On Saturday, September 1st, a new music collective called Holy Underground will be celebrating its launch with a party at Larimer Lounge. What is Holy Underground? In their own words:

"Holy Underground is a multi-faceted music company that takes pride in operating with a collective mentality. We represent a variety of independent artists who we feel are putting out the best music Denver has to offer, and who have a conscious commitment to pushing the boundaries of our scene. We offer these artists services such as booking, management and publicity, in addition to running a record label HUG Records on the side. Our goal is to get our bands the local and national attention they deserve, and offer a lifeline for our artists to reach their full potential inside and outside our beloved Denver island."

So what does all that mean? It means that Holy Underground is committed to enriching and bringing more attention to the vibrant Denver music scene. Holy Underground is launching with a stable of ten strong local acts that cover a range of music styles: Achille Lauro, Cerulean, Flashlights, Force Publique, Hollagramz, LUST, ManCub, Mombi, Sauna and School Knights. Their goal is to allow these and other future local acts to break outside of the Denver market and garner national attention while allowing them to maintain Denver as a base, in turn making Denver more important to the overall national music scene.


It also means that this Saturday night is shaping up to be a great party, as Holy Underground will be showcasing the electro side of their lineup with ManCub, Force Publique, Cerulean and Flashlights. Steffi Graf from L.A. will keep the party going with a late night DJ set, and DJ Babyshoe will keep the party going in between sets. CRAP Eyewear will have sunglasses on hand to give away as well. Come out and celebrate and be a part of Holy Underground's mission to further the Denver music scene!

The Holy Underground Launch Party is at Larimer Lounge on Saturday, September 1st. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. The show is 21+ and the doors open at 8:00PM. Tickets and more information are available online here.
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Electro heads had a musical feast Saturday night at the Ogden Theater. Souls In Action Entertainment was at it again, presenting what was probably one of the wildest dance parties anywhere in the state this weekend. With MSTRKRFT on the headline, dance addicts had to expect heavy helpings of hard electro house, but by the end of the night, they got much more. Before anyone even entered the Ogden Theater, it was clear where the party was in downtown Denver on Saturday night. Channel 93.3 KTCL had a van on site, playing music for the hordes of people outside the venue eager to get into the show. Sponsors lined the streets handing out freebies to the patient masses in line. There was already a heightened sense of energy, and that was before I even ventured inside.

boyhollow

Soon it was time for the show to begin, and Denver's own boyhollow got the night started with a bang. The last time I saw boyhollow (aka Michael Trundle), he switched up his style a bit, favoring laid back grooves to fit the theme of that particular night. But for this show, boyhollow was back to what he does best; take various styles of music, add generous helpings of electro house, sneak in dashes of hard-hitting womp, and blend them together, serving up a full course meal of audio delight. Being the opener, he had the challenge of getting the audience present and engaged. He started with a near empty dance floor, but it didn't take long before he had a large crowd eating up what he was cooking.

boyhollow

This resident Lipgloss DJ unleashed a steady flow of pumping beats to entice bodies onto the dance floor. He got the temperature rising early by laying down a lot of heavy hard house and electro. As he went from song to song, he knew how to keep the intensity high, with each subsequent track drawing more energy out of the dance hungry people in the building. What I like about boyhollow is his ability to mix in unexpected variety. He kept the crowd on their toes by sneaking in electro remixes of songs from many different genres, including John Denver's "Country Roads", Band of Horses' "Funeral", Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead", some N.W.A., and even Tool's "Sober". He's a DJ for those that appreciate a lot of music outside the realm of electronic dance, and his style could probably convert non dance music fans into regular dance floor ragers. You can check him out most Friday nights at Lipgloss at La Rumba.

2DUBAII

Next up was a duo I'd been eager to see and another up and coming Colorado project, 2DUBAII. Chase Orrick and LuOui Vandenberg have been making a name for themselves by consistently laying down floor shaking mixes, and Saturday night they gave electro heads an unrelenting attack of hard house. These masked avengers of sound kept the crowd of people roaring on the floor, smoothly transitioning out of boyhollow's set and into their own string of bangers. I like that about the Souls In Action shows that I've seen; they really know how to minimize downtime by having each next act blend into the ongoing mix. 2DUBAII dropped in and kept their set uptempo as if to test the endurance of the crowd.

