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| Geographer |
Next up was the indie electronic-rock trio Geographer from San Francisco. Their set did not have the nightmarish stage production of the prior act, and the contrasting straightforward presentation and airy musical style of Geographer's set was like waking up and realizing what happened before was just a crazy dream. Geographer consisted of Brian Ostreicher (drums) at center stage, with Nathan Blaz (cello, synths/sampler) and Mike Deni (vocals, guitar, keyboard/synths, sampler, cowbell) on either side. They used their somewhat unusual assortment of instruments to create an indie rock driven dreamy electro-pop sound.
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| Nathan Blaz of Geographer |
Although their music has a deep and strong electronic framework, it is presented in a way that doesn't feel too digitally artificial. The live drumming keeps the beat work grounded and somewhat organic - sampled drum parts are played by Brian Ostreicher through a drummable sample pad instead of a drum machine. Nathan Blaz's cello work adds a charming orchestral element to the mix. Mike Deni's clean emotive high-register vocals also transcend what I usually expect to hear from electronic music. They have definitely melded all the stylistic aspects they use into a pleasant hybrid rock-electro sound.
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| Mike Deni of Geographer |
Geographer began their performance with two selections from
Animal Shapes; the dreamy synth meets driving guitar riff song "
Paris" and the cowbell-laden song with an '80s throwback feel "
Verona". The band then treated the crowd to three new unreleased songs that are very in-line with their established musical style. I don't know what the song is called, but my favorite was the last of the three new songs where Mike Deni live sampled and layered his choral-like falsetto voice over a sweet drum beat. Geographer then closed with "
Original Sin" and my personal favorite "
Kites" - I guess that falsetto voice over dope beats will get me every time. I highly recommend Geographer's ethereal sound to fans of dancey indie pop-rock.
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| Helen Marnie of Ladytron |
When it was time for the headlining act, there was definitely a bit of a mood change. Before Ladytron came out on stage to perform, once again the lights went dim. One by one, shadowy figures took their respective spots on stage - the four members of Ladytron went to their different keyboard/synthesizers and the band's live drummer set himself up behind a drum kit at the rear center of stage. As the lights began to rise, it was all eyes on lead singer Helen Marnie, with her sheer white blouse, crimson lips and black ribbon-topped head. As the band started to perform, the sound and lighting created an otherworldly atmosphere.
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| Ladytron |
Ladytron's music is built on an electro-pop foundation, but features danceable new wave-like rhythms, occasional industrial textures, and delicate synths that are sometimes dreamy, sometimes ghostly, but always silky smooth. On top of that are the wispy and sultry vocals of lead singer Helen Marnie and the occasional hypnotizing vocals of Mira Aroyo sang in her native Bulgarian tongue. The mesmerizing combination of sound had a spellbinding affect on Saturday night's crowd, and the audience was helpless but to dance along to the beat of every song.
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| Ladytron |
The energy and atmosphere was heightened by the impressive array of stage lighting Ladytron used in their performance. In the background were bright lines of LED lights that formed pearly triangles framing the drummer. Various strobes were positioned in that lighting array, flashing bright bursts of colored light. Scattered evenly about the stage were poles of light that would shine brilliantly white and red. Gel covered spotlights would emit massive diffused beams painting ghostly circles and light trails on the walls, ceilings and through the hazy air. Ladytron's signature sound coupled with the lighting display gave the whole event the feeling of a vampiric masquerade ball - sophisticated, elaborate, and sensuous, but with a hint of something deliciously devious.
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| Helen Marnie of Ladytron |
I was expecting the bulk of Ladytron's set to feature music from their new album
Gravity the Seducer, but they chose to provide a wide variety of music spanning their entire catalog consisting of the best known Ladytron songs. I enjoyed hearing earlier Ladytron songs, and it meant that most long-time Ladytron fans could sing along from one hit to the next. The bulk of Ladytron's set came from the new album and
Witching Hour, but they performed "
Ghosts" and "
Runaway" from
Velocifero, "
Little Black Angel" (a Death In June cover) from
Best of 00-10, and "
Discotraxx" from their debut album
604.
Light & Magic had a couple songs as well; "
True Mathematics" appeared in the middle of their set and they closed their regular set with "
Seventeen".
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| Helen Marnie of Ladytron |
Of course, after working the crowd into a craze with their closing song, the crowd immediately called Ladytron back for more. Ladytron came back for an encore and performed the single "
White Elephant" from the new album and completely demolished the crowd with their best known song "
Destroy Everything You Touch" to the audience's delight. Although I was expecting to hear more new material, I understand that Ladytron has so much in their catalog now that unless they unrealistically play for hours on end, they won't be able to fit everything into a single set. They did a commendable job providing a mix of songs for new fans and old fans alike.
Overall, I was amazed with Ladytron's performance. I first started listening to this band about seven years ago but never caught them live until now. It was definitely an amazing auditory and visual experience, and my only regret is not catching them live sooner. Seeing them at this particular time of year only enhanced my experience, making the whole night have a surreal magical quality to it. If you haven't already, check out Ladytron, especially during this fall season.
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