I've said it before but it bears repeating - Denver has an amazing music scene. For the second night in a row, people packed into the sold out Hi-Dive for a show featuring all local music on Saturday night. That means not only are there great, innovative and creative musicians in this city that work tirelessly to share their passion of music, but there is not a shortage of music lovers out there to come and share that passion with their unending support. Saturday night's show was packed all night long, as crowds enjoyed three bands take three different approaches to get people dancing.
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| Men In Burka |
The night began with a performance from Men In Burka. This local electronic collective performed as a trio; Kamran Khan (sampler/drum pads/vocals), the "king of swing" Mr. Sultan Peppa (keyboard), and the "prime minister of funky affairs" Malachi Zoots (sampler/effects). Men In Burka created Middle Eastern inspired dance club beats. The rhythms were intricate and usually drawn from Middle Eastern beat styles, given oomph with clever sampling and especially bass-heavy drums. The synthesized keyboard and effects gave a menacingly dark quality to the music, adding a layer of tension to the mix. The end result was music that definitely had tangible danceability, but a deliberate nervous deviousness to it as well.
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| Men In Burka |
Their set began with a song that started with straightforward Middle Eastern folk qualities at first, but as the dark synth and effects began to permeate throughout the song the original feel grew tense and moody. Next came a song that seemed to exploit that tension, using millitray-like vocal samples and gunshot samples for rhythm. A couple stand out pieces were "Haraam", an uptempo piece with 8-bit synthesized flute and live grunted vocals from Kamran Khan, and "Turah", featuring a sultry sampled female voice and a slow, bouncy, sexy tempo. Men In Burka's blend of enormous hip-hop-like club ready beats with traditional Middle Eastern beat styles and melodies was definitely fun to listen to, and their use of synthesizers and samples gave their music playful tension that sets it apart. It's definitely something different that has a bit of cross-genre appeal - check Men In Burka out.
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| ManCub |
Next up was a set from electro/noise-pop outfit ManCub. I've seen ManCub a number of times now, and one of the things I like about ManCub is no matter how many shows I go to, there's always something at least a little bit different. However for this show, it went beyond 'a little bit' and I ended up seeing something quite unexpected but exciting nonetheless - ManCub as a one man band. James Wayne, who had replaced Danny Stillman as the other half of the duo, decided to step away from the project momentarily, leaving Alex Anderson to perform the work of two by himself. Alex Anderson wasn't one to shy away from a challenge like that, in fact, he decided to take the project even further.
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| ManCub |
For as long as I've known ManCub, it's always been two people manipulating analog synthesizers and guitar pedals with their hands to actively manipulate and modify a noise-pop sound. Alex Anderson decided to continue the analog synth and pedal driven sound, and supplement it with live keyboard and a little live drumming - all performed by himself. He still managed to create the full, melody-versus-noise electro driven sound without any loss of danceability, yet added a bit more intricacy both in the performance of the music and within the music itself.
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| ManCub |
ManCub began with a handful of older songs. "The New Sound" was first, (or perhaps 'The New New'), that was slightly different from the two-man version. It was very close to what I've heard before, although the vocals were less full but more distinct. "Summer Rain" came up next, and I like the way Alex Anderson played around with the female vocal sample live a lot more in this future-disco banger. "Made In Japan" and "8-Bit Crush" were very close to how I've heard them before, overcoming the challenge of a one man setup.
The final three songs in ManCub's set have yet to be released and are the ones that excited me the most. Alex Anderson incorporated a little live drumming with a floor tom and cymbal rig, opening this new song with cymbals and enhancing the electronic beat with a little drumming on the tom. The live voice looping, pedal distortion, and a little live keyboard action mated with the groovy beat made the song seem like a futuristic moon party dance track. The next was a song I've heard before, but only as an instrumental, and I think the addition of vocals really made the song take off. The last piece was awesome, a sort of distorted electro-disco piece with some sick arpeggiated bass and catchy vocals.
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| ManCub |
This ManCub performance has to be my favorite one yet. The quality of the music was great, and everything was very well performed. The new additions to the ManCub sound fit in perfectly, enhancing the already solid noise-pop foundation. I'd love to see all future ManCub songs incorporate more live drumming and keyboard. The keyboard wasn't gimmicky, it added a little more depth to the sound. The drumming could have been a little more intricate, but it was a good start and considering everything else Alex Anderson had to do on stage to perform, it worked well. Now I definitely can't wait for another ManCub release, because from what I saw last night the music is getting better than ever.
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| Snake Rattle Rattle Snake |
I'd been wanting to see Snake Rattle Rattle Snake, the final band, for a while. I've been told by many that I need to check them out, and now after finally getting the chance to seem them, I know why that's the case. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake performed as five-piece; Hayley Helmericks (vocals, keyboard), Doug Spencer (guitar), Wilson Helmericks (keyboard, guitar), James Yardley (bass), and Andrew Warner (drums). This ensemble created something along the line of gothic dance rock - a blend of textural post-punk guitars, elaborate polyrhythmic drums and bass, and atmospheric keyboard synthesizers that were blanketed by Hayley Helmericks' darkwave vocal style.
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| Snake Rattle Rattle Snake |
The atmosphere was established early with Snake Rattle Rattle Snake's opening song, as the lights went low and atmospheric synth and guitars were met with a disco-rock beat, kicking off the darkwave dance party. The dancing continued with "Hastily", although the straightforward dance beat was replaced with a more complex tribal-like rhythm that really got people's feet moving. The polyrhythms continued with "Break The Same", where the rapid drumming didn't drive up the tempo but instead had a hypnotic effect, seemingly slowing down time.
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| Snake Rattle Rattle Snake |
They unveiled a new piece next that had a similar hypnotic effect. The lyrics and tribal rhythms of this song gave it a gothic jungle/dark wilderness vibe. I usually don't catch lyrics right away but the delivery in this song was perfect, and I really felt the portrayal of the hopeless struggle of life - no matter what position someone is in they are all just trying to get by. "Kafka and the Milk" came next, a song which starts atmospherically as if to continue the hypnotic trance, but explodes into a darkwave dance song with a four on the floor beat and dark yet funky bass line.
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| Snake Rattle Rattle Snake |
A song that really stood out to me came next, "Like A Moth". This song seemed to encompass a little bit of all the aspects that make up Snake Rattle Rattle Snake - atmosphere, darkness, intricate rhythm, moody melodic vocals. This song was as hypnotic as it was danceable - a truly powerful piece. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake's next piece went back into hypnotic ambient darkness before unleashing the post-punk dark dance rocker "NOPD". The final song was especially interesting, as the guitars were far more melodic and the drums much more uptempo - a dark rock 'n' roll dance anthem to end the night.
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| Snake Rattle Rattle Snake |
The Snake Rattle Rattle Snake live experience was sweeping. With the lights turned low in the packed Hi-Dive, it gave the performance an almost subterranean feel, like the crowd was convening in a cave to experience this band. It really enhanced the energy and the feel of this band's music, and as counter-intuitive a combination that dark/hypnotic seems to be with infectiously danceable, that is exactly what Snake Rattle Rattle Snake's music is. It's been said before, but their music is venomous, but not in a bad way - more in the sense that once you are bitten by their sound, the only antidote is more venom. If you aren't afraid of the dark, definitely check out this band, but even if you are, they just might get you dancing enough to forget the lights are off.
See more pictures from this show in
the Facebook photo album. Like
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