Saturday, May 31, 2014

MS MR


First it was scheduled for the Ogden, then moved to the Gothic.  Then the drummer becomes ill on the scheduled date and the show is postponed.  But they pulled it off at the original venue on the rescheduled date, after memorable performances around the country, including their time at Coachella where they performed immediately after the cancelled date in Denver last April.
 
The wait was worth it.  A great hour long set in front of a packed house, but Lizzy and Max had a bit of a struggle engaging the audience in the beginning but their choice of songs soon turned that around. 
Reverb writes:

Angst-fueled lullabies. These are three words one might use to describe the sound of MS MR. Not that the band’s music will put you to sleep — quite the contrary. Tucked in beneath a blanket of poppy-sweet soundscapes is a fiery spirit.

Fans were disappointed last month when MS MR had to cancel its April 9 show at the Gothic “due to band illness,” as it tweeted out that night; apparently touring drummer Zach Nicita was sick. But all was forgiven on Wednesday as MS MR had the crowd moving, shaking and dancing along to their one-hour set at the Ogden Theatre.

“We really, really like Denver. And we were so bummed, as many of you were, to cancel the show last month,” music maker Max Hershenow said between songs. “None of us are throwing up tonight, so we’re all good. ZACH.”

The indie/electro-pop duo from New York is comprised of producer and keyboardist Hershenow and vocalist Lizzy Plapinger, a tall, slender woman with a huge set of lungs. Along for the ride were Nicita and David Lizmi on bass. A barrage of bass feedback kicked off the night as MS MR moved into the second track of its debut album “Secondhand Rapture.” Here the audience got its first taste of Plapinger’s sweet-and-salty vocals. Bathed primarily in black and white, the stage was adorned with a giant, sparkly striped monochrome “M” flag. To match the visuals on stage, Hershenow wore a black short-sleeved T-shirt with black-and-white speckled leggings and white platform shoes. Plapinger wore an Adidas track suit. The only color showing was her dyed magenta hair.

The chemistry between the songwriting duo is palpable. During “Fantasy,” the fourth song of the evening, Hershenow stepped away from the keys to dance with Plapinger, doing near-pirouettes across the stage in his humongous shoes. MS MR’s dozen studio recordings translate well live, where the band brings added energy and aggression to the songs.

A highlight of the evening was a superb cover of Arctic Monkeys’ “Do I Wanna Know?” There was a fan in attendance with an Arctic Monkeys T-shirt (black and white, no less), and the band took notice. Plapinger asked him if the cover was worthy — he quietly nodded in agreement.

More here:
http://www.heyreverb.com/blog/2014/05/29/ms-mr-ogden-theatre-5-28-14-photos-review-video/89832/






Download the audio for the full show here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/5wutd41sx2t/n/RMSM_Ogden_Theater_Denver_CO_May_28,_2014.rar


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

CAGE THE ELEPHANT

After seeing them at Coachella, I had no choice but to see their high energy act when they scheduled a tour stop at the Ogden Theater here in Denver.  It was great because they performed before a sold out show this Saturday night, I not having to worry about being anywhere in particular the following day.  If I slept in the back of the truck after the show, that's no problem.

The opening act was J. Roddy Walston and the Business form Tennessee followed by the Oxford, England’s Foals.  Both very good, getting the audience pumped up for the headliner this evening.  The crowd surfing began early and peaked when Cage The Elephant were on stage, Matt Schultz throwing himself into the audience to both stand up atop the crowd as well as do a head stand.  I got exhausted just watching him run around all over the stage!  It was a fabulous show, with great songs and great vibes, making this band one of my new favorites at the moment.

Reverb writes:

If “whoa” best described the astonished reaction of Foals’ set, Kentucky’s Cage the Elephant had a ton of people yelling “wooooh!” Hitting their mark early and playing to their crowd, they quickly claimed the stage.

Like the previous two acts, CtE loves to play live. Songs from the band’s 2013 release, “Melophobia” came fast and frequent — the dancing, head bopping crowd roared its approval after each number. With a crowd-friendly live show, an equally crowd-friendly showman (singer Matt Schultz), the band had the Ogden Theatre eating out of its hands for favorites like “Take It or Leave It” and the 2008 breakthrough, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked.”

Read it here, along with the pictures:
http://www.heyreverb.com/blog/2014/05/19/cage-the-elephant-foals-ogden-theatre-5-17-14-photos-review/89444/


Here's my short video from the show paired up with the audio:





Download the whole show here (audio):
http://www.filefactory.com/file/1ndrrw719e0r/CTE%20Ogden%2017052014.rar


Sunday, May 4, 2014

TOKYO POLICE CLUB

On April 21, 2014 Tokyo Police Club rolled through Denver to play a show at the Bluebird Theater.

"Canadian pop-rock act, Tokyo Police Club, played for an enthusiastic crowd on Monday at the Bluebird Theater. The night kicked off with a set from Said The Whale and a standout performance from Geographer."

This was the first time I saw them live, so I was suprised to learn this was their 11th performance in Denver.

I decided to stand back and avoid the packed audience up front.

Good performance by the band.

I forgot to download all photos and videos on my camera, the SD card maxed out.  I learned too late and had no ability to take pictuers.  All shots pictured in this blog came from Reverb:
http://www.heyreverb.com/blog/2014/04/22/tokyo-police-club-bluebird-theater-4-21-14-photos/88290/#name here





Download the show as a single file here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/7hvjg08aj3q5/TPC%20BT%20April%2021%2C%202014.rar