Triple bills that are stacked from top to bottom pose many different quandaries. What if the first band on the bill blows you away so much in fact that you can’t stay for the other two bands that you had initially wanted to see. That kind of happened yesterday. There was another rock-slide yesterday on I-70 causing all traffic to detour through alternate routes. The audience wasn’t aware till much later, but some of the bands had to travel through Wyoming to make it to Denver from Salt Lake City. The kids from Queens, Freelance Whales, took a break from performing on street corners and subway stations to do a short, but very sweet set as a result. I had listened to Bear in Heaven’s album “Beast Rest Forth Mouth” casually over the last couple of months and had expected an American version of Mew. The trio obliterated the stage and left nothing for Cymbals Eat Guitars to work with. Drummer John Stickney hulked behind his drum kit and destroyed his every beat as the pre-recorded beats looped in the background brought to mind a moodier Tangerine Dream to life on stage. Their every drum beat was intensified with the echoing vocals solidifying the commanding successful performance. BIH’s set was all I needed last night. So much in fact that when Cymbals Eat Guitars hit the stage, I kept on thinking how amazing BIH was and wishing they went back on stage for an encore and hit the merch table. No ill-will towards CEG, they played a fine set, but my head was too busy spinning from what had just happened.
Freelance Whales-Generator Second Floor [mp3]
Bear in Heaven-Lovesick Teenagers [mp3]
Cymbals Eat Guitars-Wind Phoenix [mp3]
Freelance Whales
Bear in Heaven
Bear in Heaven ::: Hi-Dive ::: 04.01.10 from Julio Enriquez on Vimeo.
Bear in Heaven performing “Wholehearted Mess”
Cymbals Eat Guitars
