2012 UMS wrap-ups, pt. 3

Boot buddies

Patrick Brown’s take on this year’s UMS:

Once again, the best music festival in town has come to a close; an exhausting four days in sweltering July, loaded with more music than you can possibly see even if you caught only one song of each band, and once again I am left with the same impressions as in previous years: Denver’s music scene is an embarrassment of riches and it’s a real service to the music community at large that this festival exists, has continued at the level it is at, and that it caters so much to local musicians. And the food! Did I mention the food? So many restaurants, vendors, and food trucks put on their best faces for the four days, even if I kept getting drawn back magnetically to Socorro's Street Tacos. While there were, of course, several national acts who turned in great performances – highlighted for me by experimental hip-hoppers Shabazz Palaces, New Orleans Bounce performers Big Freedia & the Divas, and indie rockers Imperial Teen (whose drummer lives here, so we can count them as local too) – the focus of the festival is a thriving music scene and the social and musical community that the festival represents.

Esme Patterson

GoStar with Abi Miller of Wheelchair Sports Camp 

And this year, similar to previous years, I left the four days of festival already planning strategies for how to hit more music at next year’s UMS, without even knowing anything about future lineups. Of course I’m hoping that next year I’m not in a boot to heal my foot, which makes getting around quickly and nimbly a hell of a lot easier. But moving more slowly and sitting down more gave me extra time to take in individual acts – caught at least one song of 22 acts this year, down a handful from last year’s tally – and more time to soak in the ambiance, the atmosphere, and the social angle of the festival. Again, even more than getting to see Wymond Miles, Wheelchair Sports Camp, ManCub, GoStar, and the Montbello Drum Line on some of the same stages in the space of a few days, it was about who I got to hang out with at those shows, about all the businesses along that strip of Broadway coming together to help support a great bit of communal fun, about so much of Denver’s diverse music scene coming out to support each other and have that fun together. That’s something I can’t recommend strongly enough, and as Natasha noted in her blog on the UMS, it was a balm after the tragic events Thursday night, which were just starting to unspool on my cabbie’s screen on the way home, without the full consequences yet being known.

Imperial Teen

These are a few pics showcasing the diversity of music that I saw. You can see my full log of what I saw here if you’d like, though I warn that it's strictly documentary snapshot style, not done for photographic integrity:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150945676405636.426962.541535635&type=3&l=896b375865

Montbello Drumline

oOoOO

Adam's take on this year's UMS:
I only made it down to the UMS on Friday night and caught great sets from Black Moth Super Rainbow, Imperial Teen, Bad Luck City, and A Shoreline Dream.  But what I really want to talk about is a an artist whose set I just missed.  I got to the Skylark just as Ross Etherton and His Chariots of Judah were packing up.  Formerly of Red Cloud West, Ross has been a fixture on the Denver music scene for a long time now, but he also spent a few years back in my hometown of Cleveland, OH.  That's where I met Ross as we worked in the same bookstore together for a few months before I, coincidentally, moved out here to Denver.  Then a few years later Ross moved back.  We've been trying to reconnect for a while now and finally made it on Friday night.  So instead of running around trying to catch more bands, I hung out with Ross on the Skylark patio.  We caught each other up on the last decade of our lives as well as going over the host of mutual acquaintances we have in both Denver and Cleveland.  So why am I writing about all this when I'm supposed to be telling you about music?  Because it dawned on me later that this is what a great local music scene is all about.  More than the music itself, it's all the people you get to know and the true community that develops.  Music is where it starts and everything else flows from it.  We've got a great music scene here in Denver with a lot of great people both making the music and supporting it.  We've also got UMS, a great annual fest to show it all off.

Shabazz Palaces

Jack Brown's take on this year's UMS:

Well Thursday started out with only being able to see a hand full of acts for scant periods of time. Bad Weather California was a pleasant surprise for the evening. Kudos to the fellas for an energetic performance and a packed house. Patrick and I also caught a "retro" style set by Ginger Perry down at the Compound, I tip my hat to anyone who plays Yes, LFO, and Sheila E b2b! Thanks for the trip down memory lane Ginger!

Friday started with the sludge of Il Cattivo blasting their way through tough shards of punk inspired metal. I can see why these dudes are quickly bubbling from the underground! Next up was the sounds of Le Divorce who took us all back a bit with their 90's inspired sound. That is by all means a compliment. Over on the main stage Black Moth Super Rainbow quelled the Friday evening heat with ethereal, vocodered

rock. Just a hop back over to 3 Kings for Imperial Teen, with its upbeat sound and one of the best performances on Friday in my own opinion. 0O0OO played at midnight Friday at the Compound bringing the "witch house" sound to Denver - kinda interesting in a live setting but to be fair I got distracted so I didn't give it my full attention.

Patrick Brown, DJing at Sputnik to cap off the weekend

Saturday started with the destruction of A Place To Bury Strangers. These guys were awesome, but the set was plagued by sound problems. Native Daughters brought the doom sounds to 3 Kings and made the crowd pay – And pay they did sir! Shabazz Palaces brought this interesting psychedelic hip hop to the main stage and put on an electrifying performance. Now over to the Hi-Dive for Theesatisifaction’s set of sweaty laidback soul/hip-hop. Today's youngsters could learn a thing or two by seeing these ladies.

Sunday afternoon was punctuated by the soothing indie sounds of Esme Patterson (of Paper Bird) - good job Esme! Hot Apostles kicked out the jams at 3 Kings with 70's influenced riffs and glam style rocking. Our own Patrick Brown pumped up the indigenous African jams at Sputnik, which swung into 80's r&b jams and hip-hop. Next door Morning Clouds treated the crowd to a shoegaze style set against the heat of the afternoon. Glass Hits cranked it up to 11 with a white hot set of punk loudness with Jesus Lizard style intensity! A fine way to end a sweltering weekend.

2012 UMS wrap-ups, pt. 2

Paul Custer's take on this year's UMS:

My favorite performances from this year's festival were (in no particular order):

           Accordion Crimes - This has got to be one of Denver's most overlooked bands, and my personal favorite. Highly recommended for fans of Slint, Jesus Lizard and all things Steve Albini (Big Black, Shellac, etc.). Their set at 3 Kings was the perfect blend of precision and looseness and the dynamic variations made the set consistently fresh. If you enjoy razor sharp guitar tones, heavy rhythms and smart lyrics, you have to check these guys out.
            Mark Mallman - This dude is the energizer bunny of piano driven rock. This year I decided to start comparing him to Jerry Lee Lewis AND Meatloaf, although neither of them truly sums up the Mallman. He's the kind of performer you see once and vow to never miss again. Sure, there's a shtick, but the songs are insanely catchy and clever. His set at the Skylark exemplified, like all of his sets, the epitome of the Rock and Roll spirit. He's from Minneapolis, but comes to Denver a couple of times a year - I DARE anyone to have a bad time watching him perform.

            Big Freedia - If you haven't at least heard of Big Freedia I'd be surprised as her "Shake Team" have been making waves at festivals and venues around the country for almost two years. Her set at the Goodwill Stage was no exception. I noticed some people walk away from her performance with perplexed looks on their faces, seemingly from the lack of traditional "musicianship." Sure, every song has the exact same beat, but it's a compelling one to dance to. The main draw of the performance is booties, on stage, practically naked and moving in ways that would make belly dancers take note. And at the helm is Big Freedia, the tireless cheerleader, the Queen Diva, spittin' out gems like "Gin in My System" and "Azz Everywhere." Another performance that needs to be seen to be fully understood.
            Il Cattivo - Hard to pin down stylistically, but all the better for it. At times I could hear Cursive in the vocals and Mastodon and Baroness in the instrumentation. Friends mentioned glam influences (which I didn't hear), Jesus Lizard (which I could sorta get), and Soundgarden (also, barely). Rather than be confusing, those disparities were what made them compelling.

David Castillo's take on this year's UMS:

The 12^th annual UMS was my first of what I hope to be a many more. My UMS experience began with Steve Law at The Skylark. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Steve Law and female singer Toddy Walters accompanied by kick ass guitar player Kyle Zender playing a strong set of folk/country that was right up my alley of musical flavorings. Wymond Miles at the Hi-Dive was my next destination. Wymond played at Twist & Shout Records a mere month or so before this show and the band I heard at the Hi-Dive delivered a vastly improved, tight knit group of Cure-ish pop songs; not that they sucked at Twist, on the contrary they were louder and a little more reckless, but that being said it was rad to hear them playing so tight but still rocking. From there it was back to The Skylark for The Legendary River Drifters. It was nearly impossible to order a drink because the crowd was so rowdy and the energy was bouncing off the walls. Suzanne and the gang never fail to deliver and deliver they did. After that the night turned into a tequila haze of memories and stumbling into friends and co-workers up and down Broadway.

Day two kicked off with ManCub at The Main-Stage. Besides being a cool dude, Alex has great taste for showmanship and infectious beats. His cover of “You Dropped A Bomb On Me” was not only tasteful but a personal highlight of the whole UMS. I decided to continue the dance party at Compound Basix with Peter Black followed by Men In Burka. I swear the bartender put dancing powder in my drinks because I can’t dance. I don’t dance. But, I danced my ass off for two hours. After falling out of the Compound Basix I headed over to DeLite to catch 3two’s set, an action packed set of relentless hip hop. The crowd inside just moved and the crowd outside couldn’t help but stop and listen and try to get in on the action.

Saturday was a late start day for me even though I was at the Gildar Gallery by noon. It was 100 degrees and we had a lot of beer to get nice and cold. Good thing we bought all the ice the liquor store next door had because by 3pm – UMSers were thirsty and very much in need of a cold one. Sole at the Main Stage at 5pm was still a bit too hot for me to get into, but I tried as much as a dehydrated partied-out dude could. It was a solid set of classic spacey Sole beats and Sole ramblings in between songs. Joy Subtraction was a band I had noticed a couple days before when I was putting up their flyer for an upcoming album release show at the Hi-Dive on the 4^th of August. I was a little negative about their name and the picture of a noose on their flyer, so I am happy to say that they completely changed my mind when I heard them at 3 Kings. Great pop. Great musicians. Great stage show. I wouldn’t be surprised to see myself at their show on August 4^th and I’m looking forward to listening to their CD. The night wrapped up for me with Fiction Is Fun at Moe’s BBQ. They delivered a deliciously flavorful show. I’ve been listening to Fred Thulson and the gang for several years now and their song craft and chops have only gotten better and better. That goes for every member, even Jake Fairly who seems a little out of place with his thrash metal stage presence and even howls to go with it. But, as they themselves say it’s, “folk music for the thinking man.”

Sunday I woke up in Sheridan with a half drunk bottle of Kentucky Deluxe sleeping next to me. Unsure how I was going to get back to Denver I hopped on the light rail and luckily made it back to the car I hadn’t seen in 3 days without getting a ticket. Wearing the same stinky clothes I had worn for 3 days I was utterly defeated and satisfied. I had had enough. I bit off more than I can chew. So, I called it a day and went home to a much-needed shower and a bed for sleep.

And check out some snapshots of the event by Twist staffer Natja: