A Fan’s Account of the Westword Music Showcase
by Ryan Hughes
I began my day with a familiar desire in my stomach and a similar goal to any festival-goer: navigate the perfect route through the multitude of stages, and get the most out of the paper band wrapped around my wrist.
The journey began at Krewe, to see alternative rockers, Science Partner. There songs are accented with delicious vocal harmonies and guitar riffs that sink in to your skin. The juxtaposition between the sweetness of the two female vocalists, pit against raw, noise filled breakdowns creates a dynamic live performance. Theres stage presence oozes both energy and personality, which the lead guitarist/vocalist demonstrated when he pulled out his phone and said “My mom is calling… she hates our music”. He then answered the call, set the phone on top of his amp, and blew out the speaker attached to his mom’s ear. Catch Science Partner at the Higher Ground Music Festival, on August 23rd.
http://sciencepartner.bandcamp.com/
Next we rushed over to Bar Standard to catch The Outfit. These guys are straight up rockers with heavy roots and surf influences. There sound immediately draws comparison to bands like The Strokes and The Walkman, Indy rock with a genuine quality.
http://www.choosetheoutfit.com/
Next stop: The Rooster to catch the hard hitting tunes of Wire Dogs. The performance was high energy, noisy, pure punk with passion behind it. Wire Dogs leave it all out on the stage, and keep the crowd at attention. They have the presence of a great punk band i.e. they stand for something, and they make everyone in the room stand for it too.
Now we find ourselves at Broadway’s outdoor stage to see the appropriately named Colfax Speed Queen. These guys have defined there sound, and they have the gusto to pull it off with a lot of style. Slap back vocal reverb, distinct organ sounds and fast guitar riffs that put you right where they want you: Spun out on the curb of Americas longest street.
http://colfaxspeedqueen.bandcamp.com/
Now that we had toured the grounds a bit, we figured it was time to see what all the fuss was about at the main stage.
ManMan has the ability to explore the experimental, freak the crowd out, and write a pop hit all rolled into one. There skeleton outfits represented a long time indie favorite finally reaching a larger audience, as if to say “We are the same people we have always been”. They use a plethora of keyed and brass instruments to sound like no other rock band. What makes ManMan great is that they can hang the indy crowd or put on a universally enjoyable face.
Cherub is one of the most danceable bands around. Electro-pop beats layered with falsetto vocals that are almost BeeGee’ian. There throwback style to 80’s funk and disco is offset by new-school lyrical content that creates an undeniable party vibe.
http://cherublamusica.com/home
Two Chainz is the best HYPE MAN in the business. The true hip hop heads in the crowd couldn’t look past the trite lyricism, but the masses could appreciate his ability to keep the crowd up, and “Rap” lines that are so bad ass even the haters couldn’t stop repeating things like “Two Chains but I got me a few on”, because when you say it, you cant help but feel cool.
I wasn’t sure about Diplo for about the first two songs, as they were both tension builders, just winding the crowd up. It wasn’t until about the third song when he started to let some of the beats actually “drop” and a girl with flashing stunner shades started tweaking on me that I really started to understand the appeal. Diplos production/DJ style has a dancehall influence that really separates him from the competition. His bass had the entire audience pairing up, and flocks of girls rushing to the front, hoping to be called up on stage to show off. It wasn’t until after the set ended, and Ms. Stunna shades blew off my advance that I realized the twerk session I had just been (happily) subjected too had everything to do with Diplo and nothing to do with me. Diplos gives people the push they need to do something they would be totally embarrassed to do in other circumstances, and that desire to cut loose is why we go to shows.
http://maddecent.com/artists/diplo/
The diversity of venues, music and people is what made this festival great. Over 150 bands, at 17 stages, smack dab in the middle of Denver. Whether you were barhopping and enjoying the amazing local talent or grooving with half of Denver at the main stage, the festival was full of different styles, genres and amazing experiences to be had.
Category: National News
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