2DUBAII

But this is Denver, the mile high city, and those that have lived at this altitude for any length of time have thicker blood, so the crowd did not let up at all. Although 2DUBAII didn't play any of their original tracks Saturday night, they couldn't keep their hands completely off the hot fire they were spinning. 2DUBAII played their own edited and remixed versions of dance floor favorites, including Daft Punk's "Prime Time of Your Life", Lil' Wayne's "A Milli", Wolfgang Gartner's "Flashback", and La Roux's "I'm Not Your Toy", with every track keeping the crowd at a steady boil.

Steffi Graf

That was only the second course, and the crowd was ready for their third helping of sound. Steffi Graf came out on stage, ready to switch it up a bit with some smooth mid-tempo house and nu-disco goodness. The last time I saw Steffi Graf, it was a pure DJ set, but this time Latane Hughes and Antone Proler had a few extra tricks up their sleeve. Along with turntables and mixers, there was a keyboard synthesizer, two separate standalone percussion sets, and a large hanging gong.

Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf kept the party going with a great mix of obscure funky and soulful disco house that would keep even a seasoned record digger guessing their material came from. Hughes and Proler's fingers must've gotten very dusty finding a lot of the rare tracks they were playing for the crowd. They also mixed in a few familiar favorites after giving them a Steffi Graf twist, including Lykke Li's "I Follow Rivers", Daft Punk's "Around The World", and Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". The best part of their set was the addition of live drumming. Their percussion sets added a new dimension to their already captivating sound, and it blew just about everyone away each time they wielded the drum sticks. It was easily the most visually entertaining thing to witness up to that point, but this show still had more to offer.

MSTRKRFT

It came time for the main course, and the crowd had worked up quite an appetite for MSTRKRFT after being fed three delicious audio appetizers. Jesse F. Keeler and Al-P came out on stage to a roaring crowd, and right away they smacked the audience with their hard electro like an uppercut square to the jaw. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, it did. MSTRKRFT brought out the coup de grĂ¢ce - an impressive and intricate laser display that was nothing short of visually awesome. I'm not talking about your average cutesy laser-pointer light show - these things looked like they belonged on the set of a Star Wars movie. Thick rays of green and blue light would beam throughout the venue, moving to the beat while creating mesmerizing visual forms. With the laser lights and MSTRKRFT, the audience at the Ogden had all the ingredients they needed for an epic dance party.

MSTRKRFT

The crowd was practically in a dancing frenzy the entire time MSTRKRFT was up on stage, moving furiously to each pulsing beat of their signature dance-punk sound. They kept their set mostly instrumental, dropping heavy dance tracks like "Vuvuvu" among others. They even teased the crowd with what's to come, hitting everyone with the electric guitar laden single "Beards Again" from their upcoming third album. They did mix in some vocal tracks, like the classic "Easy Love" and the Laidback Luke remix of "Heartbreaker", which got the entire crowd doing their best John Legend impression as they sang along. MSTRKRFT extracted every last bit of energy from the audience with their heavy electro dance set, and by the end of the night the collective sweat lost by the crowd could have been measured in cubic feet.

Saturday night was an intense dance party - a continuous flow of non-stop beats that kept the crowd moving tirelessly from head to toe. Souls In Action Entertainment did a great job bringing in acts that kept the dance flow churning. If you are into dance music but haven't been to a show presented by Souls In Action, you haven't seen some of the best electronic dance music concerts Denver has to offer. MSTRKRFT is the epitome of hard electro, and Steffi Graf keeps a steady smooth groove. I'm very glad they came to share their music with Denver. If you want to get your dance on but can't wait for those imports to come back to town, keep your eyes open for 2DUBAII, check out boyhollow at Lipgloss, and look for the next Souls In Action electronic music show. All are sure to satisfy your craving for dance music.

See more pictures from this show in the Facebook photo album. Like the Concerted Effort page and stay updated!
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Souls In Action Entertainment is at again with another show that's sure to be a wild dance party. This time there will be a little something for everyone, as there will be four artists laying down a variety of styles from across the electronic dance spectrum. The Ogden Theater will host two local and two touring acts that all share the ability to get the dance floor churning. It'll be the perfect way to dance away your Saturday night.


