I feel like I just said this, but new music just keeps popping out of Denver. Last night, the Bluebird Theater hosted another album release party to keep the influx of new music going. This time, a large crowd packed inside the Bluebird Theater walls to celebrate the release of Tennis' sophomore album, catching opening performances from a variety of local supporting acts along the way. By the end of the night, the concert demonstrated that the local scene is as vibrant as ever, showing how this city's music is worthy of a much larger reach.

Moon Tides

The night began with an opening performance from Fort Collins based band Moon Tides. Similar to the roots of the headlining band, Moon Tides performed as a duo; Dillon (vocals, guitar), Lexa (drums, vocals). The two created a dream-pop oriented form of surf/coastal influenced indie rock built from uptempo drums with simple beats, textural guitar, and well produced pre-recorded backing instrumentation. The songs were well written, with vocal melodies and lyricism that grabbed the listener and a dreamy pop feel that was emotive but upbeat.

Moon Tides

Moon Tide's set began with "Swimming", a succinct piece with fast paced drums, guitar and a very catchy melody. The last time I saw Moon Tides, Lexa did not perform, and her absence seemed to have an affect on Dillon and the performance seemed to suffer. This time, with the complete band intact, Dillon's heart seemed to be in place and his vocal delivery seemed much more genuine. The two had a good dynamic on stage, although Dillon still seemed a bit apprehensive to really let himself go. Dillon's vocal delivery was sometimes shaky - not as assertive as I've heard in the studio releases they have put out. Also, although the production of the songs were solid, having much of the instrumentation coming from a computer as opposed to live musicians detracted from the live experience. Still, their songs are well written and have a great sound. Fans of the surf-rock genre should definitely give this band a shot.

Samurai Buck

Next on stage was Samurai Buck, although he came on as a sort of interlude DJ. I was expecting a performance from this talented beat producer, but his purpose was to provide music in between set changes. Because of that, I'm not really going to review what he did, but I can say that I do enjoy his experimental and psychedelic approach to hip-hop style instrumental music. If that sounds intriguing to you, check out Samurai Buck's music online. Hopefully I'll get a chance to Samurai Buck in a featured performance role soon.

Mike Marchant

Mike Marchant was the next band on stage. Mike Marchant is local esteemed singer-songwriter with a folk-rock style, and on this night he performed with a backing band. There were five band members on stage in all; Mike Marchant (vocals, guitar), Mark Weaver (bass), Grant Israel (guitar, vocals), Fez Guzman (drums), and Andy Hamilton (keyboard, guitar, vocals). Mike Marchant's songs are well written such that they have a certain feel that comes across whether Marchant chooses to deliver them acoustically or give them the full band rock treatment. This night Mike Marchant gave his music the rock treatment, yet these versions were just as appealing as the acoustic driven recordings I heard before.

Mike Marchant

Much of Mike Marchant's set were a mix of mellower, folk/Americana style songs delivered with a grand and genuine stage presence. Songs like "Lower Downtown Curses", "Mexico", "Surround Me" captured audience attention as people soaked up the sounds and stories of each song. "You Were A Runner" was a standout track, a song with not only well crafted lyrics, but also a great melody and instrumentation that can easily lodge into one's head. For the end of Mike Marchant's set, the band picked up the pace with a couple uptempo rock pieces - getting the crowd to dance along and ending the set on a high note. The final song, "Sex In The Shadows", had a false, mellow ending, right before Mike Marchant and his band craftily and suddenly exploded into a dramatic instrumental finish. Mike Marchant definitely has appeal to fans of folk rock, but I think it extends further into the indie category as well. Fans of indie rock should definitely check Mike Marchant out.

Tennis

After another set-change interlude by Samurai Buck, the stage was set for the evening's celebratory headliners. Tennis took the stage, performing as a four-piece band - Alaina Moore (vocals/keyboard), Patrick Riley (guitar), James Barone (drums) and a fourth member on keyboard and guitar. Tennis emerged last year after the release of their debut album, making an authentic sounding surf-inspired indie-pop record despite the band being from land-locked Colorado. They returned to the studio and created another record, Young And Old, that expands on the surf-pop sound by incorporating a little classic rock 'n' roll influence. Their performance mixed both new and old material to celebrate their album release.

