Despite there only being 88 keys on a piano, and only eight notes in an octave, new combinations of those finite number of notes keep emerging with an ongoing supply of innovative new music. Styles are created, revisited, modified, combined - a constant stream of change and evolution. Last night the Hi-Dive hosted a trio of different but innovative bands that made for a memorable night from beginning to end. Each band combined a wide range of influences and fresh thinking to put together a great show.

Young Pharaohs

The night began with local Denver electro-soul group Young Pharaohs. The trio of Ben Martin (vocals, synth), Sam Martin (synth, controller, effects) and Charlie Kern (synth, controller, effects) fused together modern R&B with an experimental approach to a variety of electronic music, creating a future forward sound paired with soulful vocal delivery. The group combined ambient, slow to mid-tempo bass heavy dance music with Ben Martin's emotive vocals. This group was formally known as King Mob, which had the same approach but with what seemed to me a bigger experimental electronic as opposed to R&B influence, but as Young Pharaohs, they've seemed to really embrace the soulful aspect of their music.

Young Pharaohs

Young Pharaohs began their set by unveiling new material right away. They began with a very ambient, deliberately slow building, psychedelic-dream opener titled "Dark Temple", that transitioned into a mellow but forceful hip-hop/R&B inspired piece called "I Don't Wanna Be One With The World". Next came "Mr. 100" a piece that juxtaposed an uptempo, thumping beat with ethereal pads and half-tempo R&B vocals. Then came a trio of songs I've heard performed as King Mob - "The Purpose", "You Remember" and "Moonchild", all songs where the R&B influence this time around was accentuated with the context of the previous songs. The final song, "Put Your Love In My Hands" had an excellent bouncy and funky beat full of big bass and groove that backed a very catchy soulful melody. The continued evolution of this group is welcome, as their R&B influenced identity is much more clear, bringing a dose of soul to the electronic music scene.

Ava Luna

Up next was Ava Luna from Brooklyn. This soulful indie rock band featured Ethan Bassford (bass), Felicia Douglass (vocals, synthesizer), Julian Fader (drums), Carlos Hernandez (vocals, guitar, synthesizer), Becca Kauffman (vocals), and Nathan Tompkins (synthesizer), who created a blend of sounds so incredible, it made my imagination run wild. I imagined an acapella group on a street corner a little over fifty years ago, creating beautiful doo-wop style close harmonies with their voices. I imagined them transported to the future, where they discovered and fervently studied the relationship between mathematics and rock music. I imagined when they came together to form a band, that they took the vintage style soul vocals and combined them with their exploratory rock - a musical combination that stimulates the mind, body and soul.

Ava Luna

That's what started to cross my mind as Ava Luna began their set with a complex start-stop drum pattern that backed intricate but soulful three-part harmony. Suddenly rhythmic but scattered-in-tone bass, wild synth melodies and stabs, and noisy guitar added layers to the ever-building sound. Next came a psychedelic funk odyssey that intertwined with more contemporary doo-wop blended together with irregular time-signatures and patterns. Even their more deceivingly simple soulful songs were laboriously intricate - each vocalist could hold their own on delivery and command the audiences' attention, but complex backing instrumentation always stealthily drove that sound forward.

Ava Luna

Much of their set included not yet released material, as a full length Ava Luna album is just a couple weeks away from release. From their performance, however, it seems it'll likely be an album that will get year-long replay, as the songs were so well written yet so intricate that although they were initially striking, I'm sure the songs will constantly reveal new layers of complexity on each repeated listen. A couple stand-out songs that I did recognize already have that effect, "Clips" from the Services EP, and their single "Wrenning Day". The live version of "Wrenning Day" had a breathtaking and boggling  instrumental breakdown addition to it that really revealed the band's instrumental skill. This band's cerebral soul has captivating smooth tension that is incredible to hear and offers a lot to appreciate - definitely check out Ava Luna.

Twin Sister

Finally, Twin Sister took the stage for the night's headlining set. I'd seen Twin Sister not long ago, and I was happy to see this five-piece band return. Andrea Estella (vocals), Dev Gupta (keyboards), Gabe D'Amico (bass,guitar), Eric Cardona (vocals, guitar, keyboard, drummable sample pad), and Bryan Ujueta (drums) were back delivering more of their multi-influenced indie pop. Seeing this band do a full headlining set meant being able to see them at their full, diverse range - a mix of psychedelic influenced vintage dream-pop, disco, and various forms of rock (desert rock, krautrock, funk, and post-rock) paired with unique psych-lounge vocals.

Twin Sister

Their set began with four currently available songs, starting with the lounge-pop styled "Meet The Frownies" from Shaking Through Volume 1 and transitioning smoothly into the disco dance song "Bad Street" from In Heaven. The first time I saw Twin Sister they experimented with blending songs smoothly into each other to keep a flowing set, so it was nice to see them continue that. "Lady Daydream" from Color Your Life came next and transitioned smoothly into "Spain", both playing off the sort of classic country/desert rock vibe very well, but with a well defined transition that set the pieces apart from each other.

Twin Sister

The next two pieces were a glimpse at what future offerings Twin Sister has down the road. The first song was called "The Power of Two" and incorporated a strong funk influence. The second piece, called "Guide Me", was a more soulful song made dreamier with the absence of drums, instead having Bryan Ujueta move to play synth instead. It seems no matter how many different styles the band chooses to incorporate into their sound, they can still maintain a distinct identity because they tailor each style to their own characteristic sound so well.

Twin Sister & Ava Luna

The rest of Twin Sister's set incorporated an even mix of songs from In Heaven and Color Your Life, seemingly focusing on the more dream-pop oriented songs in their repertoire. It was cool seeing the shuffling of instruments among band members on stage - sometimes even in mid-song. Eric Cardona was busy switching between guitar, keyboards, and an interesting way of drumming melodies from a sample pad, all the while contributing a lot to vocals. Gabe D'Amico often switched between bass and guitar, even playing the guitar while it was laying on the ground so he could quickly switch to bass. For a finale, Twin Sister played an epic extended version of "The Other Side of Your Face" that had strong krautrock influences and ended with members of Ava Luna joining along in a jam session for an explosive end. Because there are so many influences to Twin Sister's sound, I highly recommend fans of rock and pop to check out the range and unique style of this band.

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

R&B (rhythm and blues) music has come along way since its inception sometime in the mid '40s. What began as music defined by its raw combination of assertive rhythms with jazz influence, the term began to label predominately blues music until blues evolved into rock 'n' roll. Then R&B began to describe music that combined electric rock with soul and gospel music. Later down the line, further offshoots of R&B incorporated heavy pop elements. Tonight, the Hi-Dive will host a few bands that have an R&B influence, but don't quite fit in any existing definition of the genre - a testament to the ongoing evolution of music.


The headliner is Twin Sister, an indie rock band from Long Island, NY. For this band, indie rock is a broad generalization, as this band features a sound that draws from a host of past genres and gives them a modern touch. Through the course of their songs, there are disco, retro pop, psychedelic, and R&B influences, drawing from styles from the '50s through the '90s, but when it all comes together it stands alone as something modern. The one constant in Twin Sister's sound are the vocals, a unique subdued yet bold tone that floats over the variety of the band's songs. Check out "Meet The Frownies".



Ava Luna, another New York indie band, this time from Brooklyn, joins the lineup. This band also blends several styles, but the heaviest influences seem to be experimental rock and R&B. Ava Luna seems to take the notion that R&B can be more than insistent rhythms with gospel and soul influenced vocals. Ava Luna takes the soul and gives it a heavy dose of rock, with intricate modern rock instrumentation. The result is R&B with a new kind of fervor and attitude. Check out "Wrenning Day".



Young Pharaohs joins this innovative lineup as local support. Young Pharaohs, formerly known as King Mob, also take a very exploratory approach to R&B. This group takes soulful, emotive vocals and matches it not with rock, jazz or blues, but experimental electronica. The resulting combination adds a sinister layer to the sound yet maintains sex appeal. Check out "Mr. 100".




The doors open at the Hi-Dive at 8:00PM and the music starts at 9:00PM. The show is all ages and tickets are $12. Tickets and more information are available online here.

Tuesday night's concert at the Bluebird Theater really got me thinking about the potential pitfalls of music genre labels. In the broadest sense, I went to see an indie pop show, but that term is so general it can be very misleading, because there was definitely a lot more to the show than just seeing independent bands with a popular appeal. I realize the definition of both indie and pop have evolved, and that indie pop isn't quite either of what those individual labels mean, but I think the indie pop label barely scratches the surface when it comes to describing what I heard Tuesday night, because there was a lot of enjoyable stuff going on that needs more than just a simple label to really be understood.

Le Divorce

Le Divorce opened up the night, and I was happy to catch another set from this local Denver rock band. This four piece indie/alternative band consisting of Kitty Vincent (vocals/guitar), Ryan Stubbs (bass/vocals), Joe Grobelny (guitar) and Chris Durant (drums) was back in fine form, delivering more of their high energy post-punk, lo-fi, and grungy alternative influenced sound. Although I wouldn't consider this band indie pop, they have elements from time to time that could slot their music into that broad category, as some of their songs are a little more melodic, and their set was a good prelude for the bands to come.

Kitty Vincent of Le Divorce

Le Divorce started with "In The Waves", a moody polyrhythmic lo-fi track that's reminiscent of early '90s indie rock and is one of my favorites in the Le Divorce catalog. Le Divorce played a few songs that should appear on their upcoming CD, including "Shout", another song with a lo-fi aesthetic but balanced by Kitty Vincent's smooth vocals and honest lyrics. They wrapped up their set with the post-punk gem "6 Feet Under" and the slyly danceable rocker "Under the Boxcars". Check out Le Divorce at Hallowgoth Dance Party on Halloween. They'll have a new CD out and will be performing in some sweet costumes, an event lo-fi/alt-rock fans won't want to miss.

Twin Sister

Next up was Twin Sister from Long Island, NY. The blanket term indie pop does not really describe the multitude of stylistic things going on in this band's sound. Twin Sister is a five-piece band that features vocalist Andrea Estella, keyboardist Dev Gupta, bassist Gabe D'Amico, guitarist/vocalist Eric Cardona, and drummer Bryan Ujueta. Together they craft a unique dreamy pop-rock sound that sounds like a blend of styles both old and new. Sometimes synth-heavy while other times guitar driven, Twin Sister creates an instrumental sound that sounds like a combination of post-rock, dreampop, and dashes of pop-rock from the '60s, '70s and '80s, creating a constantly varying backdrop for the strangely powerful yet distinctively fragile vocal style of both Eric Cardona and especially Andrea Estella.

Eric Cardona of Twin Sister

Twin Sister performed an impressive mix of songs from all over their catalog - songs from their EPs Vampires With Dreaming Kids, and Color Your Life and from their recently released full length album In Heaven. They began their set with the nebulous song "Lady Daydream", its airy vocals and dreamy soundscape balanced by twangy guitar. From there they craftily transitioned into the wistful "Spain", a flow that happened so smoothly I didn't even realize the change at first. The retro dance-rock song "Gene Ciampi" came next, a song that I love because it reminds me of vintage Asian pop music.

Andrea Estella of Twin Sister

Twin Sister performed a song I've only seen available on the sampler Shaking Through Vol. 1 titled "Meet the Frownies", another modern song that sounds like it emerged from an old dusty vinyl crate. They played a few more songs from their new album including the dancey synth-pop disco-rock song "Bad Street". I was glad to hear the standout dreamy post-disco song "All Around and Away We Go" from their second EP, and especially glad to hear the solemn yet colorful "I Want a House" from their first release. I think if they ended the set there, it would have been perfect, but Twin Sister chose to end the set with a more abstract and atmospheric piece that just didn't seem to fit with everything else. Aside from that last song, their set offered just about everything I was looking for, and I absolutely loved all the varied sounds they have going on. Twin Sister has a fresh take on indie pop that really needs to be heard to truly understand it. Check them out, their sound is unlike anything else out right now.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Lastly was the headlining set from The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Kip Berman (vocals/guitar), Peggy Wang (keyboards/vocals), Alex Naidus (bass), Kurt Feldman (drums) and Christoph Hochheim (guitar) make up this New York based indie pop band. But once again, indie pop doesn't quite tell the whole story, as this band combines modern rock with elements of noise rock and shoegaze to create their indie brand of catchy pop rock. Their songs are usually upbeat with driving rhythms and simple melodies that are energetic and catchy without being glittery or exaggerated, allowing for a more genuine listening experience.

Peggy Wang of The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart played a good mix of songs from their self-titled debut album and their newly released album Belong. They opened their set with the new album title track "Belong", a song with a danceable rhythm and a careful balance of noisey riffs versus soft vocal sections. From there The Pains of Being Pure At Heart's set was split roughly half and half between new album and debut album tracks. The single "Heart In Your Heartbreak" appeared early in the set and had much of the audience singing along. I felt "A Teenager In Love" was the strongest performed song from their debut album and elicited a solid response from the crowd.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart's set was strong musically with great energetic stage presence, and Kip Berman was especially personable with the crowd. There was humorous banter between many songs and much of it had to do with their experiences in Denver and other local related topics. They kept the crowd engaged by mentioning on topic things like their time at Monolith Festival a couple years ago to tangents like Tim Tebow. They knew how to keep the banter short as to not be distracting but include enough that you could tell they really enjoyed being in Denver and interacting with the crowd. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart wrapped up their regular set with the title track off their first self-titled EP, a fitting closing song promising perseverance.

Kip Berman of The Pains of Being Pure At Heart performing solo

Of course, the audience wanted a little bit more and called The Pains of Being Pure At Heart back for an encore. Kip Berman came out on stage with just his guitar and began to play a stripped-down solo version of "Contender", really bringing out the emotional core and revelatory lyricism of that song with his performance. Then the rest of the band joined Kip Berman on stage to close the night with the alluding "Everything With You". The Pains of Being Pure At Heart delivers a good show very much like their album experience, so fans of shoegaze influenced indie-pop should definitely check them out.

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

It's always fun doing back-to-back nights at the same venue, especially when each night features two drastically different types of music. The setting may be the same, but the experiences are always different. After checking out some futuristic electronic based music the night before, I'm returning to the Bluebird Theater this time for some indie rock. The Bluebird Theater will be hosting three bands, two national and one local, that all approach indie rock a different way, and have varying degrees of retro influences.


The headlining band is The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, an indie rock band from New York, NY. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart broke out onto the music scene with the release of their self-titled album a couple years ago, and this indie-pop rock band is now touring in support of their newly released album Belong. They have a catchy pop rock sound that maintains a wholesome charm and thus never feels artificial or contrived, a refreshing departure from some of the more cookie-cutter versions of pop floating around. Check out "Heart In Your Hearbreak" and "Belong".
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Heart In Your Heartbreak by Slumberland Records
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong by Slumberland Records


Twin Sister is another New York state indie-pop rock band, this time from Long Island. This band takes a different approach to pop, resurrecting the feel and style of pop music from past eras. Somehow, Twin Sister has combined post-rock (think Stereolab), '60s style pop rock (think Nancy Sinatra), and other retro influences (I don't know what to label it, but some of their songs remind me of the Korean pop music my mom used to play in the late '80s), all bundled into a coherent, delectable sound. Check out "Stop" and the absolutely incredible "Gene Ciampi".
Twin Sister - Stop by buffablog
Twin Sister - Gene Ciampi by DominoRecordCo


Le Divorce is a local band that has been featured on this blog before known for a '90s alternative rock influenced sound. Although they have indie-pop sensibilities, Le Divorce has a strong early post-punk characteristic that sets them apart. They deliver their catchy and sometimes slightly grungy sound with incredible energy and awesome stage presence, and should really do well to get the night started. Check out "6 Feet Under" and "In The Waves".
Le Divorce - 6 Feet Under by Concerted Effort
In the Waves by Le Divorce

The doors open at the Bluebird Theater at 7:00PM and the music starts at 8:00PM. The show is all ages and tickets are $15.