The headliner tonight is MSTRKRFT, a hard electro house duo from Canada. These guys are known for dropping hard hitting, face broiling dance beats that are sure to satisfy the dance aficionado looking for an absolute rager. If there was a heavy metal category in electronic dance music like there is in rock, these guys would top those charts. Along with their original songs, they are always hard at work giving the MSTRKRFT treatment to an impressive list of remixes. Although they've yet to release their third album, they have dropped a couple sneak peek singles, and I expect to hear some old favorites and new hotness tonight. Check out onn of the new singles, "Beards Again".
MSTRKRFT - BEARDS AGAIN by Undocumented Management


Steffi Graf is a DJ/Production duo from Houston, TX. These guys aren't about pounding beats and in-your-face electro jams. Instead, they are all about smooth mid-tempo dance grooves that hearken back to classic disco mashed with a steady diet of clean house beats. Get ready to Soul Train out on the dance floor tonight when these guys are on stage. Warm up your dance moves with this 50 minute mix below.
Tanz Augusta Tour Mix by Steffi Graf


2DUBAII is an electro production duo from Boulder. They produce a variety of dance music with a common goal in mind - tearing down the house and burning up the dance floor. Their mixes incorporate originals and re-works of all sorts of dance music; from classic trance, to hard house, and even splashes of dirty womp. They'll be sure to keep the crowd on their toes. Check out "Prestigious Journey".
Prestigious Journey by 2DUBAII


Michael Trundle aka boyhollow is a local Denver DJ best known for holding sweaty dance fests on a weekly basis at Lipgloss. He's a versatile DJ that can supply music for any dance situation, but he specializes in dropping high energy hard electro tracks. He's especially known for giving the electro treatment to the most unexpected songs, dropping dance remixes of rock tracks, and somehow making already hard hitting songs hit even harder. Check out this rework of The Arch's "Ribdancer".
Ribdancer [The Arch] - boyhollow & c.db.sn by boyhollow

Come on down to the Ogden Theater, the doors open at 8:00PM and the party starts at about 9:00PM. Dance the night away at the Snowboard on the Rocks kick off party. The show is all ages and tickets are $30 at the door.
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The current dance culture climate these days seems to be dominated by continuous tear-your-face-off bangers; be it the dirtiest, filthiest, rumbling slow tempo dubstep or hard hitting, face scrunching uptempo electro. Sometimes it's nice to take a departure from that and find a happy medium in mid-tempo laid back retro-style dance grooves. Thanks to the work of Souls In Action Entertainment, the Larimer Lounge was turned into a discotheque last night, where each performer came on stage and spun some smooth, crowd pleasing disco-house beats. It was a refreshing night of fluid music - upbeat and always danceable but never stretched to an auditory extreme.

Boyhollow switching it up

Boyhollow was the first to take a spot behind the decks, and like any good DJ, he showed off his flexibility and his foresight in anticipating his audience's expectations. Those familiar with Boyhollow may have been a little thrown off, as this resident Lipgloss DJ is known for heart-pounding sets that steadily increase in musical intensity, using his song selection to raise the temperature so high that the crowd comes to a full on boil. But tonight was a different story - Boyhollow was the first act up and his job was to set the tone for the next two purveyors of smooth electronic nu-disco. Song selection wise, he did an impeccable job, shelving the womp for one night and digging up some old disco tracks, blending them with smooth house, and sprinkling in a bit of indie electro. I especially enjoyed his inclusion of a remix of The Weeknd's "Rolling Stone", a remix of Klaxon's "It's Not Over Yet", Breakbot's "Shades of Black", and seventies disco staple Cerrone's "Give Me Love". I was impressed with Boyhollow's versatility, and if you want a dose of his regular mixing style, check him out tonight or most Friday nights at his usual roost at Lipgloss.

Steffi Graf

Next up was the DJ duo Steffi Graf and they kept the smooth theme going by lacing together their signature blend of old disco songs, new electronic house beats, some vintage house ala early Mushroom Jazz, and a healthy helping of movie samples. As soon as Steffi Graf started mixing, they got the people on the dance floor moving like a late-seventies disco-centric episode of Soul Train. Latane Hughes and Antone Proler are expert diggers, finding the most obscure tracks and blending them in such an infectious way that the music seems familiar and thus easy to dance to, but nobody can quite put a finger exactly on what they are hearing. I did manage to pick out a couple standouts - a retro styled remix of Daft Punk's "Around the World" and a disco overdrive remix of Breakbot's "Fantasy". EDIT: For clarification, Steffi Graff did not play Mushroom Jazz, but some of the house beats they were dropping kind of reminded me of it. Also, apparently they did not play any Breakbot in their set, but Breakbot did get a lot of love!