Tennis

The night began with one of Tennis' newer songs, "Deep In The Woods", that was on their Origins single. This song continued their breezy, summery, bright lo-fi/surf sound that they showcased heavily on Cape Dory.  One of their earliest songs, "Baltimore" came next, getting the crowd in a warm mood. Then, Tennis began to unveil some of their new material. Tennis had worked with The Black Keys' Patrick Carney in the production of their new album, and "Never To Part" was the first track off that new record that they performed.

Tennis

The new song started out like Tennis' early material, but seemed to gain a subtle amount of force to it by the end. "Robin" came next, a song that took the core sound Tennis and seemed to wrap it around retro pop-rock. "It Falls Feels The Same" was very stylistically Tennis, but also subtly more forceful towards the end. The crowd roared when "South Carolina" was performed next, showing that Cape Dory was still firmly in the crowd's mind.

Tennis

Tennis treated the audience to a brand new, recently written and unreleased song that featured Patrick Riley on the keyboards. Tennis referred to the song as an experiment - but by the end of it it seemed to be a successful one. "High Road" came next, a song that seemed to balance the lo-fi/surf aesthetic with forcefully soft retro rock. That retro theme was carried on with "Waterbirds", a 6/8 time piece with a very vintage feel to it, a feeling that lingered with "Traveling" thanks to it's organ-toned keyboard line.

Tennis

For the remainder of the show, Tennis brought singers from the local band Paper Bird to the stage to sing backing vocals for the remainder of the show. Their vocal harmonies brought a new dimension to the performances of Tennis' songs. It really brought out the new production in "My Better Self", and enhanced the live performances of older songs like "Pigeons" and "Marathon". Tennis saved the single "Origins" until the nearly the very end, performing it before the final song "Petition". Those pieces seemed to really show what new ideas Tennis was playing with by working with a producer, and the crowd seemed to react very well to those songs in particular. Tennis didn't end their set there however, coming out for an encore performance of two old Tennis favorites, "Bimini Bay" and "Long Boat Pass", the latter of which had the song clapping along throughout. Tennis' performance revealed their new album explores new ideas without distancing themselves from their characteristic sound, so fans of their first album should enjoy Young And Old.

See more pictures from this show in the Facebook photo album. Like the Concerted Effort page and stay updated!

The stream of local album releases continues tonight, with another all local music showcase happening at the Bluebird Theater. This time local band Tennis is celebrating the release of their sophomore album Young And Old with the help of three different local supporting acts. The supporting bands should offer quite a variety of styles of music, making the show an intriguing one from start to finish.


Tennis is headlining the evening to celebrate their follow up album Young And Old. Tennis' first album released last year was a surf/coastal rock inspired indie pop album that propelled this band to the spotlight. They returned to the studio for a second album, this time with production help from Patrick Carney of The Black Keys. Their new album incorporates that same, airy-dream surf-pop sound but seems to also explore other forms of pop rock 'n' roll. Check out "Origins".



Mike Marchant is a local singer-songwriter whose mastery at that particular craft has endeared him to many music fans that have had a chance to see him. Performing live with a seemingly endless and ever-changing supply of different local supporting musicians, Mike Marchant creates acoustic folk styled music wrapped with hints of pop and electric rock that work seamlessly with his heartfelt vocal delivery. Check out "You Were A Runner".






Samurai Buck is the project of Denver producer Brian Marcus. Samurai Buck's mission seems to be the change of pace artist in the lineup, as stylistically, Samurai Buck seems the farthest removed from the others in the group. Still, Samurai Buck's experimental electronic sound is quite intriguing - a blend of heavy hip-hop style beats with psychedelic and intelligent dance music influences. Samurai Buck's futuristic sound should get the crowd in the dancing mood. Check out "Riviera".



