The Larimer Lounge last Saturday was the setting for Flashlights' cassette release party. The theme for the evening seemed to be about trying something new; new members were added to all of the night's performing acts, either specifically for the show or as permanent additions. Flashlights was trying something new by releasing a special edition cassette. Larimer Lounge was trying something new with a backyard setup that now includes a hanging carpet; noise complaints in the area had kept both Larimer Lounge and the Meadowlark from having outdoors guests past a certain time, but it seems like both venues have been working to aleviate the problems and have since been able to open their respective porch areas. Summer is a great time to try new things, especially things that include being outside in the cool evening air.
LUST is Dillon Morton, and this show was billed as LUST's live set, and so it was a special treat for the audience to see Morton use instruments in his performance. Accompanied by a bassist and a Casio keyboard, Morton's dark and edgy electronic music was accentuated by a green glowing backlight and fog. Morton played tracks from the 2011 Dark Water EP, music which he has described as based as an "erotic horror movie soundtrack," and seamlessly meandered through his set with little pause and not one more word spoken than absolutely necessary. LUST: so spooky, so dance-y.
Roniit is an electro-pop singer from Denver, and she was joined by her boyfriend Eric Brown for their first live performance together (she exclaimed in between songs, "I'm really excited - tonight I have a new band member!"). There were lots of laser-y lights aglow as the tiny Roniit took the stage, letting her voice speak for itself. You might like her music if you're a fan of infectious pop tunes that get stuck in your head. Highlight of the performance: the guy who was on stage, helping control the strobe lights came out to whip up some energy in the audience, and attempted to do so by doing power-cardio handclap jumps. He was atleast 6 feet tall, so his extension was wide and left most people in the front row to scatter; but, he got people moving as he surely set out to do.
I like the genre identifiers for Flashlights glo-fi and dream-pop; both have a relationship with the nighttime, which can also be "flashlight time." The stage warranted the portable, battery-operated invention as machine fog billowed out and descended onto the crowd of fans. Those closest to the stage could barely make out the silhouette of their neighbors in the ethereal setting that was not unlike a lagoon or maybe a dance graveyard. With the candy-colored stage lights flipped on, the club atmosphere was ignited. Ethan Converse and Alex Anderson are the most recent iteration of Flashlights, and were joined by Ethan's friend Taylor Thomas on stage who was in town from Austin, TX to play drums for the special event.
Ethan talks about his collaboration with Travis in the video interview exclusive to Concerted Effort - if you haven't watched it yet, check it out (there are some sweet fingerboard shots in there you won't want to miss, as well). Flashlights performed songs off of their recently released EP, So Close to Midnight, as well as some brand new, never-before-heard tracks. A few technical difficulties were quickly forgotten as the crowd enthusiastically danced to the glo-fi tunes in the brightly illuminated fog. I have a little bit of a bias here: Flashlights never fail to impress me. I'm looking forward to seeing them play again at the Westword Music Showcase this Saturday June 23, and am curious to see how Alex and Ethan pull off playing two sets for both Flashlights and ManCub (back to back at City Hall), now that they are both collaborators in each project.
Check out more photos from the night on our Facebook photo album!