This past weekend was the 2nd Annual Chipotle Cultivate Festival! It was wicked fun and had great food, a great purpose, and of course GREAT MUSIC!
The Chipotle Cultivate Festival is basically a food, ideas, and music festival put on by the restaurant chain, Chipotle Mexican Grill (which started in Denver by the way), to promote sustainable and responsible farming practices. Chipotle as a company buys almost all of their ingredients for their restaurants from their local farms across the country. They never use meats treated with antibiotics and always use vegetables without chemicals. They believe (and I can agree) that their food is not only better for you because of these practices but also tastes more fresh and more flavorful.
As a part of this free event, they offered several 45 minute concerts throughout the day! The lineup was as follows:
Air Dubai
Good Old War
Allen Stone
Blitzen Trapper
Chris Golub
Cold War Kids
Talk about a fun day, right??
Air Dubai
For those of you who do not know, each year Channel 93.3 - Denver's top station for alternative rock - puts on a contest each year called Hometown for the Holidays where local bands from the Denver area can compete for the public's votes to win which earns them a chance to be played on the radio and potentially to be signed with a label! In 2010, Air Dubai earned this honor with their pop-rap style and popping beats. Naturally, they were the opener for the festival celebrating one of Denver's hometown restaurants - Chipotle.
Following Air Dubai, was the folk band Good Old War. Now, I had heard of Good Old War before hand and I was fan, but I didn't really realize how musical this group was until I saw them live. Literally, this band is made up of a single guitar and the vocal chords of three guys. That's it! And yet their sound is so full. They definitely played a solid set. Check out some footage below.
Up next was Allen Stone, a self-proclaimed hippy singer-songwriter with a fun voice and just enough sass and jazz to really uplift a crowd. Unfortunately, I didn't get any footage of his performance but to make up for it, here's his Spotify page.
I'll be honest, I didn't stay to listen to Blitzen Trapper, so I cannot say anything about them other than direct you to their Spotify page, too. And, if you're wondering who Chris Golub is, he is the master behind the curation of the soundtrack you hear at Chipotle's everywhere. I guess you could say that he is Chipotle's own personal DJ. He spun tracks between sets.
Cold War Kids
But the day was not over yet! The headlining band was yet to perform.... COLD WAR KIDS!! All you indie fans out there, try to contain your excitement. They also played a fresh set. Cold War Kids really is that type of music that has just enough sass and edge to make you throw your hands up, close your eyes, and throw a smolder on your face and just move to the beat of the music with edge and a tinge of grit.
Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids
This was somewhat of a short review, but serisouly, if you are in the Denver area, come check out the Chipotle Cultivate Festival next year. They always have great bands (Grouplove played last year....) and I'm sure they won't disappoint next year. The next city the Festival is heading to is Chicago! Check out the lineup here. And man, oh man, it's a good one!
My fellow Coloradans!!! Let's just take a moment to comment on the bipolar patterns of the state in which we live. For those of you who do not know me, I just spent the last month abroad in Taiwan and Hong Kong where typhoon season was in session. Essentially what this means is that it rains all the time.... not necessarily something the average Coloradan is exactly used to seeing on a daily basis. But, upon my return to the 303, you know what I was met with?? That's right!! Daily rain! What is this witchcraft???? Leave for a month and the state suddenly decides to pull a 180 on you and goes from being insanely dry to very wet. But, I can't really complain. I actually love the rain and the perception is good for the state.
By this point you are probably thinking, "Kristina, I came here to read about the Phoenix concert, not get the retro-active weather report." Keep calm. This is why I am telling you: So originally, the illustrious and very French band, Phoenix, was booked to play at Red Rocks Amphitheater, but due to "inclement weather predictions" (emphasis on those quotation marks, please) they moved the venue to the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield. Turns out that the weather would have been just fine, but the show ended up at 1st Bank nonetheless. So much for "Rain or Shine," am I right?