Moon Tides is an indie surf-pop band from Fort Collins. This band creates short dream-like guitar and percussion driven gems that conjure up images of the sun and sea. The dancey yet atmospheric instrumentation works together with an airy vocal delivery to make a sound with gentle force. Check out "Swimming".


The Bluebird Theater doors open at 7:30PM and the music starts at 8:00PM. This show is all ages and tickets and tickets are $15 at the door. Tickets and more information are available online here.

I made a second trip to the Hi-Dive last week, this time on Saturday night, but I was met with a familiar outcome - another quality show. This time it was a mix of local indie acts playing a variety of music, putting together a fun show for a music hungry weekend crowd. By the end of the night, the audience got a taste of indie pop-rock, mellow indie rock, and surf inspired modern rock to get their fill of music. The show demonstrated that this will indeed be a strong new year in music.

Shaky Molars

The show began with the indie pop group Shaky Molars. Shaky Molars performed as a five piece band; Chuck Potashner on vocals/guitar, Kat Roscoe on bass/vocals, Kayla Martin on cello/vocals, Nate Adelmann on guitar, and Ryan Mulligan on drums. They create music that sounds like pop yet doesn't quite sound like anything else at the same time. Apparent influences seem to be scattered all over the place, without really being able to pin down anything definitive. I can say though that their sound, song content, and live performance is centered around providing energy and humor to make for a fun and unique concert experience

Chuck Potashner of Shaky Molars

I'd seen this band once before and since then I'd say they have progresses a lot and really stamped out an identity for themselves over that time. As a band, the performance of their music came off very fluid, injecting energy into the crowd with their instrumentation. Lead singer Chuck Potashner did a very good job exhibiting stage presence. His performance was assertive and strong, and his occasional quips came off humorous and not awkward or out-of-place. I think he did well to let his personality shine in this performance as it was very genuine.

Kayla Martin and Kat Roscoe of Shaky Molars

The show began with the pop-punk styled "Colorado Girl", a song that mates uptempo rhythm and a bit of distorted guitar with smooth melodic lead and backing vocals. After a taste of pop-meets-country with "Little Dipper", Shaky Molars continued to exhibit their local pride with "Denver" and "Daniele Marie Miller" through pop-rock styling. Most of their songs were along a pop-rock style set apart with melodic guitar and and an orchestral element from the addition of cello. I really liked their retro styled pop song "Blueberry Wine" with it's extremely catchy melody. All in all, when Shaky Molars lets their personalities shine as they did Saturday night, they perform with a very infectious and fun energy, which made for a great to start to the evening's show.

Will Walden of StaG

Next up was Boulder based band StaG. This three piece band consists of  Matt McGuire on bass/keyboards/sampler/vocals, Will Walden on guitar,vocals, and Mac Welch on guitar/trombone/vocals. This band has a moody and mellow indie rock sound that seems to mate modern surf rock with experimental electonic music, shoegaze, and the tiniest hint of folk. They create a powerful yet soothing wall of sound with their instruments, match that with clever sampler driven rhythms, and layer emotive vocals on top to complete the sound.

I also had a chance to see this band once before, and I was captivated by what they were doing. This time, I was extremely impressed once again. Saturday's show was almost entirely new material - I went into the show expecting to hear a lot of old favorites from their album Rifle Meeker, but got a pleasant surprise instead. The show began with "Loss At Tacoma", featuring vocals from Mac Welch and an almost Super Mario-esque keyboard/synth line.

Matt McGuire of Stag

From their, they kept a flowing set going, blending one song into the other starting with "Lived Like String". This stretch of songs had the familiar psychedelic surf rock vibe led by Will Walden's vocals and guitar that I really liked from their last show. They included one song off of their album, "Noise", one of my favorites that they seemed to enhance with an even more driving and present drum beat. The progressive style of "Big White" was incredible, exploding into an almost psychedelic western song with an incredible chorus. "Wayill" was a song I saw in its infancy the first time I saw StaG perform that stood out because of its inclusion of trombone, and it has definitely progressed well over time. The closing song, "Guts", included a heartfelt and powerful vocal/keyboard performance from Matt McGuire that brought the set to a fitting close.

Mac Welch of StaG

I think musically, StaG has their sound pinned down and their songwriting is very good. They've shown the ability to continue to innovate by bringing new compositions to their performance tonight. As much as I enjoyed the performance, there is still room for improvement that will really set this band apart. Some of the vocals weren't completely on or could use a little more assertiveness during performance. I think in the future the band would benefit from a live drummer and/or full time synth/keyboardist to add more oomph to their sets. Still, working with the pieces they had, they did a great job and I can't wait for them to release more music.

Moon Tides

Finally, Fort Collins based band Moon Tides came out to close the show. Although Moon Tides is usually the duo of Dillon and Lexa, only Dillon was there from the original configuration of the band. Dillon was on vocals/guitar/sampler and he performed with the help of Emily on vocals/drums. They created dreamy surf rock inspired music built from simple but colorful instrumentation and quiet yet catchy vocals.

Emily of Moon Tides

It became immediately evident that Moon Tides wasn't at full capacity - not because Lexa's fill-in Emily did not do well, but because the other half seemed to not be as into the performance as one would hope. It seemed Dillon was dwelling too much on who/what wasn't on stage rather than being focused on delivering a performance on stage and that seemed to hinder the band's set Saturday night. From the apprehensive opening performance of "To Be" to the halfhearted closing of "Swimming", it just seemed that too much energy was missing from stage. I'm a big fan of the song "1966" but it's live performance just wasn't what I'd hope. If it wasn't for the fact that the sampler/drum machine did a lot of the work, I'm not sure if the performance would have been bearable.

Dillon of Moon Tides

If I get to see Moon Tides again, whether or not they are at full strength I hope whoever is on stage strives to give as heartfelt a performance as they can. I understand missing band members changes the dynamic, but if the music is strong and delivered with energy it can still make for a great show. Thursday night's show at the Hi-Dive comes to mind - Luke Price of Dean! still delivered an incredible performance despite him being the only band member to make the trip from Portland. Hopefully the next time I see Moon Tides the performance will be as energetic and colorful as the way their songs are crafted.

See more pictures from this show in the Facebook photo album. Like the Concerted Effort page and stay up to date!

The variety of music in the local music scene is quite impressive, so much so though it can get a little overwhelming trying to keep track of it all. Every different person has a variety of personal tastes, but one of the goals of this blog is to point people in the direction of something new from a wide variety of styles and genres. With this in mind, Concerted Effort is proud to present a show that features high quality local indie rock. This Friday, January 7th, the Hi-Dive will feature three up-and-coming local acts that should make for a great show.
Moon Tides - 1966 by Concerted Effort


Next up is Boulder based indie rock band StaG. This band creates dreamy modern rock with an almost shoegaze like sound except much loftier and ethereal instead of a noisy wall-of-sound like approach. Still, the music they make is mellow and introspective, made with a combination of live instruments and recorded samples. This band also seems to have a coastal/modern surf rock aspect to their sound, likely because they originally come from Los Angeles. I've seen this band before and I thought they did so well they made the Top 15 Performances list for 2011. Check out "Offwise".
Offwise by StaG


Local Denver indie pop group Shaky Molars will get the evening started. This band makes lighthearted pop-rock music that promotes fun through their music and lyricism. They take a different approach to indie pop than most would, a style that's hard to explain but instantly recognizable. This six-piece band should be fun to watch and do well to get the night started. Check out "Daniele Marie Miller".
Shaky Molars - Daniele Marie Miller by Concerted Effort

The Hi-Dive doors open at 8:00PM on Saturday, January 7th and the music begins at about 9:00PM. The show is 18+ and tickets are $6 at the door. Tickets can be purchased online here.