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

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

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

THE ENGLISH BEAT IN DENVER

Saturday night March 1st was spent dancing with The English Beat at the Summit Music Hall.  The ususal scene with the place packed with adoring fans.  This may have been their last show, or close to it, before they flew over to the UK for a number of shows in that country.

Shoirtly after they began it bwas apparant that this wouild be an unusual show.  They started late.  The songs they played were generally a bit faster than usual, and shorter in nduration.  The band seemed to be enjoying themselves, smiles on their faces.  Most unusual was the fact that Dave Wakling said virtually nothing between the song, no banter with the audience.  And thene there was no encore, no matter how long and enthusiastically the audiance cheered for them.  They performed on stage for only a little over an hour.  Was this the new English Beat??

We learned later that evening that there was a problem at the show in Fort Collins that prompted this cold reception at the Summit, both venues run by the same company, Soda Jerk.  This is what the English Beat FaceBook page said regarding what happened the night before:



Thisd was their way of protesting the events of the previus evening: short show, few drinks sold, Soda Jerk gets a financial hit.  Let's see if they perform at the Summit next time they come through .

And they are returning in August, one of the bands playing at the Raggea On The Rocks, at the Red Rocks Amphitheter.  Should be a fun show!

Download the show here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/3boza3a5y7yp/EB%2001012014%20MP3.rar

Where's Waldo?

COMMISSARY YURT IN THE TETONS

The annual "mancation" to a new ski destination had arrived, the crew made up of an environmental consultant, a software developer, a computer system designer, an emergency room doctor, an engineer and a bartender/ski bum.  The age spread was from 26 to 62.  We met in Jackson, Wyoming and proceeded directly to Driggs, Idaho where we spent the night after shopping for our meals and a fine dinner at a local restaurant.

Our destination was the Commissary Yurt on the backside of the Teton Range.  It snowed the previous week and was snowing everyday were were up on the mountain.  The entry was relatively easy, an ascent of about 1500 feet over five miles, but it is still difficult for someone out of shape.  There's such a great feeling when one rounds the corner and there's our destination.  Several of us went out and did some scouting that evening in preparation for the trip up Beard Mountain the following day.  A glorious sunset with the snow covered trees and clouds brightly lit in the last rays of the sun!

Day two was spend ascending and skiing down the untracked powder on the west flank of Beard Mountain. Hours spent on the ascent for perhaps 15 -20 minutes of pure pleasure floating down the mountainside.  Turn around and do it again.  By mid afternoon there was no time to do another loop so it was time to return to the yurt for appetizers, beverages and my turn at dinner.  It began snowing again after sunset.  Just like the night before, when all went to bed, I went outside for a cigar with some tequila and a concert recording.  No chance of my falling off the bunk bed since I had the cot that sat low to the yurt floor.

New powder blanketed the trail for our return trip to the vehicles.  Once back on the access road, we had to pole and skate ski back to the vehicles.  That's work too.  We dropped our packs and loaded up the skis, heading over to Grand Targhee for a half day of skiing on powder covered runs.  The snow was coming down hard, creating whiteout conditions on top of the mountain, feeling our way down until the appearance of trees gave us something to judge our movement by.  Our legs were exhausted by the time 4 PM came around and we completed our last run of the day.

The next day and a half were spent at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.  More snow, more powder runs, more fine dining, more drinking.  The one guy on our crew who lived in Jackson knew where the secret stashes of fresher snow were located, often on the steeper slopes on the fringe of the ski area, often in the trees.  A great time was had by all.

After a half day of skiing, I and one other boarded a plane and departed for home Sunday evening.  We felt every bump and shift in the wind aboard our small aircraft.  I was happy to touch ground back in Colorado.  Discussion have begun as to where we might consider going for our next ski mancation in 2015.