BUT! I must admit that this venue was probably perfect for this show! And, if you keep up with my concert shenanigans, you know that that's a pretty big deal for me to say as I am a mega-Red Rocks fan. But in truth, the 1st Bank Center provided a more intimate and danceable environment for the show. The effects and sound was impeccable and seriously, that party could have gone on all night and no one would complain. More about that in just a moment.
As a fan of indie, up-and-coming, not-so-popular bands, I like to mention the openers on my blog from each show I go to as a form of free promotion and support. However, this opener was flat out terrible. I will venture to write a brief review, but only 4 sentences and nothing more... they were that bad: Usually, I have a fairly open mind about bands that I hear, but Dinosaur Jr. disappointed me. Dinosaur Jr. sounded like a nineties grunge band mixed with the guitar solos of classic rock and the drum riffs of nasty heavy metal.... not a good combo. The wall of sound coming from the stage warranted the action of plugging one's ears accompanied by a cringing facial expression. To complete your mental and auditory sample of their performance, I feel that my friend Parker said it best, "If you have to re-tune your guitar after every song," (and they did), "you are doing something wrong." You can watch some footage I took of their set here if you would like to submit yourself to that kind of discomfort...
Bleh! Just thinking about those 45-60 minutes of my life is enough to make me miserable. Moving on!! The torturous wait was well worth it when Phoenix took the stage around 9pm.
Picture this:
Six men took the stage in two rows on the main platform. Nothing is happening and the only sound is a powerful, building tone. Behind them a wall of LED lights depicts a gradient of color in hues of pink and orange. A giant sunrise is emerging behind them as their silhouettes become more distinct. The sound is rising and the sun has become blindingly bright and....... BAM! The iconic pop of Phoenix's unique sound hits you in the face with the perfect balance and energy you would expect from the French artists and more.
Phoenix was formed in the mid-nineties as a sort of "garage-band" in Versailles, France. The original members of Phoenix include vocalist, Thomas Mars, bassist Deck d'Arcy and guitarist Chris Mazzalai. In 1995, Laurent Brancowitz hopped on board playing guitar, as well. Today, the band consists of the afore mentioned members along with Thomas Hedlund on drums and Jonathan Chavez on percussion.
In 1999, the group was officially dubbed Phoenix and began producing music under their own label, Ghettoblaster, until they were picked up by Source Records (Paris) and began expanding their name and sharing their music through British television appearances and such.
You may remember that I mentioned that this show had to be moved to an indoor venue. You may also remember that I uncharacteristically preferred the 1st Bank Center over Red Rocks for this particular show. And here is why. Phoenix is not a band to really, what I would call, "traditionally work a crowd." I think that the throughout the whole show, they actually spoke to the audience maybe twice. But, here is the great thing about Phoenix! They let their music speak for itself and really engage their audience through intimate guitar solos/duets between sets, not wasting time between songs, and really just knowing how to keep a party going with dance-worthy beats and electronic energy! The atmosphere and standing-room admission that the 1st Bank Center provide really made for a fantastic dance scene and level of intimacy that the distance and amphitheater-style seating that Red Rocks has just wouldn't have been able to compete with, especially considering the nature of their show.
Phoenix performed a number of highlights from their new album, Bankrupt! as well as many of their popular hits from their past albums. Phoenix has somewhat of a "cult following" and a fan base that has loved them from the very beginning. Non-Phoenix fans may claim that all of their songs sound the same, but I think that that is the very thing that makes Phoenix Phoenix. You can count on the solid sythpop/indie rock style to set you up with a funky bass line and a melody that is high, exciting, and energizing. Each song sounds somewhat similar, yet each is highly unique and can pump up a crowd within a few bars of the intro. In addition, I really appreciated Phoenix's solid musicianship and ability to really be able to perform live and sound like what they record on their albums. To me, that speaks volumes to their skill and tells me that they place little reliance on today's sound-altering technology because it is unnecessary.
