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.
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 12th 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
4th 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 4th
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:
