In what turned out to be one of the busiest weekends for Denver music in history, both the Underground Music Showcase and Blucifer’s First Rodeo shook up the city and reminded us of how rich the Mile High Sound really is. With so much going on, we turned to veteran local music writer Tom Murphy to cover this year’s UMS. Check out his highlights from this year’s festival below, and be sure to read Lindsay Temple’s piece on Blucifer’s Rodeo.
Venus Cruz & Super Distant Boyfriend at Two Moons Music Hall
For this set, Venus Cruz wore a wig that was like a cross between Dolly Parton and one of the Golden Girls, along with sunglasses and an outfit made for a jazz lounge singer from the 1950s. With a talented jazz and R&B band on stage, Cruz delivered a set of music that felt like improv from beginning to end with masterful flow of words, including some musical and cultural allusions to Prince’s “Darling Nikki” and a rhyme with Christopher Walken, all part of a spontaneous narrative about themes of identity and challenges with relationships. Cruz has long been one of the great talents of local music in the realm of jazz, R&B, neo-soul, and hip-hop and her commanding, versatile, and creative performance was a standout of the festival.
Pleasure Prince at Ratio
The seemingly effortless flow of rhythm and tone with rich, saturated synth sounds that Pleasure Prince always seems to bring to the show is striking. Even in this room with its sonic challenges, the duo’s music felt like an escape from the heat and ambient chaos of the world and an invite into a more friendly, playful, and understanding space for around half an hour. From this performance you could tell the songs had built into them some flexibility so that it could be spontaneous on the spot without losing a step in the performance of the music.
Covenhoven at Two Moons Music Hall
Joel Van Horne had some ace guests for this showing of his warm, poetic Americana, including Carl Sorensen on drums, and it looked like Ben Pisano of Corsicana on keys. With this project Van Horne brings a grace and sense of gentleness and intimacy with the songwriting that transcends perceived genre. Getting to see this as one of the likely last times we’ll get to see live music in Two Moons enhanced the impact of the music, like being in some 1960s TV show set in a jazz lounge.
Twin Shadow at Showcase Stage
Twin Shadow hadn’t been to Denver for a show in over a decade, and despite the unusual weather—somewhere between muggy and hot—and the threatening rainstorm on the edges of the city, which George Lewis Jr. remarked upon bemusedly at one point, the band put in a charismatic performance, with a set list drawing liberally from the 2010 debut album Forget (including the title track). Early in the show, we got to see the hit song “Five Seconds” as well as more recent tracks like “Alemania” and “Half Life.” But most engaging was how Lewis and the band seemed to be having fun playing music that bridges gaps between synth pop, rock, and R&B with Lewis’s soulful and uplifting vocals.
Goldie Boutilier at Showcase Stage
Goldie Boutilier seemed to only be accompanied by a guitarist, a drummer (both women), and whatever electronic backing was needed, but she put on the type of show like she’d been a rock star for years, strutting, striking poses, using a beautifully decorated umbrella to great effect. And just bringing great energy to the stage. Some of her moves made me think of Mick Jagger, while her outfit was like some kind of glam rock space alien circa David Bowie. One of the biggest surprises of the festival was to catch someone with that level of poise and confidence also projecting a welcoming attitude.
The Milk Blossoms at Larimer Lounge
Since the last UMS, The Milk Blossoms have become a trio. And from the beginning of the set it was obvious the sonics were different. It felt more like a noise rock or grunge band before the song shifted into a more melancholic and vulnerable mode, and Harmony Rose played what looked like a short electric guitar that had four strings, so more like a large electric ukulele but with a much wider tonal range, particularly when put through a brace of pedals. Later in the set there was a song almost like a punk rager, and yet if you’ve seen the band before you know Rose is capable of unleashing intense emotions in her vocals and that was there. So this next iterations of the band, obviously still under development (something more bands should try), showcased how you can seemingly completely transform your sound without giving up the emotional core and songwriting that made it noteworthy to begin with.