Classixx and compact discs

Not ones to interrupt a party, Classixx jumped behind the decks and mixed seamlessly out of Steffi Graff's set and into a smooth mix of their own. Classixx kept the theme going, holding on to that throwback disco style and blending in some silky house tracks. I found it interesting that these guys mixed using CDs, I haven't seen a big name DJ mix purely with CDs since Mark Farina. To me, it added a bit of authenticity to their throwback style, abandoning the aid of a computer based mixing platform. Vinyl would've been too typical, the only way they could have mixed any hipper would have been to use Minidiscs.

Classixx going all night long

Being a DJ set, Classixx mixed in a blend of their influences and favorites of the moment all while building up to dropping in their original hits that the audience craved. Michael David and Tyler Blake waited well into their lengthy set before they dropped their signature track "I'll Get You", and it wasn't until the end of the night that people had the chance to get crazy to "Into The Valley". Other standouts in their mix were Mylo's "Otto's Journey", Madonna's "Lucky Star" and an incredible remix of Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Breakbot got love from all three performers last night, as Classixx laid down a remix of "Fantasy". Dance aficionados had a hard time keeping still last night, and Classixx weren't willing to give up the decks and stop the flow easily, as they played until the clock struck two o'clock in the morning and it was time for the Larimer Lounge to shutdown and for those on the floor to reluctantly clear out.

It seems if you see "Souls In Action presents" on the flyer it's like a veritable seal of approval that whatever event they are putting on, it'll be a killer dance party. They seem to know which hot electronic dance music acts to bring in on any given night, and tonight was certainly no exception. My only complaint is many missed out on Boyhollow's quality set. I don't know what it is, but it seems like there is an outright refusal from many people to catch the opening act at the Larimer Lounge, even if the one on the beginning of the bill is a notable and well-regarded local favorite. Otherwise, once the crowd got involved, the party didn't stop until it was forced to.

See more pictures from the show in the Facebook gallery. Don't forget to give the Concerted Effort page a 'like'!
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Sometimes I get lucky and a string of shows I want to see will come up on the calendar all on different days, allowing me to see everything I want. But other times it just doesn't work out that way, and unfortunately, tonight is one of those nights. There are at least four places I'd like to be tonight, all offering something completely different on the musical spectrum, but all awesome in their own way.

The Bluebird will be the host to Tapes 'N' Tapes, a great indie band kicking off the tour for their latest album here in Denver tonight. They will be joined by local band The Chain Gang of 1974. The Hi-Dive will be the host for hip-hop instrumentalist Jel and Denver local R E A L M A G I C. Cervantes' has great shows going on in both the Masterpiece Ballroom and the Other Side. The Masterpiece Ballroom is having a hip-hop festival, featuring the likes of The Grouch and Eligh and Binary Star among others. The Other Side will be getting funky with the ten piece funk band Breakestra and local funk rockers Filthy Children. But I will be skipping all of these in favor of some more sweet electronic dance music at the Larimer Lounge.


Souls In Action Entertainment, the same people that put on the awesome Bag Raiders/ManCub/CyC show last Friday, are at it again with another big name on the dance scene. This time they're bringing Classixx, an electronic duo from Los Angeles, CA. These guys have a mid-tempo, throwback, disco-esque style that's a departure from the slow and low dubstep that's out there or the fast past hard electro that's on the other end of the dance spectrum. They have infectious original tunes, have done great production for other bands, and make killer remixes. Check out "I'll Get You", the Classixx produced "No Strings" by Mayer Hawthorne, and the Classixx remix of "Lisztomania" by Phoenix.


Steffi Graf is a DJ collective from Houston, TX, specializing in lacing together smooth house mixes draped with sweet disco beats. Old will meet new, creating a blend that should keep the floor moving. If you've got an hour to burn, listen to the Steffi Graf club mix below.


Boyhollow is a local DJ favorite. Anyone who frequents Lipgloss on Friday nights should already be familiar with his mixing style, but if you aren't, it's a blend of electro, tech house and other random bits - such as remixed rock tracks. Check out his remix of Danzig's "Mother".

If you want to get salty on the dance floor tonight, the Larimer Lounge is the place to be. The show starts at 9:00PM and tickets are $12 at the door.

I'll Get You feat. Jeppe- Classixx by Classixx
Mayer Hawthorne - No Strings (Classixx Original) by stonesthrow
Lizstomania (Classixx Version)- Phoenix by Classixx

Club Classic by Steffi Graf

Danzig - Mother (boyhollow Found Hell Mix) by boyhollow
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