As I also mentioned before, this concert truly was the party that could have gone on all night. After the show, the band performed a multi-song encore, bringing in a medley of tracks including a slower, solo guitar and vocal number and a freakin' incredible remix of their hit single "If I Ever Feel Better."
To top it off, the show ended with Thomas Mars (vocalist) walking around the arena and through the standing crowd (I was 6 inches away from touching him!) and crowd-surfing back to the stage!
If there was ever a band that still kickin' it and knows how to give a crowd a good show. It's gotta be Phoenix - hands down.
Ok, since I just started this blog about four days ago, I obviously do not have anything new concerts to report on since my Postal Service posting; therefore, I am going to back track a little bit and bring you some insight on the other concerts I've seen in the past three weeks (and may be even before that...we'll see).
Working those smolders...clearly
Two weeks ago, on May 20th, 2013, Vampire Weekend and Of Monsters and Men played a one time only joint show together at the illustrious Red Rocks Amphitheater. This show was particularly special as Of Monsters and Men and Vampire Weekend are not actually on tour with each other at this time. This was a one night only, special treat for indie rock fans of the Denver area. But before we get into that, here's some background on the groups:
Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend
I am going to start with Vampire Weekend for no other reason other than the first track that played when I flipped on my "Of Monsters and Vampires" playlist on my iPod was "Bryn" by Vampire Weekend....so, sorry Of Monsters and Men, you'll have to wait your turn. Anyways, Vampire Weekend was formed in 2006 and is originally from New York. The band consists of four musicians: front man, Ezra Koenig (let's all just take a moment to appreciate this man's good looks, ok?) - vocals, guitar; keyboardist/guitarist/secondary vocalist, Rostam Batmanglij; rhythm-master (a.k.a drummer) Chris Tomson ; and bassist and secondary vocalist Chris Baio. The band's discography includes the following albums (click the links in captions to listen):
The band came together while attending Columbia University when Koenig and Thomson began experimenting with rap in punk rock and African influences. This later led to Koenig's interests in "world sounds" and their incorporation with music as is evidenced in Vampire Weekend's eclectic sound. The band's name comes from a short film project Koenig worked on briefly in his early years at Columbia. For those veteran fans of Vampire Weekend, you may find it interesting to know that their classic songs "Walcott" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" are allusions to Koenig's work in producing his own version of a 1980s vampire film in which the plot involves "a man named Walcott travels to Cape Cod to warn the mayor that vampires are attacking the United States." Though this project was abandoned after only two days of work, obviously he produced some pretty fantastic stuff out of it.
To read more about the band's history and rise to fame, check out their Wikipedia page here. Fun fact for you, though, Vampire Weekend has permitted their tracks to be used with popular video games such as Just Dance 2, Guitar Hero 5, and Lego Rock Band. Their music has also been used in a few movies and TV shows and over the years, their tracks have ranked exceptionally high in the U.S. and U.K. charts such as Rolling Stones and Billboard.
Now on to Of Monsters and Men! A relatively new group (formed in 2010) in the alternative folk scene, but quite the hit already! The band hails from the country of Iceland and is made of 6 members: lead singer/guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, co-singer/guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, keyboard player Árni Guðjónsson and bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson. Don't ask me how to say those names.... their names may be foreign, but their music is in English, so don't worry!
Aside from smaller local accomplishments in Ireland and 4 track EP titledInto the Woodsreleased in 2011, the band's debut album was an instant hit! (Again, click caption to listen)
Now, if you have not yet heard OMAM's hit single, "Little Talks" off of this album, you must be living under a rock. Seriously. This track is definitely the band's claim to fame, reaching the top 10 in most European charts, No. 1 in Ireland and Iceland, and No. 1 in the US Alternative charts. The album on the whole reached top numbers as well in many other notable music charts around the globe in countries such as Australia Iceland, Ireland, US, UK, other European countries, and Canada. In 2013, OMAM even had the honor of receiving the European Border Breakers Awards.
As you can tell by both band's credentials, this co-headlined show was quite the experience and very exciting for them both to come Red Rocks on the same evening! And of course, when you have two awesome bands come together, you must have a fantastic opener! Now, I won't ramble on about the opener too much as long as you promise to go check them out! The opening band was an awesome soft-sounding indie group from Australia called The High Highs (Facebook page here).
Of Monsters and Men at Red Rocks
Following the High Highs was Of Monsters and Men. Now, this was actually my second time seeing OMAM live and it was a close call to determine which show was better. But hey, the band brings it every time, so it was probably too close to call! The band had an awesome set, playing hits from their album My Head is an Animal as well as a remixed version of "Little Talks" that was... let's just say....richly dark and beautiful, yet slightly terrifying. Hilmarsdóttir has a voice that can just transform and bring so much emotion out of her audience. Well done. And because I am a total band geek at heart, I must give a shout out to Árni Guðjónsson because she is not only their critically important keyboardist, but also the musician behind that gorgeous trumpet sound in many of their songs. Her tone is impeccable and just makes me melt every time I hear it live. Unfortunately, the group came on stage with a wacky sound check which created a very fuzzy droning noise underneath their sound, but luckily they fixed it about half way through. OMAM is definitely a band I recommend spending the money to go see live, they are well worth it.
By this time in the evening, the sky was dark and when it is dark....it is time for the Vampires to come out! I am oh so impressed by Ezra Koenig's ability to sing in such a high register without sounding thin or falsetto-y; totally makes their music unique and engaging and stand out from other indie alternative bands with male lead singers. My only disappointment with Vampire Weekend was to discover that the group does not use actual string instruments such as violins that you hear in many of their recordings. It was not as if those parts were missing, but they were instead covered by a synthesizer or something. Like I said, I'm a band geek and really appreciate incorporation of symphonic instruments into electronically based music. But oh well! The band has a fantastic stage presence and I must hand it to Vampire Weekend's bassist, Chris Baio because he is just so fun to watch! He struts around his area of the stage with flair and pop (almost like a dance) in his Vans shoes and totally looks like he's just having a blast up there! Shout out to him.
Vampire Weekend played a good medley of songs from all three of their albums and it was cool to get to hear a few tracks off of Modern Vampires of the City since that album was released just 6 days earlier on May 14th! I have to say though, that my favorite part of the night was probably their closing song, "Walcott." It is tradition for the band to end a show with "Walcott" as it is about leaving Cape Cod (just like we were leaving them...or them us...). It was literally the most fun I have ever had at a Red Rocks show. If you thought that every concert is almost like a dance party, well this one (and this song in particular) was the dance party of all dance parties! Everyone in that amphitheater was literally jumping up and down and singing along. I never wanted that moment to end.
This show was so great, I do not hesitate to declare it my favorite Red Rocks show to date. Next time Vampire Weekend comes to town, I am so there.
Ah Red Rocks Amphitheater..... the second highest recommended thing to go see in the great state of Colorado by the Denver Post. Truly a miraculous setting. The massive rocks on either side of you perfectly balancing the acoustics of the outdoor amphitheater all while providing a cozy setting outside of Morrison, Colorado with a gorgeous view of the south Denver skyline. If you have never been to Red Rocks, you must go!! As I like to describe it: It's pretty much Colorado's version of Disney World... just with more pot.... But of course there are family friendly events and concerts, so don't worry too much about that.
Lewis (left) and Gibbard (right); (Not my photo)
Anyways, this summer is packed with awesome concerts coming to the Front Range. Last week, on May 30th, Ra Ra Riot played with The Postal Service at Red Rocks on a celebration tour for the ten year anniversary of their one and only album, Give Up. The Postal Service released Give Up in 2003 with vocalist Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie) and producer Jimmy Tamborello (of Dntel and Headset) with Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) on background vocals/keyboards & samplers live. The band was entitled "The Postal Service" due to the way Gibbard and Tamborello collaborated on music which was by sending copies of the music via the United States Postal Service. The album was a great hit and developed almost a "cult" following which has sustained their name over the past ten years even without the release of a second album. Due to the fact that the members of the band were involved in other music groups, the prospect of creating a follow up to Give Up became more and more difficult until it was "officially announced" that there would be no second album.
Despite the band's minimal discography, the group re-united to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the album and embark on a world tour as well as release a new edition of Give Up complete with new rarities and two new bonus tracks that released on April 9th, 2013. Stops on this tour will include Red Rocks Amphitheater, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2013, the Primavera Sound Festival 2013 in Barcelona Sasquatch! Music Festival in Washington in May and Free Press Summer Fest in Houston in June.
Now, enough about background let's get to the actual concert! As always, the theatrics of Red Rocks didn't disappoint. The Postal Service came with a flashy LED backdrop that gave off a very neon appearance and feel. My roommate and myself were fortunate enough to be close to the stage and had a great view (but let's be real... there are no bad seats at the Rocks). Ra Ra Riot opened the show and totally killed it. Opening bands are always a hidden treasure and I always feel bad for them because their greatness sometimes goes unnoticed due to the fact that they are the "openers." I've seen some pretty awesome openers like Feist and the High Highs and Ra Ra Riot now is up on that list too; check them out.
The Postal Service rolled out at about 8 o'clock right when the sun was about to go down and they played a two hour set. The played tracks from Give Up (obviously) and a couple songs I was not familiar with... perhaps the new rarities on the deluxe release? They had a very simple set up with four people. Gibbard was the clear front male vocalist and danced around with the electric guitar, drum set (when they weren't using the usual drum machine), and miscellaneous instruments. Lewis was the front female voice with a keyboard, miscellaneous auxiliary percussion and the occasional guitar... she even played the electric guitar with her mouth at one point!! I wasn't sure if I should have been impressed or disturbed quite honestly. Tamborello was vocals at times, but mainly he was the running the computers to give the band that characteristic pop-electronica sound. He also played this strange instrument that had keys like a wind instrument but had a tube that he blew air through to make noise. I have no idea what it was, but if you know, leave me a comment telling me what it is! Then lastly, there was a fourth woman whose name escapes me but she was the synth master and vibraphone percussionist with the occasional vocal assist. Gibbard and Lewis are quite the theatric couple when they get together, however! If you are familiar with the Postal Service, you'll recall that many of the lyrics are exchanges between a girl and a guy character, some flirtatious, some heartbreaking, and others hoping for what could've been sort of things. Since the PS's music is electronically based, it freed up the two to dance around and interact with each other more than most vocalists get the chance to do. The two were very sassy with each other and very flirtatious, too (though no actual relationship is established to my knowledge).
The only thing I must critique about their performance was the evolution of their sound that has come from ten years of age. It was very minor and I think that maybe only seasoned Postal Service fans would have noticed the small alterations in the music, but that's just me being picky. However, I did notice that Lewis's voice is drastically different. I do not know if they did some studio work on it when the recorded back in 2003 or if she just sings differently now, but the live performance was definitely more nasally (sorry) and I felt that her performance was too flirtatious and almost seductive for the style and heart of the music. Perhaps my interpretation of the music as a fan is just too innocent, but that's just what I liked about it. Additionally, (again this is a super minor, picky thing) the LED lights were a little much at parts. This may have been because we were very close to the stage, but when the band played "Natural Anthem," they flashed the lights very rapidly and randomly during the extended intro to that song and I swore that someone was going to have a seizure. But hey, can't complain too much, because like I said, the lighting effects and theatrics are some of my favorite parts about Red Rocks.
Overall, solid concert. It was super sick to be able to be a part of this ten year anniversary tour for the Postal Service - a staple of the indie electronic music culture.
Air Dubai
